A video of a Tamil youth alleging that he was excluded from taking part in Navarathri festivities at a Kilinochchi temple has exposed the presence of casteist practices in Hindu temples across the North-East.
The youth, a local A Level student said he was was silenced, and later kicked out by the temple administration when he tried to sing Thevaram (Saiva hymns) during a Navarathri pooja.
The boy and his family believe that the incident was caste discrimination, which they say rears its head in the temple as they continue to be excluded from certain temple activities and rituals. Notably the family has been told not ring the temple bell, and their flower garlands are only presented to the alters outside the temple, rather than the alters inside.
The temple administration denies these accusations citing that someone was already appointed to sing Thevaram. However, the victim's family alleges that a singer was appointed solely to silence them.
According to anthropologist Thanges Paramsothy, while the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had considerable success in eliminating caste discrimination in its de-facto state, practices have resurged in the post-war period. On temples he states:
"In many villages in Jaffna, people from different caste groups have their own temples to perform their rituals. In certain villages, even now, oppressed castes are not allowed to enter into the temples run by the so-called ‘upper-caste’ families or ‘upper-caste’ trustees. Even the temples where oppressed caste communities are allowed to worship, they are not allowed to carry the idols of Hindu Gods on their shoulders during temple festivals. This practice that is generally observed in the villages has made underprivileged caste groups build their own Temples rather than winning access to Temples owned by dominant caste communities."