Bengaluru: A temple in Kerala’s Thrissur was found to have earmarked a toilet exclusively for Brahmins, raising a stink on social media and in the state.
Temple officials have since removed the discriminatory sign ever since a photograph of the toilet went viral on social media, sparking a row.
It all began when Delhi-based research student Arvind Christo visited the Kuttumukku Mahadeva temple in Thrissur, his hometown.
On 3 March, Christo told ThePrint, he went to watch the temple festivities when he stumbled across the set of three toilets — marked separately for women, men and Brahmins.
He quickly took a photograph of the toilets and posted it on Facebook. It went viral soon.
“I was shocked to see that such things could exist even today,” Christo told ThePrint over the phone. “We all know what role casteism plays in our lives. It’s like the coronavirus; it spreads everywhere.”
Christo’s Facebook post was brought to the notice of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPI(Marxist), which is also the ruling party in Kerala.
It prompted DYFI Vilvattom area president and media secretary Arvind Palliyil to write to the temple authorities seeking an apology and also directing them to immediately remove the board.
“I filed an official complaint with the temple authorities and asked them to remove the board. Had we not highlighted it, it would have remained there,” Palliyil told ThePrint.
“Kerala is one of the most literate states in the country and we will definitely not allow such communal differentiation to tarnish the image of our lovely state,” he added.
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Temple authorities remove board
The temple authorities have now removed the sign and are claiming that they were not aware of its existence.
A.B. Mohanan, president of the Cochin Devaswom Board (CDB) under which the temple functions, told ThePrint that authorities had no idea that such a board existed until it was brought to his notice.
“When our officials investigated, it was found that this board has been in existence since 2003. The temple authorities did not notice it as the toilets were hardly used and were around the fringes of the temple property,” Mohanan said. “The moment it was brought to my attention, I ordered its removal.”
Mohanan aded that he has directed Cochin Devaswom assistant commissioner Jayakumar to conduct a detailed probe in the matter and submit a report. He emphasised that the CDB has a zero-tolerance policy towards such discriminatory practices.
Temple officials, who did not want to be named, however said they are upset with the way the issue was handled. Had Christo brought it to the notice of the office-bearers first, it would have been taken care of without such a furore, they said.
Christo, who is back in Delhi, said he was happy that his effort brought about the change.
“I did not do this to become famous or make it viral. I wanted people to know that such things exist even today,” Christo said.
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