The police action against dalits in Paramakudi leaves indelible scars on the psyche of the oppressed people all over Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu Police, in its modern avatar, reflects a glorious tradition of over a century and a half. It was the only force to embark on State-sponsored modernisation in the early 1990s which was pioneered by me during my first tenure as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996....

-DNA   The proposed Prevention of Communal and Violence Bill is being pushed with an objective to check communal violence across the country. But the dalits and minorities, who are often soft targets of communal violence, are sceptical about the Bill. They are wondering if it is a ploy to polarise the system instead of tackling the root cause that triggers unrest in the society. “I have apprehensions that the Bill would make...

-PTI   A BJP team which visited Paramakudi, the scene of the September 11 police firing in which seven persons were killed, today said the incident was a result of "police excesses" and could have been avoided. The team, which included BJP national spokesperson Nirmala Seetharaman and Lok Sabha MPs Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kirit Solanki, condemned the firing and claimed that even after the incident people were targeted by police during the...

-The Hindu   His party will raise issue with NHRC, Scheduled Castes panel The Paramakudi police firing was State-sponsored, brutal murder of six dalits and an attempt to suppress and oppress the democratic form of dalit assertion in the State, said John Pandian, founder president, Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), here on Wednesday. Tension prevailed at Government Rajaji Hospital during his visit to meet those injured in the firing and rioting at Paramakudi and...

-The Hindu   “Police should not have taken extreme step of firing” Latha Priyakumar, Member, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), said that the lives of six dalits could have been saved if police had handled the agitation in a proper manner. She was visiting Paramakudi and Ramanathapuram to enquire into the police firing at Paramakudi on Thursday. Describing the deaths as very unfortunate, she said the mishandling of the issue had claimed innocent lives. The...