Govt Seals TN Temple as Dalit Caste-Hindu Groups Spar Over Entry

This comes a week after 250 Dalit families living in Nagapattinam district threatened to convert to Islam.

A tense situation prevails at Silampur near Jayankondam in Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district over differences between two communities over offering prayers at a local temple. The controversy has prompted Deena Kumari, revenue divisional officer of Udayarpalayam, to promulgate a police prohibitory order to avoid any unwarranted trouble on Sunday.

Police said that though the dispute between the two communities was pending before a competent court, following the representation by both the communities, the Ariyalur collector ordered the RDO Udayarpalayam to sort out the issue amicably.

Following this, the RDO, Udayarpalayam, officials of the HR & CE department and others went to the temple on Saturday and opened the temple for worship.

While a section of one community offered their prayers, the other group also entered the temple and began offering prayers.

Police warned a few people in the second group when they attempted to take pictures of the event. They were asked to leave the premises. The HR & CE department officials then closed and sealed the temple to avoid any fresh troubles, police added.

Last week, 250 Dalit families living in the Pazhangkallimedu and Nagapalli villages in Nagapattinam district recently threatened to convert to Islam, frustrated by their exclusion from a festival of the deity Bhadra Kaliamman. Although caste Hindu authorities have subsequently agreed to allow them a day to celebrate their deity, the Dalit families still seem apprehensive about how far the agreement will hold.

The main demand of the Dalits is to perform Mandagapadi, that is, to lead the rituals on one day in the five-day annual temple festival.

Bhadra Kaliamman is our deity, whom we have been worshipping for generations. But now, we are not left with any other way than to convert to Islam.

Senthil Kumar, District Union Secretary, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK)

Earlier, in 2015, Dalit families approached the Nagapattinam court because the procession of the deity would not enter their streets. The court ordered the procession of the deity to pass through Dalit areas, but caste Hindus did not follow court orders.