Kerala Devaswom Minister Faces Caste Discrimination, Incident Triggers Public Outrage
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Kerala Devaswom minister K. Radhakrishnan on Tuesday (September 19) revealed that he faced caste discrimination while attending a temple ceremony in Kannur, inviting condemnation of the incident from various politicians across the aisle and triggered a public outrage.
Radhakrishnan was talking about a lamp lighting ceremony marking the inauguration of the nadapanthal of the Payyannur Nambiatrakovval Siva Temple on January 26.
The minister alleged that the chief priest at the Malabar Devaswom Board-owned temple was unwilling to hand over the lamp to him and gave it to the assistant priest, who placed it on the floor.
Radhakrishnan said he felt slighted by the priests and the temple officials, the Hindu reported. “We have sent Chandrayaan to the Moon. But our minds are still conservative. Discrimination in the name of caste and religion is still strong in our society,” he was quoted by the paper as saying.
“I did not want any priority. My intention was not to make it a controversy. But I responded against the issue to bring about a change in the caste system prevailing in society. It is a blot on our society,” he added.
The Kerala State Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the news shocked him. “Mr. Radhakrishnan is the minister in charge of Devaswom. How would ordinary temple devotees fare if someone meted out such a treatment to them? I am yet to talk to Mr. Radhakrishnan. The government viewed the matter seriously. It is an insult to Kerala’s civic society,” he was quoted by the paper as saying.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the discrimination faced by Mr. Radhakrishnan at the temple had shocked Kerala’s conscience, the Hindu reported. He said that Congress would not support such actions and called for the prosecution of the perpetrators of the insult, the report said.
Education minister V. Sivankutty and the Democratic Youth Federation of India echoed a similar view.
Meanwhile, Padmanabhan Unni Namboothiripad, the tantri of the temple in question, said that he was unaware of what actually happened at the temple and that the incident had hurt both sides.
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