The 57th anniversary of the horrific Kizhvenmani massacre was solemnly observed at the Venmani memorial in Nagapattinam district on Thursday. Leaders and cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) paid floral tributes to honour the memory of 44 Dalit agricultural labourers and their family members who were brutally burnt alive in 1968.
A Dark Chapter in Agrarian History
The tragic incident occurred when the labourers, demanding a rightful increase in their wages, were targeted by henchmen of powerful local landlords. This infamous event is widely regarded as a major flashpoint that galvanized left-wing political ideology in the agrarian villages of the region, which was then part of the Thanjavur district.
CPM's Political Demands and Alliances
Addressing the gathering on this solemn occasion, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam outlined the party's political strategy. He stated that the CPM would formally request the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to allocate a greater number of seats for the party to contest in the upcoming state assembly election. This demand is part of the negotiations within the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA).
"Every party would strive to contest in more constituencies, and so do we. All efforts will be taken to demand and contest in more segments than the last assembly election. Our political will is to defeat the BJP-AIADMK alliance," Shanmugam told reporters present at the memorial.
He bolstered his argument by pointing out the party's historical strength, noting that the CPM had previously contested alone in 22 assembly segments. Shanmugam emphasized that the party's influence extends across all parts of Tamil Nadu and is not confined only to the Cauvery delta districts.
Critique of Central and State Policies
The CPM leader also used the platform to criticize several government policies. He credited the national rural employment guarantee scheme, MGNREGA, as a direct outcome of the persistent struggles led by left-leaning parties. "Diluting the scheme, robbing the rural population of their jobs will raise poverty. The Union government should withdraw the modifications made to the scheme," he asserted.
Shanmugam further accused the BJP-led central government of hastily conducting the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls, an exercise he claimed led to the deletion of approximately 97 lakh voters in Tamil Nadu. He described this as a move that disenfranchised a large section of the populace.
Turning his attention to the state government, the CPM secretary urged the DMK administration to act swiftly in announcing compensation for farmers in the delta region who suffered significant crop losses during the recent samba and thaladi cultivation seasons.
The memorial event served as a poignant reminder of a historical injustice while simultaneously becoming a stage for contemporary political discourse, linking the struggles of the past with the electoral battles of the present.
