Caste politics determine the economic independence of the Scheduled Caste farmers and agricultural labourers in and around Tuticorin district. Even though they are more in number, the “upper caste” Nadar maintain a strict control over their wages and entry into agriculture.
In the villages of Peikkulam, Palayamkottai, Sawyerpuram, Arumugamangalam, Nattathi and Arel, banana plantations account for the majority of cultivated land. Spread over more than 2,000 acres out of the total 3,500, they are irrigated by water from the Thamirabarani River and 100 bore-wells. The remaining land is used for paddy and drumsticks cultivation.
Agriculture has been the main occupation in these villages for the past 140 years and has been paying good returns on investment. However, caste politics have an iron grip over the livelihood of the Scheduled Castes to the extent that they continue to get suppressed.
The Peikkulam Farmers’ Association represents all farmers and farmland-owners over the 3,500 acres, and claims responsibility for “arranging for” assistance in times of need. However, according to Mr. Paramasivan, a farmer belonging to the Scheduled Caste, “When the price of DAP jumped from Rs. 12,500 per ton in April, 2011 to Rs, 18,000 per ton in October, 2011, the cost per acre of paddy cultivation jumped from Rs. 18,000 to Rs. 25,000 for small farmers.”
“All this while, the Association stood back despite demands for the regulation of fertilizers purchases and redistribution of income.” In the same period, the membership fee for these small farmers, mostly of the Scheduled Caste, was increased from Rs. 400 to Rs. 600 per acre citing “technical issues”.
Mr. M. Murugesan, the Secretary of the Association, and his colleague, the President of the Association, Mr. S. V. P. S. P. Sundarapandian, are the leaders of the local Nadar community. They have been traditionally administering its duties for as long as agriculture has been practiced in the region: 140 years. Mr. Sundarapandian admitted that even though elections are held amongst the farmers for various offices in the union every year, the posts of secretary and president have always been inherited by Nadar leaders.
When asked about the wages for the people employed on the farms, Mr. Murugesan responded, “The men do the more specialized tasks of planting the seeds, digging the irrigation channels and grafting, and they are handpicked from our community from the neighbouring villages. They are paid Rs. 400 to Rs. 500 a day.”
As for the women, he said that they “are engaged only in slicing the leaves, picking the fruits, mixing and sowing the fertilizers and pesticides, and in other coolie tasks. They are also from the neighbouring villages, but since they will be performing tasks that everyone can, they are paid Rs. 140 to Rs. 150 a day.”
While many have considered withdrawing from the Association, its added benefits are costlier to procure without its support. Two such benefits are insurance against disasters – which is sustained by donations made to the Association’s coffers – and bargaining power against the government. A third aspect, that of loans, hinders the “lower caste” population from turning into landowners.
“Two banks that operate in rural Tuticorin and that have affordable interests for small farmers, Canara Bank and the Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, are dominated by Nadars,” says Mr. V. Perumal, a farmer employed by Mr. Sundarapandian. “When we seek loans to buy land and operate our own farms, there are significant delays in processing the loan. One of my kinsmen was denied a loan even though he had just returned from Tirunelveli town with all his savings.”
Such unionism is well-established in the seven villages. There are government initiatives that are aimed at increasing the representation of the Scheduled Castes via quotas in universities and government offices, and the Rajeev Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana scheme that subsidises electricity supply. However, the ground-level situation remains harshly inconducive to economic independence for the poorer sections.
Even after extended decentralization of authority in the form of the Gram Sabha and employment opportunities through the NREGA, being of a “lower caste” still pushes these people to live between debt and more debt.
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