Two weeks back, 21-year-old Ashwini, who belongs to the Narikurava community, was denied dignity after she was not allowed to have food along with others at a temple in Mamallapuram, 50 km from here.
On Thursday, as the country celebrated Deepavali with much fervour, Ashwini had a special guest at her modest dwelling to “return the dignity” – it was none other than Chief Minister M K Stalin. The Chief Minister distributed land Patta and other documents to those living in the settlement and posed for selfies with them.
“The role of the Dravidian Movement is to protect every single person from the downtrodden with self-respect and social justice. What was denied for Ashwini is dignity and respect not food. Being in power is a great chance for me to give back her dignity,” Stalin tweeted.
Ashwini, in the past two weeks, has emerged as the face of the struggles faced by members of the Narikurava community and other tribes, and has hit out at the temple authorities and the society at large for “treating them without dignity.”
The video, in which Ashwini passionately batted for access to education for their children, went viral following which Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Minister P K Sekar Babu and Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran had lunch with her at the same temple.
The meeting led to an inspection of their settlement by Chengalpattu District Collector A R Rahul Nadh during which Ashwini and members of her community complained that they do not have land pattas, ration cards, and other identity documents.
On Thursday, Stalin drove to Poonjeri village and spent an hour with the members of the Narikurava community. The Chief Minister distributed land Patta and other documents to those living in the settlement and posed for selfies with them.
After distributing the certificates and documents, Stalin visited Ashwini’s house and interacted with her. Videos of Stalin visiting a few houses in the settlement went viral on social media with many praising his decision to spend Deepavali with the downtrodden.
Stalin also announced that such welfare measures will be extended to members of the community across the state over the next two weeks. At the event, Ashwini assumed the centre stage as she was asked to speak about the problems faced by the community.
“It would take generations for us to see what is happening today. We never thought the Chief Minister would come here and hand over certificates and documents to us. We are indebted to him forever,” Ashwini said at the event.
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