3 Dalit men forced to fall at feet of village panchayat, case filed against 8 in Tamil Nadu

Three elderly Dalit men in Tamil Nadu were forced to prostrate before the members of village panchayat as punishment for organising a music function without Caste Hindu’s approval.

Three elderly men from a Dalit community in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram were forced to fall at the feet of a village panchayat and apologise for organising a music function in the village flouting the coronavirus protocols. The images showed three men lying flat in front of some members from a panchayat. The incident, which came to light on Wednesday, has raised serious questions on the caste atrocities in India. On May 12, the Dalit families in the Ottanandhal Panchayat near Thiruvennainallur had allegedly acquired permission to organise a very small ceremonial celebration for their village deity. However, a large crowd had gathered for the ceremony and for the events, which were prohibited as part of Covid-19 lockdown norms.