After years of oppression, dalits set foot inside temple

TIRUVANNAMALAI: Sudhakar, a 32-year-old dalit of Nammandi Colony, trod a new path on Tuesday.
After years of being denied entry to the Arulmigu Thulukanathamman temple, just a few yards from their dwelling place, 60 dalits of Nammandi Colony entered the temple with revenue officials. The vanniyars of Hariharapakkam, where the temple is located, had been preventing the dalits from entering the place of worship for decades.
As the temple doors opened, it was an occasion of joy for the dalits and one of fury for the vanniyars.Sudhakar stood in rapt attention, as he felt he was seeing something that had been forbidden for his father and grandfather. "I have no words to explain how I feel. It is a divine experience," he said.
For Dass, an autorickshaw driver, this was like the festival of harvest. "Pongal is months away but today is Pongal for me. We have not been allowed to enter the temple for several decades. Why, even my grandfather has not stepped inside this temple, and I never thought I would," he said.
But the momentous occasion did not come easy. It was the result of seeds sown by a group of youngsters - Sudhakar, Aruldass, Pandiyaraj, Prakash, Karthick and Parthiban - of the colony. Unable to withstand the ostracism, the youngsters appealed to the district administration to take steps to put an end to the practice three months ago. After a series of peace talks, the administration closed the temple two months ago.
On their part, however, the vanniyars were in no mood to give in and they locked the temple.
T Prabhu Shankar, sub-collector of Cheyyar, then made arrangements to take the dalits inside the temple. The officials broke open the lock. A few days ago, the revenue officials brought the vanniyars under a bond to prevent them from obstructing the entry of dalits.
"We gave them a chance to settle the issue amicably but the vanniyars failed to give in. So, we decided to take the dalits inside the temple," the sub-collector said.
For people like 62-year-old K Shanmugam, this was possible only because of the efforts of the youngsters. A police team will stay put in the village for nearly a week to ensure that law and order is maintained, the sub-collector added.