‘Durayee’ may affect YSRCP’s prospect

Nellore: Will the age-old practice of ‘Durayee’ affect the chances of YSRCP candidates this time? The latest incident of the attack on the photo journalist of a Telugu newspaper by YSRCP activists on Sunday during the ‘Siddham’ public meeting addressed by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy seems to have caused anger among the fishermen community. The injured photographer belongs to fishermen community.

'Durayee’ is a method adopted by fishermen community which could make or mar the winning chances of any candidate. This is an age-old practice among this community for several centuries. Fishermen community sincerely believes that it is a system that has been gifted by the Almighty to the community. They say in the olden days the Durayee was being practiced to protect the sanctity of marital life of the fishermen community.

If anyone indulged in unlawful acts like extra marital relations with women of the same village or if they had cheated others in financial matters, the village head known as Pedda Kapu used to hear the arguments of both sides and announce the punishment. This was known as Durayee. The punishment used to be levying penalty sometimes in lakhs or death based on the intensity of the crime.

If the accused failed to pay the penalty then he would be socially boycotted and his family will not permitted even to get a pot of water from the village and in some cases they were even sent out from the village.

This practice has now undergone some changes. Interestingly electoral politics became part of Durayee since 1952. The community head discusses various pros and cons of the contesting candidates and issues a Durayee.

Chentigari Chengaiah (name changed) a Peda Kapu of a village in Kavali rural mandal told The Hans India once Durayee is given regarding their support to any candidate all would abide that and will cast their vote in favour of that particular candidate. Anyone violating the decision would be sent out of the village, he said.

The voters who fall under Durayee category are said to be around two lakhs in Kavali, Kovuru, Sulurupet and Guduru constituencies in the district.

As a result, all party leaders approach the fishermen and try to see that a Durayee is issued in their favour. YSRCP and TDP have been trying to woo these voters by helping them to construct temples, community halls, water tanks and give money for village development instead of distributing money and liquor to voters as they do in other parts.

Though the administration claims that they had been trying to educate the community to give up the practice as it was unconstitutional, so far there has been no significant impact. Interestingly, many from this community had even gone in for higher studies and are working as doctors, engineers, software engineers and are highly qualified persons but the system of Durayee still exists in the villages.