Kilvenmani massacre

Raised fist carried as part of the 2014 inauguration of the Keezhvenmani martyrs memorial
Part of a series on
Violence against Dalits in Tamil Nadu
Incidents
Related topics

The Kilvenmani massacre (or Keezhvenmani massacre) was an incident in Kizhavenmani village, Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state in India on 25 December 1968[1] in which a group of around 44 people, the families of striking Dalit village labourers, were murdered by a gang, allegedly led by their landlords.[2] The chief accused was Gopalakrishnan Naidu.[3]

It became a notable event in left wing political campaigns of the time and in Communist ideology. The incident helped to initiate large-scale changes in the local rural economy, engendering a massive redistribution of land in the region.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Farmers pay tribute to Kilvenmani victims". The Hindu. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. ^ Kathleen Gough (August 1974). "Indian Peasant Uprisings". Economic and Political Weekly. 9 (32/34). jstor.org: 1391–1412. JSTOR 4363915.
  3. ^ "Fifty years after caste violence, Keezhvenmani village waiting for daylight". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 May 2020.Meanwhile, at Irinjiur village in Anakkudi Panchayat, the family of Gopalakrishna Naidu, the landlord who allegedly orchestrated the massacre has sought police protection this year, considering this is the 50th anniversary of the incident.
  4. ^ "Anniversary of Keezhvenmani carnage observed". The Hindu. 26 December 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  5. ^ "New memorial to commemorate Keezhvenmani massacre". The Hindu. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.