06-16-2010, 10:36 AM
MADURAI: In several hamlets in the caste sensitive pockets of south Tamil Nadu, the law of the land has ceased to exist. Here, it is the ââ¬Ëkattapanchayatââ¬â¢ or kangaroo courts that rule. A few months ago, Nagaraj, a dalit from Vedasandur in Dindigul district, married a non-dalit girl, Sumathi. Fear of reprisal prompted them to flee the village.
They returned a month later hoping that their parents would accept them. But a ââ¬Ëkattapanchayatââ¬â¢ was immediately convened. Following its orders, the couple was taken to a coconut grove. A goat was slaughtered, its blood smeared on the coupleââ¬â¢s heads and their marriage declared null and void. The girl was later given away in marriage to a man from her caste. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india...052384.cms
They returned a month later hoping that their parents would accept them. But a ââ¬Ëkattapanchayatââ¬â¢ was immediately convened. Following its orders, the couple was taken to a coconut grove. A goat was slaughtered, its blood smeared on the coupleââ¬â¢s heads and their marriage declared null and void. The girl was later given away in marriage to a man from her caste. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india...052384.cms