CHANDRU PANEL'S ADVICE A BEGINNING, POLITICIANS SHOULD WALK THEIR TALK

IN August 2023, a Dalit boy and his sister in Tirunelveli district's Nanguneri were grievously attacked at their home by the boy's classmates, who belong to a dominant caste community.

- 

The incident brought to the limelight the prevalence of casteist sentiments even among children. The Tamil Nadu government set up a one-man committee to examine the issue and suggest ways to prevent caste bias and discrimination among the state's school and college students. The Nanguneri incident was only the tip of the iceberg. Casteism in government schools runs deep, as evidenced by a survey conducted by an NGO that found Dalit children being made to clean bathrooms in some schools, separate caste-based queues for noon meals, and discrimination in classroom seating arrangements.