Around 3000 Dalits from Coimbatore’s Nadur and members of Tamil Puligal Katchi, a Dalit political outfit, have announced that they would be converting to Islam over government inaction on Nadur wall collapse.

The party took the decision at a state-level meeting in Mettupalayam, Coimbatore. The members will be converting to Islam in multiple phases from January 5.

On December 2, a 20-feet high compound wall had collapsed on a row of houses in Nadur village, Mettupalayam, killing 17. The police had arrested Sivasubramanian, who had built the ‘caste wall’ without adequate safety measures to separate his residence from that of the Dalits.

“Sivasubramanian constructed the wall with a discriminatory motive. There were no pillars to support it. He built the wall in order to separate his house from those of the Dalits who lived nearby,” M Ilavenil, General Secretary of Tamil Puligal Katchi, was quoted in The New Indian Express.

“Citing the discrimination, we have been demanding officials to alter the case registered on Sivasubramanian and book him under the SC/ST act. But the State government has not altered the case so far,” he added.

The outfit’s decision came after Sivasubramanian was released on bail. In addition, Nagai Thiruvalluvan, the outfit’s president, who was amongst those who protested against the discrimination, continues to be detained in Coimbatore prison.

“The person responsible for the tragedy was released on bail within 20 days of his arrest. But Thiruvalluvan who protested in a democratic way seeking justice has been detained in Coimbatore prison. It exhibits the inequality in the religion,” said Ilavenil.

A similar mass conversion had occurred in the state in 1981 when 200 families from the Scheduled Caste converted to Islam in the village of Meenakshipuram in Tirunelveli district due to discrimination and caste violence.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu: Father Donates Eyes Of Children Who Died In Mettupalayam Wall Collapse