A panchayat chief from Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu, who belongs to the Irular community, has alleged discrimination by dominant caste members of the village council. He has alleged that the members treat him like a ‘bonded labourer’, while they call the shots on any work to be done in villages under their control.
Sixty-year-old Murugesan, who took up the post after winning elections in December, had alleged that he was paid to dig a grave for a deceased dominant caste member on Monday, 1 June.
The Chengam taluk in Tiruvannamalai is a reserved constituency and this, according to Muruguesan, led to the dominant communities — Vanniyars and Reddiyars — choosing a member of the Scheduled Tribe community to contest local body polls. But as soon as he won, he was allegedly sidelined while other members took over the post. The discriminatory treatment meted out to the panchayat chief came to light after pictures surfaced of him allegedly being forced to dig a grave.