Dalit Ayyar on mission to abolish caste bias

Though one may mistake V K Ayyar for a brahmin going by his name, this 54-year-old candidate of Puthiya Tamilagam for Krishnarayapuram reserved constituency in Karur is a dalit. His father named him so to protest caste discrimination against dalits. PT is fighting the election as part of the DMK alliance.

"My father, an ardent communist, chose this name for me to cross community lines and as a step towards achieving communal equality among the people. Born in the devendra kula velallar community, I have no inhibition in bearing the name of another caste," said Ayyar.

He was born and raised in Mugavoor village near Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district to A Karuppiah and Velammal. His forefathers were natives of Kulithalai in Karur district and migrated to Mugavooor many years ago. Despite his rural background, he rose to the position of senior engineer in Chennai Petrochemicals in Chennai before quitting the job to join politics in May 2001 and working to bring about equality in society.

After completing his diploma in mechanical engineering in a private polytechnic college in Rajapalayam, he joined CPC as a technician. Bearing this name was not an easy task for him for many years. The name became a topic among everyone, including his friends and colleagues.

"When we applied for a community certificate for me, they posed several questions about the name. My father argued with them that a citizen has every right to choose his name. Eventually, we won. Several years later, I faced the same situation during my employment and I had a lot of explaining to do to convince them," said Ayyar.

The communist ideals sown by his father from childhood pushed him towards politics. "Don't eat without work, don't help from other's money and don't live without helping — it's a mantra of my father. He is the reason I joined politics," said Ayyar, whose wife M A Kavitha also supports his cause. The couple have a son, K A Stalin, and a daughter, K A Velvizhi. Initially, he was a member of CPM. He joined the Puthiya Tamilagam party led by K Krishnasamy because he felt that it is the right platform for him. The party fielded him in Nilakkottai constituency in 2001.