The 2013 Marakkanam violence was an incident of violence in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

between

Pattali Makkal Katchi The Pattali Makkal Katchi (; PMK) is a caste-based political party in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 to provide political representation for the Vanniyar caste, a community found throughout Northern Tamil Nadu. It is a ...

(PMK) and Dalit villagers in

Marakkanam Marakkanam is a coastal Selection Grade panchayat town & Taluk in Viluppuram district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is well connected to the state capital Chennai and the nearby union territory of Puduch ...

. The violence was instigated when drunk PMK cadres attacked

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

villagers. The Dalit villagers blocked the road demanding their attackers be arrested which stopped the vehicle convoy taking PMK members to a youth festival organized by the Vanniyar Sangam at

Mamallapuram Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram), is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It ...

. The PMK members attacked the Dalit colony and burned down nine huts of Dalits, they attacked homes of

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and offices of

AIADMK The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory ...

MPs, they vandalized buses, felled trees among other things. In the ensuing violence, two PMK members were killed. Later,

S. Ramadoss S. Ramadoss (born 25 July 1939) is an Indian politician. He is the founder of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, an Indian political party. Early life Ramadoss was born on 25 July 1939 in Kilsiviri (also spelled Keezhsiviri) village, Villupuram, Madr ...

, his son and several PMK leaders were arrested by the Jayalalithaa government for breaking rules in their festival, which led to even more violence by the PMK members who damaged over 800 buses and felled 165 trees and killed a truck-driver and a lorry driver. The violence caused an estimated property damages worth ₹600 crores. In 2016, six VCK members were convicted for the murder of one of the PMK members.

Background

The PMK declared that on April 25, 2013, the party will hold a festival for Vanniyar youth, as it has done for the last many years. The celebration was to be held on the seaside near the

Shore Temple The Shore Temple (c. 725 AD) is a complex of temples and shrines that overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is located in Mahabalipuram, about south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is a structural temple, built with blocks of gran ...

in Mamallapuram, and it was to be organized by the Vanniyar Sangam. Following the 2012 Dharmapuri violence, there has been a resurgence of antagonism between Dalits and Vanniyars, notably in the western part of the Dharmapuri district.

Violence

PMK cadres in hundreds of vehicles were on their way to attend the youth conference at Mahaballipuram. Some PMK cadre stopped near a bus stop at a Dalit village in Marakkanam colony and consumed alcohol. When a few villagers questioned them, the PMK men assaulted the villagers and fled the scene. The injured villagers warned others in their hamlet and a huge number of Dalits blocked on the East Coast Road and demanded that the perpetrators be apprehended by the police. This block stranded the PMK vehicle convoy. Unable to reach their destination, the PMK members went on a rampage. A group of PMK members entered Kattayan Theru, a Dalit settlement, and hurled petrol bombs at the Dalit houses which burned down nine huts. The majority of Kattayan Theru's population are followers of the

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (; VCK), formerly known as the Dalit Panthers of India or the Dalit Panthers Iyyakkam (; DPI), is an Indian social movement and political party that seeks to combat caste based discrimination, active in the state ...

(VCK). The

which is one of the World Heritage Site was desecrated by PMK members who had assembled in

for a festival for the youth form the Vanniyar caste. Other vandalism occurred that day and the following days, including setting fire to private and government buses, vehicles, ration stores and liquor outlets, wrecking culverts, and chopping down trees. They attacked

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

homes in the adjoining village of

Koonimedu Koonimedu is a Gram panchayat, panchayat village in Tamil Nadu, India. It is part of the Marakkanam block of the Viluppuram district and is located 16 kilometres from Pondicherry (city), Pondicherry and from Chennai. It has a population of app ...

. Houses and offices of governing

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party with great influence in the Federated state, sta ...

(AIADMK) Members of the Parliament were also attacked by PMK members. Two PMK cadres, Selvaraj and Vivek were killed.

Arrests

Ramadoss was detained by Chief Minister

Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016), popularly known as Amma, was an Indian actress, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She ...

for breaking the rules for holding the party meeting in Mamallapuram. PMK president G.K. Mani, Ramadoss' son Anbumani Ramadoss, former Union Minister A.K. Moorthy, Kaduvetti Guru were also detained by the police. Ramadoss and Mani were placed in judicial custody at Tiruchi Central Prison, while the others were detained in

Puzhal Central Prison Puzhal Central Prison is a central prison complex located in Chennai (Chennai District), India. It is about 23 km from the city centre. The prison became operational from 2006 replacing the erstwhile Chennai Central Prison. Construction The ...

. Old cases involving Ramadoss, Anbumani, and Kaduvetti Guru were reopened.

Violence due to the arrests

This arrest spread violence across the state. PMK cadres stoned the buses to protest against the arrest of their leaders. In the districts of

Thiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil language, Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city and the administrative headquarters of ...

Villupuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major and largest railway ...

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is a heavy industries hub and a port city, and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important city and port during the Britis ...

Vellore Vellore ( ), also spelled Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River and surrounded by the Javadi Hills in the northeastern ...

and

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

, some 1,601 buses were not operated even during day time due to violence. The violence took place till the release of S Ramadoss on 11 May from Tiruchirapalli Central Prison. Totally, 853 buses were damaged and 165 trees were cut down during violence. A truck driver from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

was killed when petrol bombs hit his truck and a lorry driver was killed from stone pelting. The violence caused property damages estimated worth ₹600 crores. Jayalalitha likened the party to a “

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

” organization and claimed they hurled petrol bombs on moving vehicles. Jayalalithaa threatened to ban PMK party over the violence.

Court proceedings and conviction

The police detained ten persons in September 2016, a couple of weeks after the

Madras High Court The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Courts of India, High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is one of ...

directed the arrest of 32 PMK cadres for setting fire to houses during the riots. Marakanam police filed case against 1,512 persons from both sides and inquired further. Initially it was said by police that Selvaraj was killed by accident but after post mortem reports revealed stab injuries on his body, the police changed the accident case to murder case. On 9 May 2013, the CB-CID officials registered a murder case against six VCK cadres for attacking PMK cadre Selvaraj. On 3 February 2016 sessions court in Tindivanam pronounced the judgement that all the six accused VCK cadres were found guilty and convicted to life imprisonment for brutally killing Selvaraj. The judge pronounced the crime to be ‘rarest of rare’ while awarding the life sentence. The case on other person killed named Vivek is still under proceedings.

References