DT Next Exclusive | Non-brahmin archakars confess suffering casteist humiliation in temples

CHENNAI: The government scheme to make people from all castes priests in Hindu temples, a dream of late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, implemented by the MK Stalin government, is in the doldrums with some of the 24 non-Brahmin priests appointed confessing to DT Next that they are forced to do menial jobs such as cleaning the temple premises, while others saying they are never allowed to perform pujas to the presiding deity.

Caste-based discrimination carries on even after being officially appointed by the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE), they lament.

Some of the non-Brahmin archakars (priests), who were appointed under the Tamil Nadu government's ambitious archakar training programme, told DT Next that they are being ‘discriminated against’ and not being allowed to perform pujas at the designated temples. Some of them have flagged issues of having to work in hostile environments, and facing verbal abuse and humiliation at the hands of the hereditary priests, largely from the Brahmin community.

The DMK government implemented the scheme with much pomp on August 14, 2021, to mark 100 days of the government, but these appointed priests lament that their complaints to the officials are falling on deaf ears. The 24 non-Brahmin trained priests and Othuvars, who received appointment orders from the Chief Minister to work in temples governed by the department of HR&CE, both agama and non-agama, are in a dilemma to face the odd or to quit. Among the 24 were five priests belonging to the Scheduled Caste community.

The archakar training programme, which was pioneered by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to enable Hindus from all castes to serve as priests in temples and end the monopoly of the hereditary priesthood, was revived after a hiatus under the AIADMK regime. The appointment of the 24 priests was considered a significant event in the chapter for the DMK’s proclaimed Dravidian Model government's efforts to ensure social justice and equal rights for everyone.

But the appointments per se didn’t seem to ensure social justice, going by the hardships shared by those appointed. The initiative appears largely failed, based on personal interactions this reporter had with many of those affected, as the non-Brahmin archakars continue to face caste-based discrimination, now inside temples.

Nearly 10 of the archakars told DT Next that they are facing discrimination and are not allowed to work in the designated temples or are not allowed to perform pujas. Some of them were forced to clean the temple premises against the work for which they were appointed. "It took several decades for us to come to this position (entering the temple as a priest). So, I don’t want to give up the hard-earned rights," said a trained non-Brahmin archakar appointed at a Siva temple, on condition of anonymity, explaining why he carries on despite facing humiliation at the hands of Brahmin priests. He explains that if he puts in his papers, it would undermine the socio-political and legal battles against the centuries-old system that upheld hereditary priesthood.

Another trained archakar, who completed a 15-month course in Tiruvannamalai, said he was appointed to a Saiva temple. Though the temple has Arukala pujas (six pujas a day), he was never allowed to perform a single puja since his appointment three years ago. "The hereditary priests continue to perform pujas for the presiding deity. Even those young Brahmin archakars newly appointed get this opportunity to perform pujas, but not us the non-Brahmins," he said. The only consolation is that he has been allowed to work in the same temple, he added.

Some of the trained archakars said that they were forced to work in sub-temples instead of the designated temple for which they were appointed, as the HR&CE officials did not want to earn the wrath of the hereditary priests. "When I joined, I was intimidated to quit the job. I still remember the harsh and demeaning words from one of the priests. They still humiliate me in front of the devotees," the non-Brahmin priest said, recollecting his first few days. He, however, preferred to endure the humiliation as he did not want to give up the "hard-earned rights" against the monopoly of the hereditary-based priesthood.

They have also charged some of the officials are hand-in-glove in executing this injustice. “Those officials have innate ‘hatred’ against the scheme (Anaivarum Archakar Agalam) and ask the trained archakars to ‘do what they’ (hereditary priests) say. They remain silent and try to sabotage the scheme once there is a change of regime," charged another archakar, who once flagged the issues to Minister PK Sekarbabu and listed the continuous harassment from the hereditary priests.

"Unable to withstand the harassment, I burst out to the minister, who came for an inspection to the temple a year ago. He reprimanded the priests and cautioned them with stern action. But it did not change anything as the priests continued their routine as if nothing happened on the previous day. The officials are also supporting them," he bemoaned.

Echoing the views of fellow trained archakars, V Ranganathan of the Tamil Nadu Government Trained Archakars Association said that the government should ensure the dignity of the trained archakars. "The officials are aware of what is happening to these trained archakars, but they are not taking any corrective measures to ensure a peaceful and dignified working environment," he said and demanded the government should come up with a special Act to find a permanent solution to issues faced by the archakars and do away the legal hurdles in carrying out appointments in the future. He also demanded the government to order an inquiry into the complaints of the non-Brahmin archakars and take action against those discriminating and harassing them.

Commissioner of HR&CE department PN Sridhar said that such issues have not come to his knowledge. He, however, said that they would look into the issue.