Tamil Nadu Timeline

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Kodiyankulam police raid

· Kodiyankulam

About 600 policemen raided the Dalit village of Kodiyankulam in Thoothukudi district, destroying property amid caste clashes in southern Tamil Nadu.

Caste tensions between Dalits and Thevars spread across southern Tamil Nadu in mid-1995 after a quarrel in July. On 31 August 1995 a force of about 600 police personnel raided Kodiyankulam, a relatively prosperous all-Dalit village in Thoothukudi district. Houses, vehicles and belongings were destroyed and cash and jewellery were taken. The raid was widely condemned by Dalit and human rights groups, and the state appointed the Gomathinayagam Commission of inquiry into the caste clashes.

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