CUDDALORE/CHENNAI: Governor RN Ravi waded into a fresh controversy on Wednesday after he presided over an event in which over 100 people, all from non-upper-caste communities, were offered a sacred thread (poonool) normally worn by members of upper castes at M Athanur near Kattumannarkoil in Cuddalore on Wednesday.
Speaking at the ‘upanayanam’ and Nandanar guru puja ceremony organised by Tamil Seva Sangam and Sivakulathor Foundation, the governor said caste-based violence has surged in Tamil Nadu and even school students get involved in such incidents. There is divisive politics being practiced in the state based on caste and religion, the governor said.
Taking umbrage to the event organised ostensibly to demonstrate that the caste marker reserved for upper castes can be worn by lower castes too, the DMK and the VCK questioned whether those who do not wear the ‘poonool’ are inferior to others.
“Will the governor and his camp followers agree to make Adi Dravidars, the original inhabitants of this land, temple priests? Are they willing to declare that all Hindus are casteless and equal, with no caste discrimination,” questioned DMK IT wing in its tweet.
VCK president and Chidambaram MP Thol Thirumavalavan in a social media post called the (upanayanam) practice an affront perpetuated on working class people under the guise of upliftment and referred to it as an example of ‘Sanatanam.’
Speaking at the event, the governor cited Mahakavi Barathiyar and exhorted people to unite as one family for a better future. He also expressed concern about rising rape crimes and low rate of conviction in such crimes. He also pointed to instances of water supplied to Dalit communities being contaminated with human feaces and a 12-year-old SC schoolboy being attacked by upper caste students.
Mentioning the practice of some students wearing colour threads to differentiate themselves, the governor said there is a culture in the state that perpetuates such divisions. The governor lamented the existence of caste-based discrimination across the nation and said the ban on entry of some people into temples is not in line with Hindu Dharma or Sanatana Dharma. Sridhar Vembu, founder and chairman, Zoho Corporation, and Tamil Seva Sangam founder and trustee S P Gnana Saravanavel were present.