Key Points
The fight at RC Government Higher Secondary school in Maruthakulam in Tamil Nadus Tirunelveli district on 1 July, it is learnt, was the culmination of caste tension between residents of two villages inhabited by Mukkulathors (Thevars) and Nadars both recognised by the state as subgroups within the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community...
Asked how caste discrimination plays out in schools, the Class 10 student quoted earlier said, Our fellow students call us with caste slurs used in the village..
Similarly, in Kurayur village in Madurai district, Dalit students have alleged they were denied admission to a government school since a majority of students at the school come from a dominant caste group, said Kathir, director of Evidence, an NGO working to spread awareness about caste discrimination and honour killings...
Of the 441 schools surveyed, it was found that Dalit students were made to clean toilets and subjected to caste-based discrimination in 15 schools in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Cuddalore, Ramanathapuram, Mayiladuthurai and Coimbatore districts...
One aspect of caste discrimination in schools in Tamil Nadu, as pointed out by both students and teachers, is the coloured wristband (denoting caste)...
