Viewing the long history of these parties in the state reflects a pattern which shows a contradiction between Periyar’s ideals, who said, “If we obtain social self-respect, political self-respect bound to follow” and their actual implementation on the ground. A long list of atrocities against Dalits highlights the double standards of social justice prevalent in the state –one for numerically strong OBC castes and the other for the Dalits. Despite frequent rhetoric about Periyar’s vision of equality and justice, the harsh reality faced by Dalits remains unaddressed in the state. This disconnectedness in social justice ideas reveals a focus on numerical justice—mere representation in numbers—rather than genuine social justice of Periyar that ensures equality and dignity for all.
The recent brutal murder of K Armstrong shows the faultlines in the ideological commitment of the major political parties in Tamil Nadu. K Armstrong was a prime figure in BSP, and among Dalits, he was a beacon of hope and courage for the community. He came from the Dalit community and was an essential voice of Dalit assertion. By profession, he was an advocate, and he became famous when he became a corporation councillor in 2006 and was elected as Chief of the Bahujan Samaj Party in the state.
Non-Brahmin Politics in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu has a long history of social justice movements against the dominance of Brahmanism. During the colonial period, the Justice Party constantly raised the idea of social justice against the hegemony of ritual superior castes. EV Ramasamy Periyar had given ideological clarity to the movement and established the views that constantly challenged the Congress party. C. Rajagopalachari was a prime figure of Congress in this region, and his ideas of the education system based on Varnashrama dharma during his rule were severely criticised and from 1967, Tamil Nadu remained under the fold of the Dravidian parties of DMK and AIDMK. Both parties have remained prominent in Tamil Nadu politics to date.
From Brahmin vs Non-Brahmin to Dalits vs Non-Dalits
In the recent census, Dalits account for almost 21 per cent of the Tamil Nadu population. They have a considerable presence in rural Tamil Nadu, where they make up more than 25 per cent of the population. The data from the caste census show how Dalits are significant in terms of electoral politics in Tamil Nadu. However, the ironic stand is that the political discourse of this region is situated in the OBC politics and ideas of Brahmin vs non-Brahmin. In this idea, there is no clarity of the stand for the Dalits of Tamil Nadu.
There are multiple reasons for the answers above. Still, the main reason for the questions above lies in contradiction of social justice itself, which seeks social justice in terms of Brahmin and Non-Brahmin but has not been negotiating with the Dalit causes. Politically, the idea of social justice seeks to end the dominance of the superior castes. Still, socially, it followed the pattern of Brahminsm hand by hand, where Dalits became mere subjects for getting into politics. Their emancipation and assertion remained below the ideas of larger Tamil and Dravidian identity for the main political outfits. Whenever some Dalits asserted their voice, they subsumed in the larger question. This larger idea can be seen as similar to the Hindu identity in the colonial period where Harijan (Untouchables), in Gandhian parlance, can be part of the Hindu harijan identity but cannot be an independent, assertive identity.
The Case of Kolathur Assembly Constituency
In 2011, K. Armstrong got considerable votes in the Kolathur assembly consistency, an unreserved seat. Interestingly, current Tamil Nadu Chief Minster M.K. Stalin won this seat after getting 68677 (48.35 percent %) votes, AIDMK Sadai. SA. Duraisamy got 65943 (46.43 %) and remained in the second position, and BSP K. Armstong got 4004 (2.82 %) votes in the third position. This clearly shows how significant the status of K. Armstong was as the margin between MK. Stalin and Sadai Duraisamy were 1.92 percent (2734 votes). The constituency is also one of the six state legislative assembly constituencies in the Chennai North Lok Sabha constituency. Armstrong had a considerable base in the Chennai north. He was the third in the position against both major political outfits of Tamil Nadu. Examining his vote share can give us a picture of where his significance lies in terms of votes. The margin itself reflects that the strength of K. Armstrong did not lie in whether he won the seats or not but in the very fact that the Dalit votes were with him. Thus, Dalit votes (2.82 %) remained significant in defeating or winning either side.
Numerical Justice is Not Social Justice
Dalit political outfits and independent voices like Armstrong (BSP) are frequently suppressed in Tamil Nadu. This suppression is driven by a fear of losing political control and the disruption of established power dynamics. This shows that the dominant political forces are viewing the rise of Dalit political entities as a threat to their traditional voter base and influence, leading to the repression of these Dalit voices. There is a long list of atrocities against Dalits in Tamil Nadu, which shows the double standards of invocation of Periyar ideas in terms of slogans and practice. Until and unless these questions remained unaddressed by these parties, their invocation of Periyar’s ideas remained under the umbrella of numerical justice, not social justice.
Viewing the long history of these parties in the state reflects a pattern which shows a contradiction between Periyar’s ideals, who said, “If we obtain social self-respect, political self-respect bound to follow” and their actual implementation on the ground. A long list of atrocities against Dalits highlights the hypocritical means of social justice prevalent in the state –one for numerically strong OBC castes and the other for the Dalits. Despite frequent rhetoric about Periyar’s vision of equality and justice, the harsh reality faced by Dalits remains unaddressed in the state. This disconnectedness in social justice ideas reveals a focus on numerical justice—mere representation in numbers—rather than genuine social justice of Periyar that ensures equality and dignity for all.
