: The current ban on the annual Aadi festival of Sri Badrakaliamman Temple at Kallimedu by the Nagapattinam district administration and the sealing of the Ayyanar temple in Ariyalur have brought to focus the discrimination faced by Dalits in temples run by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department and private temples.
The Nagapattinam district administration was forced to intervene because Dalits in the village threatened to convert to Islam if they were not allowed to hold mandagapadi during the festival. As it was not able succeed in finding a solution, the administration banned the festival.
Ironically, even 77 years after the Temple Entry Authorisation and Indemnity Act 1939 was enacted by the Government headed by Rajaji, in many areas, Dalits are yet to find a role in temple rituals and are not allowed to pull the car or carry the deities.
It is best exemplified by the car festival of Sri Swarnamurtheeswarar Temple, popularly known as Kandadevi Temple, which stands cancelled for the last 10 years over the issue of allowing Dalits to draw the temple car. However, officials claim the car is still under repair.
‘Not just a Dalit issue’
“There are a lot of judgments in favour of Dalits both in private and HR&CE Department-run temples. But governments led by both the DMK and the AIADMK did not bother to implement them. They always take a stand in support of caste Hindus,” alleged P. Sampath, president of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front. He said it could not be viewed merely as a Dalit issue, but a democratic and human rights issue. “It is a manifestation of oppression by the caste Hindus. Progressive and democratic forces in other communities should come together to fight the oppression,” said Mr. Sampath, while rejecting the idea of religious conversion as a way out.
“Casteism is prevalent in other religions also. Let us abolish oppression. There are stringent legislations that can be invoked to secure Dalits their rights. But the caste-minded government machinery is not ready to implement them,” charged Mr. Sampath.
While its critics blame the Dravidian movement and its descendents for the present state of affairs, K. Thirunavukkarasu, historian of the movement, said a 2,000-year-old mindset could not be changed in 100 years.
“We should keep in mind that the movement against casteism gathered momentum only by 18th century and the Dravidian movement made many strides in social reforms,” he said.
Mr. Thirunavukkarasu also did not favour conversion to other religions, saying that in India, other religions too could not eradicate casteism.
Pointing out that the propaganda of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy was not adequately implemented in Tamil Nadu, V. Arasu, former head of the department of Tamil of the University of Madras, said caste as an institution would always find a way to entrench itself firmly in the society, one way or the other.
“Even well-educated and progressive people will not hesitate to identify themselves with casteism even if it remotely benefits them,” contended Dr. Arasu.
‘Caste-minded government machinery is not ready to implement stringent legislation’
