The recent death of a 27-year-old Dalit man from Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli after he was hacked to death publicly had sent shockwaves across the state. Kavin Selva Ganesh, an IT professional, who was in relationship with a woman from a dominant community, was allegedly killed in broad daylight by her brother.
Amid heavy public outcry over the issue, police had arrested S Surjith who attacked Kavin following an argument. Now, noted filmmaker Mari Selvaraj has voiced out his angst regarding the issue and urged the state government to take strict action against issues and crimes rooted in caste pride.
The translation of his Tamil post roughly translates to, "The prolonged atrocity of caste-based disgust...The government must definitely act more swiftly and sternly against caste pride and its consequences." He also tagged CM MK Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister and former actor Udhayanidhi Stalin to bring the issue to their notice.
Kavin had earlier informed his brother about the repeated threats from Subhashini's family, but did not proceed with the issue legally. On Sunday, when he had visited Subhashini's clinic along with his grandfather, the girl's brother had hurled casteist slurs, chased him and killed him. Kavin's mother filed a complaint against Surjith and his parents, who are both sub-inspectors themselves.
Mari Selvaraj has been vocal about expressing his displeasure and disgust over caste-based attrocities in the state and across India. He, along with filmmakers like Pa Ranjith, have been using art as their tool to voice out concerns and bring to light several caste-related issues in the state. From Pariyerum Perumal to Vaazhai, the filmmaker had brought out different facets of these concerns to audiences. He is currently awaiting the release of Bison Kaalamaadan, which stars Dhruv Vikram in the lead. It is slated to hit theatres on October 17.
