It would be an understatement to say that Tamil Nadu has been shaped by the Dravidian movement. The movement in turn was shaped by E V Ramasamy, widely known as Periyar, who espoused a rationalist, anti-caste ideology. Periyar is frequently the target of ire from Hindu groups for some of his more explosive remarks against Hinduism and members of the Brahmin community.
While both mainstream parties, the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK, draw from the movement’s ideals, it is the DMK that has been accused of having an “anti-Hindu” slant. Yet, it is also the DMK that has made sustained efforts to open opportunities in temples to members of all communities.
It was Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, himself a rationalist criticised for “anti-Hindu” comments, who in 1970 amended the law to allow members of all communities to become archakas or priests in temples managed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department, but an adverse verdict from the Supreme Court nixed its implementation. Finally in 2006, through a Government Order, Karunanidhi as CM again attempted to “remove the thorn in Periyar’s heart”.
The Order once again was challenged but a favourable verdict was delivered by the Supreme Court in 2015. Subsequently, the Kerala government became the first to follow the ruling, Tamil Nadu making appointments from a languishing batch of government-trained archakas belonging to non-Brahmin communities in 2018 and 2020. This week, CM M K Stalin appointed 24 non-Brahmin archakas, five from Scheduled Caste communities. This is the first time that persons from SC communities have been appointed in temples managed by the HR&CE department.
Since the DMK came to power, observers have noted that it has paid special attention to the HR&CE department, thereby effectively nullifying a brief demand to free control of temples from the state while also maintaining a degree of ideological consistency as seen with the appointment of archakas.