Yet language alone cannot conceal the crisis. In 2025, inter-caste marriages have erupted into one of the state’s top electoral issues, competing with jobs and inflation for voter attention.
Tamil Nadu’s young population
According to the 2011 Census, those aged 5–9 (7.69%), 10–14 (8.56%) and 15–19 (8.67%) together formed a significant share of Tamil Nadu’s population. Today, this cohort—now in the 19–33 age group—makes up the generation most likely to fall in love, and often, the most vulnerable to caste-based opposition.
The past year has seen brutal reminders. The murder of Dalit techie Kavin Selvaganesh in Tirunelveli, allegedly at the hands of his girlfriend’s family, and the killing of Vidya in Tiruppur by her brother have dominated headlines.
Despite official government data showing just one honour killing in five years (2017–2022), rights groups and media reports presented to the Madras High Court claim 400 such murders occurred between 2018 and 2023.
CPI(M)’s K. Balakrishnan said: “Every 20 days, there is a report of honour killing in Tamil Nadu. One of the major reasons is the rallying of people in the name of castes and the glorification of certain castes. We need to organise all leftists, Dravidian movements, and even Ambedkarites in the fight against caste.”
Political standings
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, whose Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has long claimed the mantle of social justice, told the Assembly in 2024 that “handling the cases in a proper manner and bringing the accused before the law is a better solution than bringing in new legislation.”
After Kavin’s killing put the crime in the spotlight again, the party has avoided promising a new law. Leaders like Kanimozhi expressed grief while emphasising the need for law-and-order responses rather than systemic reform.
The DMK’s allies have been less restrained. Thol. Thirumavalavan of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) has demanded arrests of police officials allegedly involved, accused the BJP of stoking caste pride, and insisted on a dedicated anti-honour killing law. VCK has launched statewide protests to push for legislation.
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The Communist parties have been the loudest. CPI(M) state secretary P. Shanmugam declared that party offices would remain open for couples entering inter-caste or self-respect marriages—pointing to the absence of any state mechanism for such unions.
“There is no separate arrangement for inter-caste marriages in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, love marriages can be conducted in the offices of the Marxist Party across Tamil Nadu. The Marxist Party offices remain open for lovers.”
The AIADMK, led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami, seized the moment to attack Stalin’s “failure model government,” blaming it for rising caste murders and partisan policing. Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan accused the DMK of reducing social justice to “paper talk.”
BJP state president N Nagenjcharan condemned the killings but primarily blamed the DMK for administrative lapses. Senior leader H Raja argued that honour killings are “not rooted in Tamil culture” and accused critics of “playing a victimhood drama” to malign his party.
The Congress, meanwhile, has leaned on moral pressure within the DMK-led alliance. SC-wing leaders like Ranjan Kumar and spokesperson SM Hidayathulla openly demanded a special law: “Maybe in the past it was unnecessary, but right now it is a need… We need a separate law if such killings happen even in Periyar’s land.”
A history of “love politics”
Tamil Nadu has seen flirtations with the politics of romance before. In the run-up to the 2014 election, Kumar Sri Sri, a former make-up artist, floated the Indian Lovers Party (ILP) with the slogan of “politics of love” and an election symbol of a glass of strawberry ice cream. The party failed to make electoral gains but signalled that love and caste could be political fault lines.
A decade later, those fault lines are central to mainstream politics.
The caste calculus
The resistance to inter-caste marriages is not abstract: each region has its dominant caste group—Gounders in the west, Nadars in the south, Thevars in the central belt, Vanniyars in the north—all historically wary of their children marrying Dalits. Party loyalties mirror this geography: Gounders and Thevars lean AIADMK, Nadars are more open to the BJP, Vanniyars have the PMK, while Dalits remain VCK’s core base. The DMK and Congress rely on minorities and Left support to balance this equation.
It is here that actor-turned-politician Vijay, who appeals strongly to youth, could have reshaped the discourse. But despite public anger over Kavin’s murder, he has spoken little about honour killings.
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