Why Dalits Are Prime Targets For Conversion To Islam In Tamil Nadu’s Old Thanjavur Region

The killing of Pattalai Makkal Katchi (PMK) worker Ramalingam by a group of unidentified persons near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district on 6 February has brought focus on the vulnerability of Scheduled Castes to conversion, particularly to Islam, in the region.

Ramalingam was killed after he questioned attempts by a group of Muslims to convert people at a colony inhabited by Scheduled Castes at Thirubhuvanam near Kumbakonam.

Ramalingam’s murder brought the attention to the conversions of SCs to Islam in the Mayiladuthurai-Kumbakonam region, once a part of Tamil Nadu’s old Thanjavur district.

The district has been bifurcated with the formation of Nagapattinam district. Mayiladuthurai is now part of Nagapattinam district and Kumbakonam is in Thanjavur district. The region is famous for its temples that are now giving way to rise of Muslim ghettos.

Why are the Scheduled Castes being targeted for conversion? Locals told Swarajya that there are quite a few reasons for this targeted approach.

First is that Muslim organisations that seek converts face a disadvantage in trying to convert the upper and backward castes. “Christian organisations targeted the upper and backward castes earlier and conversion to Christianity has plateaued,” says Raja (name changed to withhold identity), a youth in Mayiladuthurai.

This has resulted in the Muslim organisations being unable to target the upper and backward castes, particularly the Vanniyars. “No one can target the Brahmins in this region for conversion. Most of them are pretty strong in Hindu beliefs, customs and traditions,” says a veteran leader who is into protection of temples in Mayiladuthurai.

This directly opens the door to the Scheduled Castes, who are vulnerable for various reasons. “First, the Muslim organisations approach these Dalits and ask them why they should continue to be Hindus when they are being treated as outcastes,” says Raja.

That sometimes makes a Scheduled Caste person dither and give in to more propaganda of the Muslim organisations. “Then, these organisations tell them that they will be treated better by Islam as there are no castes in the religion,” says Ravi (name changed), another local.

Once the targets loosen up and warm up to the organisations, they are given a copy of the Holy Quran.

Muslims had been brought to the Mayiladuthurai-Kumbakonam region to help rear horses and grow betel leaves for the local chieftains 150 years ago. In the 1970s, with the Gulf nations looking for workers in South Asia, many Muslims families in the region sent one of their members to the Gulf.

As these members earned handsomely in countries like Saudi Arabia, they began to repatriate money back to their families, which in turn began to take on lease properties in the region. In due course, these families became very affluent.

“When the Scheduled Castes are approached by the Muslim organisations, they think they too can become as affluent as these families. That sways them to the other side,” says Raja.

According to locals, Dalits think conversion could perhaps open the door for them to jobs abroad or even in a better place. “Muslims organisations make these assurances to convert the Dalits,” says Raja.

One of the reasons for the Dalits to look for jobs elsewhere is that the traditional farming families are leaving the delta area as their younger generation is no more interested in agriculture.

Lack of water and higher cultivation costs are also driving away people from farming. Mechanisation like use of combine harvesters and sowing machines, too, is affecting employment in the region. As a result, the Dalits, most of who have worked as farm hands earlier, are left with nowhere to go.

(On the other hand, though Muslims buy agricultural land, they don’t cultivate. They lease out their farms to others and get the rent for the land. There are instances where they have bought a property and let it remain without using it.)

“Conversions happened also because these organisations got money from abroad. No one knows who sent money to who and why but money flowed,” says Narayanan (name changed, who has been living in Mayiladuthurai ever since his birth.

The inflow of money has now stopped after the government stepped in by implementing the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. But attempts to convert continue as funds are being mobilised internally, says the local veteran.

“Muslim organisations are looking for hands to implement their plans. They need people to take on people like Ramalingam who oppose conversion. They are looking for ones who can fight their cause and do their bidding like attacking people who they think could harm their operations,” says Ravi.

Muslims who had been living in the region are not known to be violent. However, with the entry of organisations like the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the militant Popular Front of India (PFI) that is based in neighbouring Kerala, the approach has now become aggressive.

In particular, organisations like SDPI require aggressive persons and they see the Scheduled Castes fulfilling the need for that aggressiveness. At least five have been arrested in connection with Ramalingam murder and a couple of them are linked to PFI.

“These organisations are looking only for people who can do their bidding like indulging in violence. Otherwise, the converts are not treated at par with the traditional Muslims,” says Raja.

Ravi adds that the traditional Muslims in the region neither give their daughters in wedding to any of the families recently converted to Islam nor do they accept women as brides from the converts’ families.

In the aftermath of Ramalingam’s murder, actions of Muslim organisations have come under scrutiny. The vulnerability of the depressed classes like Scheduled Castes is being highlighted.

Those concerned over conversions are looking for ways to tackle this.

This might include some sort of commercial boycott similar to what happened after a group of Muslims attacked a Ganesh idol procession at Tenkasi in Tirunelveli district. Following the attack, Hindus began boycotting Muslim commercial organisations, which in turn apologised for the attack and reached out to the majority community.