After decades of purported restriction imposed by persons of intermediate castes, Dalits of Rajavoor village in Madathukulam taluk of Tiruppur district reportedly offered worship at the Rajakaliamman Temple, administered by the HR&CE Department, in the Myvadi Panchayat hamlet on Sunday.
However, officials of the Revenue and the Police Departments maintain that discrimination ceased to exist three decades ago, and claim that all community members offered joint worship at the temple on Saturday in their presence, when they had visited the place. On Sunday, about 60 Dalits belonging to the Arundathiar sub-caste led by Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front members proceeded to the temple to offer worship. Discrimination against Dalits in the hamlet also reflected in the form of two-tumbler practice in a tea stall, according to the functionaries who had visited the hamlet to carry out a fact-finding survey following the attack on Dalits by members of dominant castes earlier this month. Subsequently, on behalf of VCK and other Dalit outfits, a petition was submitted to Collector T. Christuraj a week ago seeking an end to the practice.
