Sindu Deivanayagam and Apeksha Singegol
Whether it is village or an urban setting, the system always functions in a hierarchical set up. A marginalized person, especially a Dalit, has to keep finding ways to survive and sustain. Even though urbanization and cities have created a mirage of anonymity that should serve some protection, that same anonymity has made them invisible and unheard. The way Dalits are marginalized in the urban setting never comes to light. During the 1950’s, a group of Dalits living in central Chennai near Nehru stadium were evicted and displaced as Central railway station was expanding. They were sent to North Chennai which during colonial times was called the ‘Black Town’ and was a hub of marginalized laborers who built this city. They were sent to Vyasarpadi where the land given to them was filled with thorny bushes. The government did not put any effort to make that place livable. The people themselves started clearing out the land and set up small huts to live. Eviction and displacement is not just about losing your space and house but also about losing your livelihood. They were forced to rely on themselves to clear their land, construct their houses, and also search for new livelihood.
Near Vysarpadi was the Buckingham Canal which during those times was extremely busy in trade. People here also started depending on that for their livelihood. They started small-scale industries, cottage industries, etc. But slowly, the area became heavily industrialized, polluting the canal, eventually rendering it unfit for usage. Loss of the canal led to loss of livelihoods. The slum clearance board cleared their huts and built houses, which were just vertical cages with limited space and not many facilities. It became very difficult for the people to continue their home-based businesses in these confined spaces. Hence they ended up becoming workers at these industries and daily wage laborers. There is a misconception that they lived in these government-constructed apartments for free, but they kept paying rent to the government, and they could own it only after several years. They are constantly denied all the basic civic amenities that city municipalities must take care – like water connection, sanitation, etc. This self-construction and self-reliance of Dalit communities is the result of historical, social exclusion and systemic discrimination. It is a resistance against the system that denies them access to resources and opportunities.
The resistance of the people has continued till today. One of the important reflections of resistance is seen in Vyasai Thozhargal, formed in 2011. It is a story of boys who came together to play cricket and today are social game changers for Vyasarpadi. Their perseverance to transform a garbage dump into a tuition centre, using debri from demolitions, is a testament to the enduring spirit of survival and self-sustainability passed down from their ancestors, despite the challenges they face.
Vyasai Thozhargal were just young boys who observed the garbage dump and wanted to clear it to maintain cleanliness in their area. Despite several attempts at cleaning, when people continued to put garbage in that place, they converted it into a playground. But they wanted to do more and they decided to build a tuition center there. Their dream to holistically educate sprouted here. However, both resources and money were lacking. They estimated a budget of 10 lakh rupees. With a hundi (money collection box) they went house to house but could not collect much. Their attempt to reach out to political parties turned out to be vain as political parties were only interested in helping for a return in the form of showcasing their presence through party offices, and credit inscriptions at the tuition center.
The experiences of the flood in 2015 gave a realization that they had to start with raising the ground before establishing the tuition centre. The boys knew that the waste building materials of the demolished buildings and government construction sites went to Kodungaiyur dump yard, which is about 4 km from Vyasarpadi. This waste was transported at night. These boys organized themselves in shifts and stood at the gates of the dump yard, stopped the trucks, and told their stories. They requested the truck drivers to dump the construction remains in their area as it would be helpful for them to raise the ground. One truck driver agreed. He said, “Because I could not study, I have become a driver of this waste and garbage carrying truck. But you people, study well”. He dumped the construction waste for 45 days in Vysarpadi. It took them 2 years to get it leveled, again due to lack of money and resources. Once the land was leveled, the next challenge was to build the tuition center. In 2017, they started a tuition center on the terrace of a friend’s house. That year they achieved 100 percent results. Everybody realized the importance of this center, restoring the faith in Vyasai Thozhargal. Finally, with the help of sponsors and contributors, the tuition center was completely built in 2019.
The entrance of the tuition centre
The tuition center has now evolved into the Dr. Ambedkar Paghutharivu Paadasalai (Dr. Ambedkar School of Rationalism), which goes beyond traditional education. It has expanded to teach Ambedkar’s ideology and rationalism and promote the values of liberty, equality, fraternity, and social justice among its students. The school emphasizes holistic development, offering arts like photography and journalism, which allow students to express themselves and address social issues. They also receive training in various sports such as Carrom, Kabaddi, Cricket, Boxing, and Silambam. This approach has helped the students gain awareness of their Dalit heritage and the history of social discrimination they face. The school fosters a spirit of resistance, empowering children who have been stereotyped by society based on their background, caste and space.
Activities inside the tuition centre.
(Image Credit: https://socratesjr2007.blogspot.com/2021/02/blog-post_21.html)
When we spoke to Sakthi, coordinator of Vyasai Thozhargal, he shared the experiences of being stereotyped and the discrimination they faced in educational institutions as, “We don’t want the children of our area to face the same and that is why we have chosen to educate them and make them aware”. He continues, “All of our inspiration was from Ambedkar. When we started reading about him, knowing about the struggles he underwent, we got inspired by his slogan ‘Educate, Agitate, Organise’. We can’t do all these three things together. So we started with educate. The reason being our experiences in educational institutions we studied in. There were a lot of stereotypes about Vyasarpadi students like they can have links to crime, theft etc due to the influence of movies. Because I was from Vyasarpadi, they thought I was a rowdy. I was never taken into a friend circle. Even the teachers called me Vyasarpadi while they called other kids by their names. Even Sharath, our founder, was told in his law college during the self-introduction session not to bring his Vyasarpadi ‘rowdyism’ to college. Nobody knows anything about us, our character, our talents. North Chennai is filled with skilled athletes, talented lawyers, engineers etc. But the world conveniently overlooks this and continues to negatively label us. We wanted to break all these stereotypes cast upon us.”
Sakthi, coordinator of Vyasai Thozhargal speaking to us in their office
Vyasai Thozhargal has taken several steps towards achieving this goal. One significant event that Sakthi recalls is the photo exhibition conducted by their students – “Our Streets, Our Stories”. It was conducted on the streets of Vyasarpadi. Sakthi proudly says, “We wanted our voices to be heard from our spaces. Because there is a big stereotype attached to North Chennai. We could have done this photo exhibition in a Mall, an art gallery, or anywhere. But we wanted to bring people to our place to experience our reality. The North Chennai you see in movies is not the real North Chennai. They can feel it only when they come and live this reality.” This exhibition, a story of their self-making and self-reliance, was widely appreciated and earned recognition throughout Chennai.
Women at work in Vyasarpadi
Cloth-drying at Vyasarpadi
Plants in tiny spaces of the houses in Vyasarpadi
Women at reconstruction work in Vyasarpadi
The essence of sui generis spoke to us on the streets of Vyasarpadi. We could see the women and children reconstructing their houses and pavements; clothes drying on the ropes tied between two buildings- a result of the cramped housing provided by the housing board. We could also see their big hearts making spaces for plants in the already tiny homes.
The story of Vyasarpadi tells us how society is inherently hierarchical and discriminatory towards the marginalized. Like Gopal Guru says, “The body of the Dalits is treated as if it is trapped in a septic tank even if it is a vibrant think tank.” The people of Vyasarpadi were considered so and attempts were made to invisibilize them. But they created their own visibility and presence by challenging the oppressive structures. They indeed proved that they are vibrant think tanks. Their story shows us that the marginalized do not have any way out but to rely on themselves. They are compelled to develop traits of self-sustenance. Yes, we can call this sui-generis, self-origin, self-made. But we should not forget that it is a “forced self-reliance”.
Acknowledgment: We would like to thank Sakthi, a member of Vyasai Thozhargal, for sharing his experiences and giving us deeper insights into Vyasarpadi and the activities of Vyasai Thozhargal.
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Sindu Deivanayagam is a research scholar at Christ(Deemed to be University), Bangalore. Her areas of interest include Urban Ecology, Eco-casteism, and Subaltern Urban Studies.
Apeksha Singegol is a research scholar at Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore. Her areas of interest include Caste and Dalit issues, the Sociology of Media and Popular Culture.
