Daughter of Dalit activist P. K. Raman, Dhanya grew up in Kallar watching hordes of Dalit Adivasis and common men converging at her home every day to meet her father. She saw the tear-stricken faces as they recounted their problems, mostly related to land grab, cases of them being beaten up or raped or sometimes, killed. Perhaps those pain-filled voices and faces embedded in her mind and lit the fire of activism in her.
Years passed, but the condition of the Dalits and Adivasis remain the same. However, they have found a new crusader in Dhanya. The fearless young woman has been travelling to the inaccessible and ignored tribal hamlets in far-flung regions to create awareness among the people there. Dhanya has also been working with children who are victims of sexual abuse, child labour and teen pregnancy. She has registered several cases pertaining to land grab and sexual assault incidents. As a direct consequence of this, she has faced numerous threats and attacks.
With tribal women and children
She says, “Most of the State officials are very friendly and I have good relations with most of the higher-ups. The police support is always there and I am glad for that. I cannot keep quiet if I see a wrongdoing in front of my eyes I was attacked in 2012 when I was fighting a case for unwed mothers in which some prominent people were involved. Recently, in May, I was again assaulted by some unknown assailants when I filed a case against some land-grabbers. Obviously, the people who get arrested based on my complaints turn into my enemies. I know my life is always in danger, but that does not deter me!”
Dhanya has been actively voicing for the Dalit and Adivasi community across Kerala and education of children remains her top priority. There are 30,000 school dropouts among the tribes across Kerala. Her goal is to see that the children are educated by bringing dropouts back to school. Dhanya believes that only education can bring about a better quality of life to the community. She explains, “In six years, I have conducted awareness camps for 5,000 children and have covered 2,500 settlements from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram. The state officials have accompanied me to learn and see the problems faced by the community and steps have been taken to rectify those. Quality education is my priority and I want to open a civil services coaching centre for the children. Manoj Abraham IPS has given me books worth a lakh and a group of IPS and IAS officers are ready to teach the children, but I need a space for this and I am currently looking for that space!”
Dhanya at an outreach program
She also cares for destitute children or bright children who do not have the finances to study. Some of the very heartbreaking cases of child rape and teen pregnancy have shaken Dhanya to the core. She cites the examples of a recent case in Kasargod. “There was a 14-year-old partially blind child who was raped when her parents had gone for work. When I saw her, she was banging her head against the mud walls of her home and when I called out to her, she just looked at me and wiped blood-stained fingers across her face! It just broke my heart! The mental condition of rape victims is terrible; especially children, they tend to bottle everything inside and just fester,”she revealed
Dhanya mentions that it is society at large that needs to be sensitised. She also talks about young children being taken for manual labour to cities in Kerala. She recalls a case where she recovered a diary with 200 numbers from the home of a missing child and calling each number till she heard a frightened voice answer at the other end saying that she was confined as a servant in the home of an educated professional. Dhanya made the professional hand over the child the next day morning.
Dhanya happily says, “The child has now completed Class XII. These kids give me so much of unconditional, pure love that they feign illness just to see me!” By profession, Dhanya is into construction. “My husband is a civil engineer and I have some good people working for me. I don’t neglect my work and go to the sites; in fact, when I was eight months pregnant with my son, I climbed eight floors. So my profession is also important to me,” she concludes.
