Worshipping in some TN temples still a mirage for dalits
CHENNAI: Several years ago, Mahatma Gandhi took a new avatar in Madurai in south Tamil Nadu by shedding much of his clothes to emerge as the ‘half-naked-fakir’ and identify with peasants, ushering in a new era in the country’s freedom struggle. But not many knew that the Father of the Nation had refused to worship at the famous Meenakshi Amman temple during one of his visits to the temple city, as it had shut its doors to the depressed classes.A few years later, in 1946, he stepped into the renowned temple after the administration in the Madras Presidency enacted a law lifting the blanket ban on dalits entering temples. Unfortunately, the centuries-old regressive practice of untouchability is still evident in the state’s rural backyard.
But, there’s been an upsurge in recent months, with dalits across Tamil Nadu reasserting themselves and demanding their rights. While activists call it a reawakening, political leaders say it is a political reassertion.
Dalits in the nondescript Pazhankallimedu village in Nagapattinam district, 370km from Chennai, in coastal Tamil Nadu have threatened to embrace Islam as a mark of protest against Pillaimars, an OBC group higher up in the caste hierarchy, who are refusing them an opportunity to host the traditional ritual at Sri Bhadrakali Amman temple.
According to dalits, the legitimate right to participate in ‘Mandagapadi’ ritual (an annual festival observed in August) has been denied to them, triggering a battle for right to equality inside the temple.
“Both the communities are Hindus and why one section in the same religion is denied a right, which is enjoyed by others. This question forced us to think about converting to Islam. Six persons are prepared to change their faith, though it will happen only if all the windows for establishing our rights to be part of the rituals are shut,” says K Tamil Selvam, a dalit from Pazhankallimedu village.
“Our struggle for rights has inspired neighbouring villages, where Scheduled Caste people are facing similar problems,” he claims.
Peace talks held recently involving the dalits, the pillaimars, the district administration and the local minister failed to break the deadlock. “There is no solution to the problem even after the intervention of the court. And to top it all, the district administration too abandoned the festival for the first time,” Selvam says.
Pazhankallimedu is just one instance. Similar agitations were reported in a few more hamlets in the state, including some in caste sensitive Cuddalore and Karur districts. Interestingly, Scheduled Caste members of Lingathuparai village in Karur district claimed that their rights over a temple were restored, after they said they would change faiths.
“The village temple belongs to dalits and there was an attempt by migrant non-dalits to grab it from our control. But, our protests and assertion that we would embrace another religion helped us win back our rights,” says Lingathuparai resident Vettriselvan.
Dalits and non-dalits participate in a peace committee meeting to break the deadlock in talks over denial of rights for dalits to host the traditional ritual of ‘Mandagapadi’ (an annual festival celebrated in the month of August) at Sri Bhadrakali Amman temple in Pazhankallimedu village of Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu recently.
While the above instances were agitations pertaining to denial of rights for specific rituals as dalits were not barred from entering temples, Tamil Nadu witnessed several temple entry agitations, as well. For instance, the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, affiliated to CPM has conducted 52 temple-entry agitations from 2008 to 2016.
President of the front P Sampath says the agitations helping dalits assert their rights in temple worship have been on the rise. “This is because there is a growing awareness among dalits about of their rights and a growing intolerance against discrimination. The recent agitations are a reflection of this upsurge,” he points out.
D Ravi Kumar, general secretary of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, a dalit political outfit, says, “It is an issue concerning all dalits, as it affects their collective consciousness. Henceforth, people hailing from dalit communities in a particular village must come together to fight for the cause cutting across political lines.”
In fact, Tamil Nadu is one of the pioneers in the country enabling dalits access to temples. The Madras Presidency assembly was the first in the pre-Independence era that took efforts to end the centuries-old practice of barring people from oppressed classes from entering temples after freedom fighter A Vaidyanatha Iyer led four dalits into Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai on July 8, 1939.
About 15 years before Vaidyanatha Iyer’s campaign, Tamil Nadu had witnessed several temple-entry movements. The agitations were organised by the followers of rationalist leader Periyar E V Ramasamy during the mid-1920s.
Social scientists attribute dalit agitations to the successful movement spearheaded by rationalist leader and Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar, who fought for eradication of castes. R Manivannan, professor and head of department of politics and public administration, University of Madras, observes that civil right groups and political parties in Tamil Nadu come in support of dalits over such issues, unlike in states like Uttar Pradesh, where protests by different communities are generally backed by their affiliated political parties. “This is because of the influence of Periyar in Tamil Nadu,” he notes.
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