TIRUVANNAMALAI: In a breakthrough, over 250 members of the Scheduled Caste community entered the local Mariamman temple at Chellanguppam village in Tiruvannamalai district, on Wednesday. Escorted by the police, the SC members performed a special Samathuva Pongal ceremony, followed by a joyous procession to mark their first-ever entry in over 50 years.
The event followed a complaint to Tiruvannamalai Superintendent of Police Karthikeyan from SC youngsters of Chellanguppam, in which they alleged being denied to enter the temple, a few days ago. "We had conducted three peace talks between the two communities. At some point, the Caste Hindus accepted. We made sure of law and order arrangements. No issues have happened so far in connection with the temple entry," SP Karthikeyan told TNIE.
Apart from SP Karthikeyan, Vellore SP Manivannan and Ranipet SP Kiran Shruthi were present to avoid any untoward incidents. SC members from the village said that the Mariamman temple, which is over 100 years old, was built by both communities. Internal disputes arose and the Caste Hindus snatched the SC members' right to temple entry. "We built this temple together. But at some point in time, our ancestors were denied entry by the Caste Hindus. The practice persisted and we never tried to enter this temple," said a member of the SC community.
On Wednesday, over 250 SC individuals entered the temple and worshipped Mariamman. "We feel very satisfied today. This is our first entry into this temple. It gives us a different feeling," said a SC member after entering the temple.