A beaming young woman in a black and gold outfit hands out small statues of Buddha at the launch of her salon. Felicitating this launch event are A Kathir, the founder-director of Evidence, the Madurai-based organisation fighting for Dalit and tribal rights and actor Parvathy Thiruvothu. This salon, called Zha, set up in Vellalore, on the outskirts of Coimbatore city, is an extraordinary accomplishment. Zha belongs to Kowsalya, a name no one in Tamil Nadu can forget. Nor will the name V Shankar fade from the state’s memory.
On March 13 of 2016, in Udumalpet in Tiruppur district, V Shankar, a Dalit man and his wife Kowsalya were brutally attacked in broad day light. While Shankar succumbed to his injuries on the spot, Kowsalya survived despite her wounds. Shankar’s murderers were hired by Kowsalya’s family who belong to the Kallar community, a part of the powerful Thevar caste-cluster. It was a killing in the name of caste-pride. After Shankar’s death, Kowsalya fought a legal battle to bring her husband’s killers, including her own family, to justice.
She has since become an anti-caste activist and one of the foremost voices in the state demanding a special legislature against ‘honour’ killings. In 2019, Kowsalya had a self-respect marriage with Sakthi, a parai artist, at the Coimbatore office of the Thandhai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam. She also took-up training in playing the parai, a percussion instrument that has become an anti-caste symbol in Tamil Nadu. While Sakthi is currently performing in the USA, his parents were present at the launch event.
In keeping with that ideology, Zha was launched to the beating of parai drums by the troupe Nimirvu Kalaiyagam. Speaking at the event, Kowsalya said, “I resigned from my job since working as an anti-caste activist was important to me. I could not do it while I was in a government job. With this salon, I also help other women who are victims like me.”
In 2019, Kowsalya was suspended from a clerical job at the Wellington Cantonment Board, a posting she was given by the Union government as compensatory employment. The suspension was in response to her activism and critique on caste issues in India. The Hindu had quoted a government official as saying that the suspension order had been issued for her “...criticism of India and the government. Seeing that she has disrespected her own country, we think it appropriate that she be removed permanently from her job.” Though the suspension was later revoked, Kowsalya herself quit the job feeling that it was quelling her activism.
When asked why she had invited Parvathy, though there were many Tamil stars, Kowsalya said that she admired Parvathy for taking a public stand on many issues, which celebrities often desist from doing.
L to R: 'Evidence' Kathir, Kowsalya and actor Parvathy Thiruvothu at the launch of Zha. Image courtesy: Arun Veer Studio
Image courtesy: Arun Veer Studio
At the event, actor Parvathy said, “I have come here for the sake of Kowsalya and many women like her. All women have the right to love and the right to choose how they live their lives, but there are people who seek to rob them of these rights. Kowsalya has kept up a sustained fight against such people. She has been fighting to occupy a space of her own.”
Speaking to TNM, A Kathir, who was also present at the launch event said, “I see this as a realisation of Dr Ambedkar’s dream for economic diversity. He believed that businesses should not remain in the hands of only a few. Today, Kowsalya has traversed from political justice towards economic justice. I see that reflected also in her gifts of Buddha’s statues to the guests. Kowsalya says that she intends to use the profits from her salon to support her social justice work, and I hope the very best for her.”
Kathir, who is also leading the Dalit Human Rights Network, an anti-caste coalition from across India, has been a key-player in drafting a bill to bring in a special law against ‘honour’ killings in the name of caste, religion, gender, sexuality and class.
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