To the delight of Dalits and rights activists, the ‘Untouchability wall of Salem,' which stood for nearly two decades as a symbol of discrimination on Gandhi Mahan Street at Raman Colony here, was pulled down on Saturday.
A team of 50 officials from the Revenue and Police departments and the Municipal Corporation, along with workers and earthmovers, trooped into the colony in Ward 42 and demolished the 60x10-foot stone wall in a swift 35-minute operation.
As the controversial structure fell, 200 families of Arunthathiyars, to whom it blocked access to the main road, burst into a celebration and thanked those who stood with them in their campaign against the “wall of shame.”
Officials ensured that the entire wall was removed. “Its full length was constructed on ‘eri poromboke land' and hence demolished,” Revenue Divisional Officer S. Prasanna Ramasamy told The Hindu .
“We have been living on the edge of caste discrimination for long. Today, we feel elated and proud,” said K. Palanisamy, a 62-year-old Dalit, who raised a banner of revolt when the wall was constructed some 20 years ago.
Mr. Palanisamy said that when he protested then, he was threatened. Fearing for his life, he was away from the colony for some time.
For B. Kamatchi, it was a day to be cherished. She said her school-going children would now have a safe access to the main road. “Till recently they had to take a roundabout way, which is not safe for girl children.”
CPI(M) ward secretary C. Sivakumar said it was a rewarding end to the long-drawn struggle of the Dalits. “I thank The Hindu and organisations such as the Democratic Youth Federation of India for this. Otherwise, it would have been a long struggle with no reward.”
Earlier, tension prevailed when a group of caste Hindus, living on the other side of the wall, protested against the demolition. They claimed that the wall had been preventing pigs from straying into their area and that it also helped to block sewage flow from the other side.
“We have invested our lifetime savings in houses that we built on the assurance that the wall would remain forever,” said a woman resident.
However Salem tahsildhar T. Kumeresan convinced them, saying the wall was standing on poromboke land and the administration had to demolish it.