Violent clash erupts over temple entry for Dalits in Tamil Nadu ‘minutes after peace meeting’

Members of two caste groups pelted stones & four shops were set ablaze after tensions over a Dalit community’s demand to enter the Mariamman temple in Salem district’s Deevattipatti.

PRABHAKAR THAMILARASU

Chennai: A violent clash erupted in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district Thursday, with members of two caste groups hurling stones at each other and four shops being set on fire. The dispute centres on the Dalit Adi Dravidar community’s ongoing demand to enter the Mariamman temple in Deevattipatti, which the Vanniyar community allegedly opposes.

The violence came shortly after the police and revenue departments convened a ‘peace committee’ meeting between the Vanniayars, a Most Backward Community and Adi Dravidars, a Scheduled Caste, in Deevattipatti. According to Salem rural police, the meeting concluded “peacefully”, although it did not result in a resolution.

A press release from the Salem district police stated that the peace meeting was necessitated after a clash between the two caste groups occurred on the night of 1 May regarding the Mariamman temple festival in Deevattipatti.

“Representatives from both the caste groups demanded a day’s time to discuss the issue among their caste group people. They peacefully went out of the meeting hall,” an officer with the Salem rural police told ThePrint. “However, after a few minutes, the Scheduled Caste people staged a road roko protest on the Salem-Bengaluru highway, demanding to be allowed inside the temple during the festival.”

The officer added that the matter quickly spiralled. “Soon, Vanniyar caste people gathered on the opposite side of the road and started pelting stones at the Scheduled Caste people,” he said.

Videos circulating on the WhatsApp groups of caste groups showed both sides pelting stones at each other in front of police officers.

“As it was just a peace committee meeting, we did not anticipate any violence,” the police officer said. “This issue isn’t new either. A similar issue cropped up last year as well, but it was resolved amicably then.”

Escalation of violence, arrests

After the clash, supporters from both sides set fire to shops along the Salem-Bengaluru national highway, damaging parked two-wheelers and other vehicles. Police rushed to the scene to disperse the crowd with a lathi-charge and arrested nearly three dozen people.

Salem Range Inspector General ES Uma and Superintendent of Police AK Arun Kabilan also arrived at the location and deployed over 100 police personnel to restore peace in the area.

“As many as 31 people from both sides have been arrested in connection with the violence,” Kabilan told ThePrint. “We are in the process of collecting video evidence in connection with the incident. Based on the evidence, we will arrest all the people who were involved in the violence. If any innocents were arrested in the middle of the violence, they will be let off after verifying with the video evidence.”

Meanwhile, the temple festival has been suspended temporarily.

The Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Authorisation Act of 1947 guarantees the right of all Hindu castes and classes to enter and worship in Hindu temples. Despite this, several incidents of members of Scheduled Caste communities being barred from entering temples have been reported over the last several months.

Courtesy : The Print

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