First non-Brahmin priest appointed in Madurai temple; says he is afraid that people will know his identity

After a struggle lasting almost a half-century, the caste barrier to be priests in Tamil Nadu temples has been breached, with the appointment of a non-Brahmin priest at a temple in Madurai.

This is the first time a non-Brahmin has been appointed as a priest in any of the Tamil Nadu government-administered temples and this has been done based on move initiated by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in 2006.

Malaisamy (name changed on request) is the first among the 206 men who underwent the government offered ‘junior priest certificate’ course in 2007-08 for all castes, to be appointed as a priest in temples run by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR and CE) department.

Considering Tamil Nadu's unique social justice movement, the appointment of the first non-Brahmin priest in the state should have been an occasion to celebrate, but both the AIADMK government and Malaisamy are keeping it under wraps.

In fact, Malaisamy fears repercussions if the people come to know of his non-Brahmin identity. He refused to reveal anything other than confirming his appointment in the temple through the due interview process. He said he joined the temple as priest three months ago. For the AIADMK government, it was a radical social transformation programme initiated by its arch rival DMK so it doesn't want to give, or take, any credit to it.

A senior HR and CE official told the DNA that priest appointments were being made as per Agamas Shastra (the manual for worship, temple building and rituals) of the individual temple. “It varies from temple to temple. The executive officer of the temple and the trustee would call for applications for priest posts and hold an interview to select the candidate,” the official said, adding that all the people belonging to Hindu religion with appropriate qualification could apply, but the appointment would be made as per the particular temple’s Agamas.

However, V Ranganathan, coordinator of Tamil Nadu Government Trained Archakar (Priests) Association, thinks the movement to end caste discrimination has a long way to go. Appointment of one non-Brahmin as a priest in some ‘obscure’ temple could not be construed as an end of Brahmin monopoly in the temple, he said. “The caste discrimination in the appointments of the temple priests will end only if all the government trained priests are appointed in major temples across the State. But the AIADMK government, fearing a Brahmin backlash is not acting on the apex court order (to go ahead with such appointments),” he said.

The HR and CE department is following the direction laid out by the Supreme Court in December 2015 when it upheld the 2006 Government Order issued by Karunanidhi government that allowed people of all castes, with the required qualification and training, to become priests in temples. The apex court order, however, came with a rider that such appointments should be in conformity with the Agama Shastras of the individual temple.

In 1970 when Karunanidhi was the chief minister then amended the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act abolished the hereditary appointment of temple priests. But the legal hurdles prevented the appointment of non-Brahmins as priests. In his fifth term as CM in 2006, Karunanidhi issued a GO to appointed qualified and trained all caste people as the priest. He set up six training centres to train 206 person in a year-long course but court cases again delayed it.