“I am Pradhiba from a village called Sikkarasampalayam in Sathiyamangalam Taluk, Tamil Nadu. I am from Arundhathiyar community. There are about 100 Arundhathiyar families in my village. In this modern age, we still live under the domination of caste hierarchy.
My community members do not have access to basic facilities in our village because all the resources are with the upper caste people. Even to collect drinking water we need to go to upper caste streets. On our own, we can’t collect water. We need to wait for some upper caste people who will collect the water from the government-provided tap and pour it into our vessels. We must go and collect our letters from the post office as the postman is from the upper caste. He will not come to our area to deliver the letters. Our people are denied community certificate by the government. We are treated as untouchables and discriminated against in every way.
Even though some youths are getting educated we live in fear due to caste oppression. I had a chance to participate in the “Capacity Building Training for Youth” organized by the Indian Social Institute-Bengaluru. It made me and my friends think about my society. After attending the training, we started to organize our village women and taught them about the social realities. As a result, we took a step forward and formed two Women’s Self-Help Groups with 12 members each. We are confident and prepared to put our efforts to change the economic and social status.
We realize the importance of education. Our children are dropping out after primary or high school education. We are committed to educating our children. To motivate and support we have started an evening school in our village. Now 22 students from Classes 1 to 10 are benefiting from this. We believe education can bring changes in our lives and will give us the strength to live with dignity. I express my gratitude to the Indian Social Institute for their accompaniment and support in empowering the Arundhathiyar community”, Ms. Pradhiba.
Mr. Prem Kumar
State Facilitator, Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry