A 16-year-old dalit girl from Madurai was found hanging at her home on Aug 25, a day after a headmistress ordered her out of school for tapping down her mother’s folded hands while she was seeking admission there.
Madurai:: A 16-year-old dalit girl from Madurai was found hanging at her home on Aug 25, a day after a headmistress ordered her out of school for tapping down her mother’s folded hands while she was seeking admission there. The school sought Rs5,000, which Thavamani could not pay immediately, according to the police FIR. Because she wanted to pursue the nursing group, she attended the first group there for 20 days but discontinued.
Her mother P Thavamani told police that her daughter P Nijanthi was deeply distressed after Vimala, headmistress of Government Model Higher Secondary School in Usilampatti, who belongs to a dominant caste, rebuked her over the gesture. Thavamani, from Ambedkar Nagar, said Nijanthi completed Class X at Thottappanayakkanur before joining a nearby govt school in Poochipatti. She accused her of arrogance and claimed such behaviour may have led to her leaving the earlier school, the FIR said. The humiliation left her distressed,” said Selvam, a relative of the girl.
She remained home for a month. Later, Thavamani took her to TELC Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Usilampatti, where they submitted an admission form. So, they approached Government Model Higher Secondary School in Usilampatti. As Thavamani listened with her hands folded, Nijanthi tapped them down. The model school headmistress allegedly questioned the teenager over her action. “She made a casteist remark, asking, ‘Why can’t people like you keep your hands folded? She then berated the child and ordered her out.