On April 8, 2023, three Dalit residents were allegedly attacked by Vanniyars, a dominant caste group, after the trio tried to enter the Dharmaraja Draupadi Amman temple in Melpathi of Villupuram.
Around 500 Dalit residents living in Melpathi village in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district have demanded a separate polling booth saying that they were scared to enter the caste Hindu locality and vote during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Tamil Nadu will see polling on April 19 during the first phase of elections.
On April 8, 2023, three Dalit residents – Kandhan, Kathiravan, and Karpagam – were allegedly attacked by Vanniyars, a dominant caste group, after the trio tried to enter the Dharmaraja Draupadi Amman temple in Melpathi. After several rounds of peace talks between the two groups, Vanniyar community members refused to allow Dalits to enter the temple, following which it was sealed on June 7. In March this year, the Madras High Court passed an order allowing daily rituals at the temple but only the priest has been allowed to enter the temple premises.
When TNM visited the village early in the morning, around 50 police personnel were deployed in front of the heavily barricaded temple. A resident who sought anonymity, said that the division between the two groups had increased after the attacks. “We cannot afford to fight with them and we don’t want to. This time, the candidate is contesting with the ‘pot’ symbol and there will definitely be some issue and we will be attacked. That is why we are asking for a separate polling booth. If they don’t give us a separate booth, we can’t assure that we will vote. All the [Dalit] residents here have decided not to vote,” he said.
This story was originally published in thenewsminute.com. Read the full story here.