Tamil Nadu: Temple sealed after alleged upper castes bar Dalits from entering
The incident took place at the Sakthi Mariamman temple in Salem’s Virudasampatti, where Dalit devotees were prevented from entering a puja organized by alleged upper caste women in the temple. Even after persuasion by the officials, when they did not agree to allow the Dalits to enter the temple, the revenue officials sealed the temple.
BY The Wire Staff
New Delhi: Revenue officials in Tamil Nadu’s Salem on Sunday sealed the Sakthi Mariamman temple at Virudasampatti after alleged upper caste Hindus barred Dalits from entering it.
According to The Hindu’s report, the police said that the temple near Nangvalli comes under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Fund Department. A few months ago, the alleged upper caste Hindus got the temple renovated at a cost of Rs 60 lakh and the consecration ceremony was held.
Meanwhile, the Dalit families of the village were not allowed to worship in the temple, after which the revenue officials held talks with both the parties on October 31, 2022, after which the Dalits were allowed to enter the temple.
However, on Sunday evening when devotees from the Dalit community reached the temple to participate in the special puja on the 48th day of ‘Kumbhabhishekam’, they were stopped by upper caste Hindu women and were not allowed to enter the temple.
Tension arose after the incident. On receiving the information, the police reached the spot and accordingly, security has been increased to prevent any untoward incident. The revenue officials talked to the upper caste side, but they remained adamant on not allowing Dalits to enter the temple.
According to the newspaper, after this the revenue officials sealed the temple at around 7.30 pm. Police was deployed in the village as a precautionary measure.
Courtesy: The Wire
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