Dalits in Dravidian Land Frontline Reports on Anti-Dalit Violence in Tamil Nadu (1995-2004)

Since the 1990s, India has witnessed a spurt in violence against dalits. Tamil Nadu, home to the non-Brahmin movement, has been projected as fertile soil for social justice. However, the Dravidian movement s empowerment agenda left the dalits 19 percent of the population almost untouched, and they have been subjected to the worst forms of violence, from being forced to consume human excreta to being murdered for contesting local body elections. S. Viswanathan has chronicled this violence over a decade in the pages of Frontline, the fortnightly newsmagazine.