In the last week of August, a petition in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court caught TNIE’s attention. A man belonging to an MBC community at Nallur panchayat in Pudukkottai district claimed that he and wife—an inter-caste couple—were being discriminated against by the villagers by not accepting their donations towards the temple festival.
TNIE visited the village and learnt that most residents belonged to either MBC or BC communities, and those who breached caste boundaries to marry from the other caste were allegedly being subjected to various forms of discrimination. Many villagers believed that inter-caste marriages would incur the wrath of gods and were the reason for the drought that had gripped the region then.
TNIE interacted with a few of the inter-caste couples, who narrated their experiences and underlined that such discrimination had been continuing for decades. The reporter met officials who said they were awaiting a court order to hold a peace meeting.
The TNIE report published on August 30 put more pressure on the district administration. In the peace meeting that ensued, it was agreed to accept contributions from inter-caste couples. This development was reported by TNIE on September 20.