Country: India

Group: Adi Dravidar/Parayar

Date Finalized: 11/2/2023

Team: Hannah Lux (lead), Emily Allan, Esha Kubavat, Gordon Kok, and Natasha Chandra.

Content Warning: Lethal violence, raids, forced displacement, arrests, abuse, death, torture.

Approximate Time Period: 1989-present

The Adi Dravida in India, also known as Parayar, have a significant population of 166.6 million in the southern part of India (Minority Rights Group). Adi Dravida people practice various religions, including Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism (DBPedia, n.d.; Raman, 2010). They speak the Tamil language (DBPedia, n.d.; Raman, 2010). They comprise a substantial portion of the Dalit community in South India, which has historically been placed at the lowest rung of the Hindu caste system (Raman, 2010).

Adi Dravidas have historically faced discrimination, oppression, and violence from upper-caste landlords and dominant groups (Basu, 2011). Lower caste groups in India have joined forces to oppose the caste system, rejecting Hinduism and the associated caste hierarchy (Basu, 2011).  Caste clashes in Tamil Nadu often involve the Dalits, and the economic relationship between the Dalits and the Thevars has changed since the 1990s due to state policies and overseas income (Human Rights Watch, 1999). In 1996, caste-related incidents in Tamil Nadu increased by 34 percent, as reported by the Indian government’s Ministry of Human Affairs (Human Rights Watch, 1999). Police officers raided Dalit villages searching for Dalit militants and physically assaulted and displaced many Dalits (Human Rights Watch, 1999). Higher-class groups have targeted the Adi Dravidar community, resulting in unprotected attacks and a prevailing sense of fear (Fathima, 2023).  The police, including Thevars, and dominant caste groups have conducted raids on Dalit villages, leading to physical assaults, arrests, and displacement (Human Rights Watch, 1999). The Thevars, police, and district officials have employed violence and raids in Adi Dravida villages, resulting in their forced displacement (Human Rights Watch, 1999). According to the Tamil Nadu state government, approximately 251 people died in caste-related violence between August 1995 and October 1998 (Human Rights Watch, 1999).  In 2023, Thevars targeted and slashed a Parayar teen (Fathima, 2023). Indian society continues to subject Dalits to numerous hardships (Minority Rights Group, n.d.).

Data Quality: 2/3 There is not a lot of specific information on this issue available that is peer-reviewed and from reputable sources.

Sources

  1. Basu, R. S. (2011). The Making of Adi Dravida Politics in Early Twentieth Century Tamil Nadu. Social Scientist, 39(7/8), 9–41. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41289418
  2. DBPedia. (n.d.). About: Adi Dravida. Retrieved October 26, 2023, from https://dbpedia.org/page/Adi_Dravida
  3. Minority Rights Group. (2021, February 5). Dalits. https://minorityrights.org/minorities/dalits/
  4. Fathima, A. (2023). Caste faultlines among schoolkids: In TN, Dalit Teen, family attacked over caste identity. Newslaundry. https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/08/18/caste-faultlines-among-schoolkids-in-tn-dalit-teen-family-attacked-over-caste-identity
  5. Human Rights Watch. (1999). The Pattern of Abuse—Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s “Untouchables” (Human Rights Watch Report, 1999). https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/india/India994-07.htm
  6. Raj Sekhar Basu. (n.d.). The Making of Adi Dravida Politics in Early Twentieth Century Tamil Nadu. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/subjects
  7. Raman, R. (2010). Global Capital and Peripheral Labour: The History and Political Economy of Plantation Workers in India. In Google Books. Routledge. https://books.google.com/books?id=Nq2MAgAAQBAJ&lpg=PA67&pg=PA67#v=onepage&q&f=false
  8. Wikipedia contributors. (2023). Adi Dravida. Wikipedia. Retrieved on October 25, 2023, fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Dravida#:~:text=Adi%20Dravida%20(or%20Adi%20Dravidar,Tamil%20Nadu’s%20Scheduled%20Caste%20population.