Discrimination against living!(Dalit) Protection against Dead !!(Non Dalit): Dalit Not equal after death!!!

Dalits try to pull down ‘caste wall’ in cemetery

 A group of activists belonging to a fringe dalit outfit attempted to demolish a wall cutting through a Christian cemetery in Tiruchi on Friday, alleging that it was a sign of untouchability, dividing the space in the cemetery for dalits and non-dalits. The activists of Tamil Nadu Oppressed People Liberation Movement barged into the RCMC Cemetery at Melaputhur in the heart of the city and began demolishing the wall with iron rods and hammers. Members of the RCMC Cemetery Protection Society informed the police who rushed to the spot and arrested eight of the activists who were trying to pull down the wall.
    Nilavazhagan, secretary of the front, said their action was not intended to hurt anyone. “We wanted to remove the wall that remained as a sign of untouchability. The wall should be removed by the authorities immediately,” he said. “Christians of 32 residential areas in Tiruchi have been using the cemetery for around two centuries. The 800-feet wall cutting through the cemetery divides the space for dalits and non-dalits. Dalits were not allowed entry into the space demarcated for non-dalits,” he alleged.
    Nilavazhagan and his men had managed to knock off a few bricks of the wall in some places, though the structure remained intact.
    In 1976, the wall was partially razed down by a similar group led by a priest. But later the wall was built again after the cemetery protection committee obtained a court order in their favour. A few days back, the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam led by its president Kolathur Mani along with 1,200 persons staged a protest in Tiruchi demanding that the wall be demolished. Condemning the presence of the wall in the cemetery, Mani alleged that it was a sore symbol of untouchability.
    However, the RCMC Cemetery Protection Society, formed years back when first signs of opposition to the wall emerged, justified the presence of the structure saying that the purpose of the wall was protection.

Source: The Times of India dt 30.10.2010