TIRUVANNAMALAI: Denial of temple entry has been a burning issue ever since an incident in a similar vein exploded in Melpathi village a few months back. Mothakkal is no exception. Home to five temples, with three located in the residential area of the Scheduled Caste (SC) and two in the area of the Vanniyars, access to all shrines is non-reciprocal. While the two Mariamman Kovil temples and one of Murugar Kovil, built by the SCs in their residential area, are visited by Vanniyars, the SCs are barred from entering Perumal Appan and Chengammal temples located in the area of the Vanniyars.
Manjunathan, a 35-year-old SC resident, said, “As a child, I wished to visit the temples built by the Vanniyars. But whenever I approached the temple, they warned us not to enter. I am still afraid of entering the temple.” Denied access to the temple, another SC resident said that her husband lit a lamp right outside the temple’s entrance to fulfil his vow following his recovery from an illness.
The segregation also spills over the ‘final ride’ of SC people. Although both communities have their own graveyards adjacent to each other, the common path leading to the respective entrances is out of bounds for the SCs. The detour, a way through farmland, is a kilometre away from the settlement of the SCs while the common path increases the distance by 500 metres. But taking the shorter route does not instil a sense of victory among the SCs. “We have never attempted to bring dead bodies through the common path due to the fear instilled by our village elders,” said a SC resident.
When TNIE contacted the District Vigilance Monitoring Committee (DVMC) and Adi Dravidar welfare officer Shanthi, the latter said, “We visited the area and asked SC members to use the common path to the graveyard in front of us. But they refused out of fear. They have also requested better roads to the graveyard they currently use.”
If this was not enough, SC women in Mothakkal village remain at the mercy of the Vanniyars for their labours. In addition to working as daily wage labourers under the 100-day employment programme, SC women in the village are engaged in gardening duties at the houses of the dominant caste. Sathya (38), a SC woman, said, “I have been working as a farm labourer for 20 years and I get 200 rupees a day.
Vanniyar women pay us in cash or kind (food). We also have separate plastic vessels for our drinking water. If we touch their water, they start yelling at us.” In most cases, it is customary for the owners to pour water into their hands.
The women are also barred from assuming leadership roles as part of the employment programme. Gunavathi (36) said, “Every day, we select a leader among ourselves, but they do not allow SC women to lead despite wage parity.” For P Anbarasu, president of the Mothakkal panchayat, “discrimination is an individual mindset,” and so beyond his jurisdiction. Although he, a Vanniyar himself, did not deny the existence of discrimination in the village, he claimed that the SCs never lodged any complaints with him.
The SCs are now demanding action on the issues they to face and have threatened to boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha elections otherwise. Gopal, a SC resident, said, “In total, we have 500 SC voters. If our grievances are not addressed, we will boycott the elections.” Tiruvannamalai Collector Murugesh assured TNIE that the issues will be thoroughly investigated and prompt action will be taken.