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70 per Day then and they were demanding the pay to be increased to 100. The workers were also demanding maternity leave, periodical breaks for women during the eight-hour-long duty. They were also opposing the decision of the estate owners to force workers to stay in sheds with poor facilities and deny right to rear cattle or even raise Gardens.
A large contingent of stone throwing and lathi-wielding police brutally assaulted the protesters forcing them to run towards the river. As police continued to chase them to the river, many got into the river and drowned. Justice Mohan Commission that probed into the incident submitted that 11 of the 17 died due to drowning, while rest died due to injuries.
Even now, much of their demands have not been met, but the estate workers have since been kept satisfied with a pay of 138 per Day.
Thamirabarani
The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi distr ...
massacre of 23 July 1999 was the death of 17 Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
labourers, including two women and a two-year-old child, when they got into the river to escape Tamil Nadu Police
Tamil Nadu Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is over 150 years old and is the fifth largest state police force in India.
lathi-charge. Public were going in procession to Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...
Collectorate to submit a memorandum demanding wage settlement for the tea plantation workers of Manjolai estate. An altercation between the police and the marchers resulted in a lathi charge
A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police or military in response to public disorder. In South Asia, a long bamboo stick, called ''lathi'' in Hindi, is used for crowd control, and the expressi ...
by police. When the marchers ran helter-skelter, many fell into the river and died.Human Rights Watch condemned the brutal police attack and killing of Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
tea plantation workers.Background
On 23 July 1999, a large number of labourers from the Tea estates of Manjolai congregated inTirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...
and marched towards the Collectorate
A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an civil service, All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ...
demanding the release of a number of estate workers, who were arrested earlier for staging protest demanding better wages. The workers were being paid 70 per Day then and they were demanding the pay to be increased to 100. The workers were also demanding maternity leave, periodical breaks for women during the eight-hour-long duty. They were also opposing the decision of the estate owners to force workers to stay in sheds with poor facilities and deny right to rear cattle or even raise Gardens.
A large contingent of stone throwing and lathi-wielding police brutally assaulted the protesters forcing them to run towards the river. As police continued to chase them to the river, many got into the river and drowned. Justice Mohan Commission that probed into the incident submitted that 11 of the 17 died due to drowning, while rest died due to injuries.
Even now, much of their demands have not been met, but the estate workers have since been kept satisfied with a pay of 138 per Day.
Documentary film
The theme of the incident is the basis for Death of a river (Oru Nathiyin Maranam) aTamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
documentary film released in 1999. The 59-minute Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
film is the work of the Kanchanai Film Society, produced and directed by R R Srinivasan.
See also
* Paramakudi riots *1957 Ramnad riots
The Ramnad riots or the Mudukulathur riots were a series of violent clashes that occurred between July and September 1957 in the Ramnad district and in southern Tamil Nadu, India. The violence was between Thevars supporting the Forward Bloc, and ...
References
{{reflist 1990s in Tamil Nadu Politics of Tamil Nadu Riots and civil disorder in India 1999 riots 1999 in India Crime in Tamil Nadu Massacres in India Deaths in India Tirunelveli district Tirunelveli Violence against Dalits in Tamil Nadu Police brutality in India