Neyyatinkara: The fertile ground of sub-castes

NEYYATINKARA: In a complex caste mosaic such as Neyyatinkara, even a small chip can turn the tables if it is engaged in a fierce triangular battle. The caste structure can baffle those who enter the constituency and the proximity to Tamil Nadu makes it rich with many castes and cultures different from other parts of the district.Incidentally Aruvippuram, the cradle of Kerala’s renaissance, where Sree Narayana Guru started a revolution by consecrating an idol which he had called ‘Ezhava Shiva’ two centuries back, lies  close to Neyyatinkra town, though out of the constituency.Hence, we come across sub-castes within communities such as Ezhava Christians and Viswakarama Christians.   “There are 32 sub-castes under the Latin Church and the prominent six among them are in the constituency,” says G Sahayadas, Kerala Latin Catholic Association (KLCA )general Secretary. “Nadars, fishermen, Ezhavas and Dalits, including Sambava and Cheramar, form the Latin Church. There are many believers who follow their traditions prescribed by the St Antony’s church at Kamukinkod in Athiyannoor panchayat.     Though they are Christians, they stick to their Ezhava roots in many things, including marriage,” he says. So, the routine permutations and combinations have to take a back seat if you count on the number of men and women from various communities as it can be overlapped in several circles.   There can be many issues within these sections. “Fishermen from the community are eligible for the reservation for the socially and educationally-backward Latin Catholics. But as all these castes come under one umbrella, a certificate from the Latin Church can make anyone belong to that caste after the government issued an order on April 4, just before the announcement of the byelection in Neyyatinkara,” said James Fernandez, president of Latheen Katholikka Aikya Vedi.    “We will cast our vote against the UDF as this makes us more vulnerable and we lose the rights for education and job,” he said. The recent tragedies that happened to fishermen and the shortage of kerosene also turn them against the State Government.   The Muslim voters, who come around 10,000, are clearly a divided lot between the two fronts. One may get perplexed on hearing the number of votes claimed by various castes because it will be almost double the total electorate for a sensible calculation.    The Tamil linguistic minority is another factor, when we count various groups. Many organisations such as Pencostal Churches, Velars, Padmasaliya, Vellala and many others, which have some pockets of strength, have announced their stand in the election. All of them have reason to like or dislike the State Government. But some of them have come out  against terming the whole exercise as ‘caste politics’.Nadar Coordination Council wants the verdict of the election should be against the caste politics. But you have no marks for guessing their political leaning. The council backs the UDF candidate.  The number of votes of these sub-groups may range from 2,000 to 7,000, but all the votes count here, as the battle is so close, so near.