Tamil Nadu | Updated Nov 12, 2011 at 12:00pm IST
Divine bonding for Dalits
indianexpress Express News Service , The New Indian Express
MADURAI: Sankaralingam, a 59-year-old Dalit leader at Madurai's
caste-sensitive Uthapuram, literally cried when he stepped into the
Muthala Amman temple in his village on Thursday.
His words summed up his emotions. "Since my childhood my parents
advised me to avoid walking near the Muthala Amman temple, though the
shrine and the arasa maram (Peepal tree) have remained the common
property of the village. I never thought that I would get to enter the
temple in my lifetime. Today, I can't believe that I am inside it," he
said.
Several others belonging to Sankaralingam's ilk such as 69-year-old
Ponnaiya are equally overcome with emotion-filled excitement over the
new-found bonhomie between the Dalits and the dominant Backward Caste
Pillaimars in Uthapuram, who were for years divided by a 'caste
wall.'
All thanks to the peace efforts of Madurai Superintendent of Police
Asra Garg. "It is a good start in the village. We will continue our
engagement with the members of both the communities and make sure the
conducive environment prevails for ever," an optimistic Garg told the
Express.
Uthapuram had infamously hit the headlines three years ago after
members of the CPM-affiliated Untouchability Eradication Front
stumbled upon a 'caste wall' that was built inside the village to
prevent Dalits from entering upper caste streets.
Villagers belonging to the Pillaimar community had erected the wall
after a caste clash had broken out in Uthapuram in 1989.
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