Tamil Nadu: During temple festival, upper castes stopped Dalits from entering, said- ‘Make your own separate temple’

Dalits were prevented from entering a public temple under the HR&CE department; entry was allowed in the presence of police, upper caste women protested.

Published on: 24 Apr 2025, 1:45 pm

Namakkal, Tamil Nadu — Tension prevailed in Vishanam village in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday when some Dalit villagers were prevented from entering the temple during a temple festival. The incident took place when the annual festival was being held at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple.

The temple comes under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department under the state government. According to local sources, people from the Dalit community had expressed their desire to participate in the temple festival and go inside to worship. But some upper caste Hindu villagers opposed this and stopped them from entering the temple. It is being said that some people asked the Dalits to build their own separate temple.

Another incident that further agitated the atmosphere occurred before the start of the temple festival, when some unidentified persons uprooted the ‘Kambam’—which is believed to symbolise the beginning of the festival—and threw it into a nearby well.

Seeing the seriousness of the incident, the local administration and police reached the spot. The officials clarified that this temple is public and under the HR&CE department, so all Hindu communities have the right to enter and worship in it.

Despite this, some upper caste villagers continued to protest. To control the situation and prevent any violence, the police provided security to the Dalits and allowed them to enter the temple.

In protest against this, many women of the upper caste community gathered outside the temple and started protesting. They demanded that the temple be sealed and the police force be removed from there.

It is worth noting that earlier in September 2024, a similar incident had come to light in Tiruvallur district, when Dalits were denied entry into the Ettiyamman temple—which also comes under HR&CE. There was a dispute over the common path leading to the temple, due to which the temple had to be temporarily closed. Later, with the intervention of the administration, Dalits were allowed to enter the temple.

These repeated incidents have once again raised the question as to why caste discrimination still persists in religious places when temples are under government control and the Constitution gives equal rights to all.