Dr. Ramdas has written a letter to the people of Bamaga saying that our destination is Vanniyar reservation and we will be ready to travel any route to achieve it.
Record: April 01, 2022 15:22
PM
Chennai,
‘There is no social justice without us … we will win for sure, don’t worry!’ In a letter to Dr. Ramdas Bamakavinar entitled: –
“Dear proletarians, more than my life … The judgment of the Supreme Court in the Vannier 10.50% internal reservation case may have caused you anxiety and confusion. I know the nostalgia of many of you for what we are going to do now. I write.
It would have given us boundless joy if the Supreme Court had ruled that 10.50% reservation in education and employment in Tamil Nadu would go to the Vanni. We would all be immersed in the celebrations. But the Supreme Court’s verdict has come against our expectations. As true as it is that this is not a pleasing judgment, it is equally true that it is not a judgment to be regretted.
In this case, we have won the rights, including the fact that the state government has the power to grant internal reservation, and does not prohibit reservation for a single caste, and that it is right to divide the most backward classes into different categories. This is not only for now, but in the future as well.
All of this is happiness. But your question of when the reservation for the Vanni will be available has not fallen on my ears.
Reservation for Vanni is definitely available. Can anyone speak social justice in Tamil Nadu without ensuring proper representation for the Vanni who have been lagging behind in education and employment for a long time? Even so, with the Supreme Court saying that there is no impediment to providing internal reservation to the Vanni people if there are sufficient statistics, who in Tamil Nadu can deny the fair social justice due to the Vanni people?
I was shocked by the judgment of the Chennai High Court on November 1 last year against the Vanniyar reservation. The Vanni laid out 7 reasons against internal reservation. I had already explained with relevant evidence that they were unreasonable reasons. Five months later, we are fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court to break down the six barriers to the Vanni reservation.
Being against the Vannier reservation is the only stumbling block. That is because there are no clear statistics on the representation of the Vanni in education and employment. Having broken 6 barriers in five months, do we not know how to overcome the remaining single hurdle through political struggle? What’s new to us?
As the revolutionary poet Bharathidasan sang, “Sukkah, chilli, freedom, sister, come and give?” Social justice is the greatest gift … it can only be obtained through repentance. In my 43 years of struggle for social justice, I have experienced many similar ups and downs. It is an undeniable fact that the next expectation is fulfilled in the face of disappointment and the subsequent rise in the face of downturn. But this is only possible if we make our case clear to those in the position of providing social justice.
At my pearl ceremony, I promised, “No matter how old I get, I will fight to the end for these dumb idiots and give up my life.” I am now 83 years old. I have said that I will fight for these dumb people even if it comes to a standstill, will not I advance the struggle for social justice at the age of holding the flag? Can I be without a fight?
We have been leading the struggle for reservation for the Vanni for the last 43 years. When we, led by Anbumani Ramadass, launched the second wave of protests in Chennai on December 1, 2020, emphasizing this demand and marching towards the Tamil Nadu Civil Service Selection, I do not know how many of you were confident that we would definitely win the reservation this time. But I was convinced that Vannier would not rest without winning the reservation. It is a great history that we have successfully won the internal allocation of Vanni within 80 days.
Likewise, we will still definitely win the reservation for the Vanni. An emergency working committee meeting of the Proletarian People’s Party has been convened in Chennai tomorrow to discuss ways to do so. Our next struggle for social justice will begin according to the decision to be made at that meeting; It can be successful.
Before that we need to keep in mind another fact. The Government of Tamil Nadu, along with us, hired senior lawyers to argue the case relating to the reservation of Vanni. Even now, the Tamil Nadu government has announced that it will meet with legal experts to decide on the next steps in the Vanniyar reservation issue.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has formed a federation to defend social justice at the national level across Tamil Nadu. It was only two weeks ago that I congratulated him on his effort. Does not MK Stalin, who thinks that social justice should be defended at the national level, have the intention and concern to protect social justice in Tamil Nadu under his rule? Therefore, it is possible that the Vanniyar reservation will be available without a struggle. Our target is the Vannier reservation. We will be ready to travel any path to achieve it.
Thus stated Ramadas in that letter.