Tamil Nadu— Close on the heels of the entry of Dalits in a temple at Pudukkottai district last month, Dalits of Eduthavainatham village in Kallakurichi district in Tamil Nadu entered the Sri Varadharaja Perumal temple for the first time. Some 300 policemen escorted the believers inside the temple.

Hindu religious and charitable endowments department of the Government of Tamil Nadu, which administers the 200-year-old Sri Varadharaja Perumal temple issued directions to the district administration to facilitate the entry of Dalits in the temple.

The directions of the department followed the pleas by the villagers who were under the impression that the temple is owned by a private party. It was only after they came to know that the temple was under state control, they reached out to the district administration to exercise their right to enter the temple.

Speaking to The Hindu P. Ramesh Kumar, a Dalit said “The temple is said to be around 200 years old and Dalits have been barred from entering the temple from the beginning. We had repeatedly requested the caste Hindus from the village to permit us to participate in the processions of the temple. But they refused and even suspended the temple procession in 2008. We are now entering the temple for the first time in our lives and we thank the district administration and the police for accepting our request.”

Following the request of the Dalit community, the district administration deployed 300 police personnel to enable around 250 Dalits to enter the temple on the occasion of Vaikunth Ekadashi, a festival observed by the Vaishnavas.