Murder of tribal youth: Lynching stuns Kerala

The mob-lynching of tribal youth Madhu in Attappadi triggered a wave of protests across Kerala with individuals and organisations demanding justice for the youth and that the government make a realistic assessment of the tribal life in the state. The protestors pointed out that the incident is a dangerous signal of growing intolerance and violence towards marginalised sections of society. A large crowd gathered at Agaly in the morning and stopped the vehicle in which the body was being taken to thrissur for post-mortem. The protestors insisted that the body may be taken only after the police arrested all the accused in the case. They, however, relented after talks with senior civil and police officials.   

Various groups organised protest march in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday against the lynching. Various adivasi, dalit and human right activists assembled in front of the secretariat for registering their protest. Manaveeyam Theruvidam, a collective of cultural activists, also took out a protest march. ABVP Activists took out an agitation with a coffin in front of the secretariat. Hundreds of social activists cutting across political and ideological spectrum joined together to stage a march in Kochi on Friday protesting against the killing of Madhu. The protest started from the High Court Jn went up to Boat Jn before returning to the High Court Jn for a public meeting. Dalit writers K.K. Kochu, K.M. Salimkumar, C.S. Murali, Jankeeya Manushyavakasa Prasthanam president C.P. Rasheed, green activist Purushan Eloor, poet Ajit Pachanadan, actor-cum activist Jolly Chirayath, Suja Bharathy and several others attended the protest march and public meeting.

A group of activists belonging to Welfare Party of India also staged protest before the High Court junction. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also joined the protesters, calling it a “heinous act”. He also instructed the state police chief to speed up the probe and take strict action in the case. In a Facebook post, the Chief Minister it is a blot on Kerala’s progressive society. “But I want to assure you that strict action will be taken at the earliest against all the culprits to ensure that such crimes, especially against people from communities that were long marginalised, are not repeated.” The chief minister said Kerala as a whole should stay extremely vigilant to ensure that “we continue to remain and progress as a caring, cosmopolitan society.”

The death set the social media on fire with most commentators questioning Kerala’s right to call itself a civilised society. Muralee Thummarukudy, a senior UN official with thousands of followers, said he is relieved that the typical argumentative Malayali has not surfaced justifying the killing. “The protests on the social media, however, are tinted with hypocrisy,” Mr Thummarukudy said in his post. “We do not figure in the video of that murderous gang not because we are better than them but because we were not around. We also know that this show of revulsion will last only when the next issue surfaces.”