[5][6] The incident forced the DMK government led by M. Karunanidhi to create a Most backward class (MBC) quota with 108 castes, including Vanniyars which granted them 20 per cent reservation in education and employment in 1989.
[7] They mostly work as agricultural labourers and are concentrated in the northern Tamil Nadu towns of Cuddalore, Vellore, Tiruvallur, Ranipet, Chengalpet, Villupuram and Kancheepuram where they make up a sizable vote bank.
Vanniyars attempted to establish their status and identity by fusing actual history with mythology and claimed to be the AgniKula (fire race), kshatriyas, and the Pallava dynasty's descendants.
[7] The communities caste organizations began taking economic concerns in order to help the group move up the social ladder.
[7] The majority of individuals from both the Vanniyar and Dalit communities are poor laborer who compete for employment opportunities, which frequently resulted in clashes between them.
According to R Vidyasagar, when multiple castes are grouped together in the list of backward castes, existing social and economic imbalances amongst those backward class allow some influencing groups to take away a large share of the benefits, and the Vanniyar's demand for exclusive reservation proportionate to their population must be seen in this context.
They littered pieces of glass over roads and rolled huge rocks across them, creating holes in important roadways.
[11] Thousands of cadres of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) who were returning to their home after the inauguration of Anna Arivalayam (a temple of Knowledge dedicated to C.N.
[3] State officials issued “shoot on sight” orders, allowing officers to open fire on anybody found destroying public property or assisting the roko.
Following the late-night burning of a milk truck in Chennai's Ambattur, security precautions were expanded to vehicles carrying food grains and essential supplies.
During the protest, limited road traffic combined with increased security threats resulted in acute shortages of basic commodities within Chennai.
[13] The incident forced the DMK government led by M. Karunanidhi to create a Most backward class (MBC) quota with 108 castes, including Vanniyars which granted them 20 per cent reservation in education and employment in 1989.
[14][15] The Pattali Makkal Katchi marked September 17 as Veera Vanakka Naal every year to honour the members who died in the demonstrations.