TN villagers demolish temple after protest by Dalits

VELLORE: A section of caste Hindus demolished a Kaliamman temple near Gemmankuppam village in KV Kuppam taluk last week, after Dalits of the village defied their decision to disallow Dalits from participating in the temple’s Aadi month festivities.

After a delay of more than a week, based on the Dalits’ complaint, KV Kuppam police have registered a case under the SC/ ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against one person from a caste Hindu community.

According to official sources, the FIR was filed on August 14 after the matter was discussed in detail during a recent law and order meeting chaired by the district collector.

The Dalits of the village, who roughly make up 50% of the population, stated the deity of the temple in question had primarily been worshipped by their community for many years. One member, S Naveen Kumar, who filed the police complaint, said that over time members of other castes began worshipping at the temple, but in recent years the Dalits have started facing discrimination.

According to sources, the deity had initially been enshrined in the open, on a piece of poramboke land located three kilometres away from the village. A few years ago, a small temple was built around the deity. The Dalits told this daily that they had contributed in cash and kind for the construction of the temple, a claim the caste Hindus contested. “We were not even invited for the consecration of the new structure,” Naveen Kumar alleged.

The caste Hindus of the village comprise of a mix of communities including Vanniyars, Yadavs, Chettiars and Naidus, sources said.