The wheels of temple revolution in Kerala is rolling ahead with nearly 10 more Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members soon to get appointment as priests in temples. Nearly 50 Other Backward Caste members will also get appointed in Kerala temples shortly.
After the landmark recruitment of six Dalits to Travancore Devaswom Board, the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board (KDRB) will soon initiate the recruitment process in Cochin Devaswom and Guruvayoor Devaswom Boards too where more Dalits will become priests.
Quota system to be followed
M. Rajagopalan Nair, chairman, KDRB of the Board, said the 32 per cent caste reservation policy would be strictly followed in the appointment and as many as 10 priests belonging to SC/ST communities and 50 OBC community members would get the appointment in temples in the next turn.
There were over 150 vacancies of priests in temples of Kochi Devaswom Board and another 30 in Guruvayur Devaswom and the reservation policy would be applied here, he said.
The recruitment of six youths, who belonged to the earlier socially outcast communities, had kicked up a storm in the social sector of the State as their forefathers were even denied the right to walk through the public roads and worship in temples.
The six Dalits who have been selected include P.R. Yadukrishna, a Pulaya community member, P.S. Sumesh, G. Jeevan, and M.K. Pradeepkumar (Pulaya) and P.C. Manoj (Vettuva).
Incidentally, it was the Temple Entry Proclamation issued in 1936 that lifted the ban on Avarnna Hindus (low caste Hindus) including the Dalits from entering the temples of the erstwhile princely State of Travancore.
Eight decades after the proclamation, the decision of the Board, supported by the State government, would empower the Dalits to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temples and perform the pujas.
Besides the members of the KDRB, expert thanthris from various Hindu communities including Brahmins were part of the interview board that picked the priests, who would be appointed on part-time basis.
The expert priests included Pullamazhi Devan Sanal Narayanan, Balamurali, secretary of the Thanthra Vidya Peetam, Aluva, Paravur Rakesh Thanthri, Tharanalloor Sasi Nampoothiri, Kuzhikkat Vasudevan Bhattathiri and Neelakandan Potti.
A decision on the recruitment to Malabar Devasom would be taken shortly, Mr. Rajagopalan Nair said.
Mr. Prayar Gopalakrishnan, president, Travancore Devaswom Board, said the joining memos for the selected priests were issued. The Board had earlier appointed Raju Thanthri, a non-Brahmin priest in Vaikom temple one year ago. The credit for the historic initiative should go to the Board as the notification for recruitment came from the agency, he said.
The selection of the non-Brahmin priest, an original initiative of the Board, should be viewed as an attempt towards Hindu unity in Kerala, he said.
