Thol Thirumavalavan, former Lok Sabha MP and chief of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a Tamil Nadu-based Dalit political party, who demanded a CBI probe into the brutal murder of three members of a Dalit family at Javkheda Khalsa in Ahmednagar, has sought a national law against honor killings.
Thirumavalavan was in Mumbai on Monday to protest against the killings of Sanjay Jadhav, his wife Jayashree and son Sunil in October. Parts of their dismembered body were recovered from a well. However, the police have to date, not been able to nab the culprits.
Thirumavalavan, who was accompanied by VCK Mumbai joint secretary Shekhar Subramaniam and others, met governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao before leading the protests at Azad Maidan.
"The Centre must enact a new law to prevent honour killings," Thirumavalavan told dna, adding: "Honour killings are taking place all over India, even in Tamil Nadu. We need a new law as now there is no law to prevent honour killings, which are mostly carried out by cast fanatics against Dalit and non-Dalit women."
VCK, which organized protests in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bengaluru immediately after the incident, is now planning to take up the case internationally.
"Dr Ambedkar International Mission has done some work in this regard. They have submitted a memorandum to the United Nations," said Thirumavalavan, adding that he would consult the mission, which is an umbrella group of international Dalit groups, and then decide on taking up the case at some international platform.
Thirumavalavan, who was elected to Lok Sabha from Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu in 2009, said in their meeting with the governor, they had demanded a CBI probe into the killing.
"We have also demanded suspension of police and revenue officials for not taking proper action to nab the culprits and pay compensation to family members of the deceased," he added.
Thirumavalavan demanded that the Modi government expeditiously approve amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as the present set of laws was not sufficient to check caste violence.
"It's shameful that though warriors like Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule were from Maharashtra, caste atrocities are increasing here day by day," said Thirumavalavan, who also bemoaned the gradual weakening of mainstream Dalit politics in the state. He added that the way out was to organize all democratic forces as well as non-Dalits like Muslims, other minorities and the marginalized.
"Not just in Maharashtra, national (Dalit) politics has been weakened by caste Hindus and caste Hindu political parties, which are not willing to encourage Dalit movements," he alleged, charging that the government machinery too was biased against Dalits.
VCK also wants the Central government to direct Maharashtra to immediately nab the accused in the Javkheda case and stringently implement laws for protection of weaker sections.
In 2012, Maharashtra saw 1,091 cases of crimes against SCs, marginally down by 4.55% in 2011.
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