Needed: More than just a name change Premium

The Tamil Nadu government has been unable to effectively remove caste signifiers

P. Krishnaveni, an 81-year old retired school teacher, remembers how her village in Theni district in Tamil Nadu was stratified 70 years ago. Each caste had its own street. Scheduled Castes (SCs) lived away from the village and each street in an SC neighbourhood was named after a particular SC sub-caste, she says.

Similarly, Sarojini Devi, a home-maker in her late sixties, who is from another village in the same district, recalls the 13 SC families who lived farther away from the main village. She says SC dwellings came to be referred to as ‘colonies’ after the law made it illegal to refer to their place of dwelling with caste names.

Now, caste Hindus may have to stop using that term. On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced in the Legislative Assembly that steps will be taken to remove the caste-coded word, in Tamil Nadu’s context, from official government documents and public use. The word ‘colony’, which has become a slur to denote the neighbourhoods inhabited by SCs, is still used in most villages across the State. While other castes live on the main streets of the villages, SCs live in ‘colonies’, away from them.

While the intention may be laudable, Dalit activists say the government has been unable to effectively implement its policy of removing caste signifiers. “Earlier, ‘colony’ was associated with colonial rule and was used in a derogatory sense to describe the exploitation of backward or weaker peoples by a dominant power,” says Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi general secretary and Villupuram MP, D. Ravikumar. “After Independence, the word came to be used to identify the habitations of Dalits, indirectly marking these settlements as those of an enslaved people.” Mr. Ravikumar says while his party welcomes Mr. Stalin’s announcement, it is important to see what the Government Order says.

Writer and historian Stalin Rajangam says the word ‘colony’ has different meanings in urban and rural areas. “In cities, colonies are a part of modernity. There is, for instance, an Electricity Board colony. In the rural context, colonies are exclusively used to refer to Dalit neighbourhoods. There is confusion over whether the word itself is problematic. I see this move as a continuation of Dravidian identity politics — because it takes the easy way out without making any serious effort to change the separation of ‘Ooru and ‘Cheri’ (non-Dalit and Dalit neighbhourhoods),” he says. Mr. Rajangam also wonders whether the names of neighbourhoods named after dominant and privileged castes — for instance, Naidupuram — will ever be renamed. “I don’t oppose this announcement, but I don’t think this is a significant step towards annihilating caste,” he says.

Mr. Ravikumar recalls that in 1978, the AIADMK government, headed by its founder and then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, had initiated efforts to drop the caste names of leaders and prominent personalities from the boards of streets named after them on account of Periyar’s birth centenary celebrations. However, the policy has never been implemented effectively.

In August 2021, Mr. Ravikumar wrote a letter to Mr. Stalin urging him to reinforce the Government Order published in 1978. “Apart from the name boards set up by the Tamil Nadu government, the name boards being set up by private individuals for new neighbourhoods shouldn’t have caste names. Similarly, caste names should be removed from the names of educational institutions and restaurants,” he wrote in the letter. He adds that when caste names are not removed from street names and become part of official documents such as Aadhaar and passports, they help people easily ascertain the caste identities of people.