After years of discrimination, 50 Dalits allowed to enter, pray at Madurai temple

The Dalit families were allowed to enter the temple and offer prayers after an order by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.

Setting aside years of discrimination, around 50 Dalits from a village in Madurai, Tamil Nadu were allowed to enter the local temple and offer prayers. Members of the community stepped inside the premises of the Pekkaman Karuppasamy temple at Anaiyur Kokkulam in Thirumangalam taluk and offered prayers amidst heavy police deployment. Except for a few, the temple had been out of bounds to the Paraiyar community of Dalits. The Piramalai Kallars, a non-Dalit community, is said to have been the reason why the Paraiyars were denied access to the temple.