After eight years of dispute, peace returns to T.N. village as warring communities agree to bury the hatchet

Close on the heels of Pandiyankuppam village holding its first Gram Sabha meeting in 11 years after prohibitory orders were lifted in May this year, the Kallakurichi district administration has now managed to get two communities in another village, Seshasamudram, who have been at loggerheads for the last eight years, to arrive at a compromise.

Close on the heels of Pandiyankuppam village holding its first Gram Sabha meeting in 11 years after prohibitory orders were lifted in May this year, the Kallakurichi district administration has now managed to get two communities in another village, Seshasamudram, who have been at loggerheads for the last eight years, to arrive at a compromise.

The first Gram Sabha meeting of Seshasamudram village was held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, after a gap of eight years following the District Administration’s efforts to bring the two warring groups: Vanniyars and Dalits, to rapprochement, bore fruit on Independence Day as members belonging to both sides participated in the Gram Sabha. They agreed to bury the hatchet.

The village, earlier part of the composite Villupuram district witnessed unprecedented violence on August 15, 2015, after a section of Vanniyars allegedly went on the rampage and attacked the Dalit colony in the village after its inhabitants insisted on their rights to take the temple car through the main road, which is common to both communities. The temple car and five houses belonging to Dalits were burnt down, and eight policemen and three revenue officials were injured in the violence. Later, 190 members belonging to the Vanniyar community were arrested in connection with the violence.

Official sources said in the wake of the violence, the district administration had invoked prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on August 15, 2015 to prevent the situation from escalating. The orders remained in force with both sides insisting on their rights.

At a peace meeting chaired by the District Collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath recently, members belonging to both communities agreed to bury the hatchet.

Mr. Jatavath said, unlike Pandiyankuppam in Kallakurichi district where members belonging to both communities came forward to bury their differences, the issue (dispute over the right to take the temple car) has remained alive in Seshasamudram village. Several rounds of peace talks were held, and the administration explained to the warring groups and community leaders the consequences, in the absence of a functional Gram Sabha.

At the meeting, many residents explained the agony they have been experiencing all these years, while living in their own village. Finally, the groups agreed to bury the hatchet and live in harmony, the Collector said.