“The appointment is just the beginning. More non-Brahmin priests should be appointed in temples across the State to end caste discrimination,” said V Ranganathan, president of the association.

The move has its seeds sown in the 2006 Government Order issued by the then DMK government that allowed people of all castes, with the required qualification and training, to become priests in temples. But, the State government’s move was challenged, following which it was put on hold. The apex court however upheld the decision in 2015, which has now led to the appointment of the first-ever non brahmin priest. 

He belongs to a batch of 206 non-Brahmins who underwent a one-year government training programme in 2007. 

Speaking to DTNext, the priest, requesting anonymity, expressed fears that if his identity was revealed, people might not accept him and hence was happy not be named. 

“Ever since the news of my appointment spread, there have been many phone calls with many friends wishing to take selfies with me,” he said, adding that he wants to stay out of the media attention. 

However, Ranganathan said that out of 206 students who undertook the priesthood training, only one had been given job. Deeming it as not enough, he said, “For more than 10 years, after completing training, they were not given the job and forced to do other private jobs.” 

“Even though the Supreme Court has validated the State government order in 2006 to appoint non-Brahmin priests, the HR&CE department is not coming forward to appoint more non-Brahmin priests. Still hereditary Brahmin priests are preferred even though many do not have merit,” he claimed. 

 

Caste-based discrimination will only end when all the remaining 205 priests are appointed in some of the prominent temples such as Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Tiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarar Temple and Srirangam Temple, said Ranganathan.