SC residents of Tindivanam village allege discrimination in temple
The Hindu
Petition submitted to the Chief Minister, the Home secretary, the DGP and the district administration
Around 500 Scheduled Caste residents of Vizhukkam village, near Tindivanam, allege that they have been threatened not to enter the Selliamman Koil in the village by members of the dominant backward caste community. The SC community members demanded that those belonging to the non-Dalit communities, who are preventing them from entering the temple, should be booked under the Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act. In a petition submitted by a resident named Irusammal, addressed to the Chief Minister, the Home secretary, the DGP and the district administration on June 7, she said it had been a tradition for the community to worship in the temple and offer cloth, flowers and fruits to the deity during festivals. “In the last three years, the temple festival did not take place as it was being renovated. The Scheduled Caste people collectively gave ₹1,00,000 to a person who is an administrator in the temple. However, former panchayat president Annamalai refused to accept the donation to the temple and the kumbhabhishekam was performed on April 29, without any information to the people in the colony,” the petition claimed.More Related News