CHENNAI : The appointment of Marisamy, one of the 207 non-brahmin archakas, trained by the State government 12 years ago as priest in a temple under HR and CE department in Madurai, has given a new hope for the rest of those trained across the State. While the State government or top officials of HR & CE department are yet to react to the appointment, experts in ‘agama sastras’ and those who had struggled hard for this historic change to happen point out that “Where there is a will, there is a way” because appointment of non-brahmin archakas have started happening in other States including Uttarakhand and Kerala. They also offer solutions to help make this big leap possible in Tamil Nadu.
While interacting, many archaka trainees admit that after waiting for a few years, many of their colleagues have opted for some other jobs due to family compulsions as they had to earn their livelihood. Interestingly, people in villages started accepting them as priests despite their caste background. A 35-year-old trained archaka who is working as an assistant priest in Thoothukudi district along with regular priests, testifies to this. Seeking anonymity, he says “People have started accepting me. That is a welcome change in the villages.”
S Senthilnathan, counsel for non-brahmin archakas trained by government told Express that “I don’t think the appointment of one trainee is a big victory. We can take it as the first step towards a big change. These 207 non-brahmin archakas have only completed junior-level training. The government should provide them senior-level training so that they can get appointments in big temples where brahmins are performing the poojas.”
K Sivasankar (33) is now working as a priest in Draupadi Amman temple at Puthur near Tiruchy said he had been appointed by HR&CE department on a daily wage basis for the past seven years. “Now Marisamy has been appointed in Ayyappa temple where ‘agama sastras’ are not followed. Only traditional worship is being performed there. So, this cannot be termed a big turning point. Already, in many temples, persons hailing from ‘Visvakarma’ community, ‘Vellalar’ community etc., are working as priests”, Sivasankar points out.
G Balaguru (33) now working as a priest in a temple at Pallipathu village, has a different view on providing senior-level training for these non-brahmin archakas. He explains that even with the certificate for junior-level archaka, one could be appointed as assistant priests and after five years of experience, the junior would be automatically eligible for performing whatever the head priest did.
VV Swaminathan who was HR&CE Minister in the cabinet headed by the late MG Ramachandran has a way out for quick appointment of these trainees. He said “There are thousands of temples under HR&CE department. Sometime ago, a survey was taken to check the eligibility of the existing priests and found that many were not qualified. So, the government should remove all ineligible priests and appoint these archakas.” Full story online