Chennai: The Arulmigu Dhandayuthapaniswamy Temple in Dindigul — believed to be one of the six holy abodes of Lord Murugan in Tamil Nadu — has been in the news over the Palani Hill Temple Devotees Organisation’s demand to ban the entry of non-Hindus.
The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court Monday allowed the authorities to retain a board saying ‘non-Hindus are not allowed in the temple premises’.
The bench was hearing a petition filed on 27 July by D. Senthilkumar, organiser of Palani Hill Temple Devotees Organisation, in which he had said that non-Hindus had purchased tickets at the winch station to go to the Palani hilltop, the temple’s premises.
Senthilkumar’s complaint was based on an incident that took place on 22 June this year.
The temple authorities had found that a Muslim family on 22 June had attempted to go up the Palani Hilltop. “After the authorities tried stopping them, they argued that there was no board barring the entry of non-Hindus. The family wanted to go to the hilltop to click pictures,” said Senthilkumar to ThePrint.
Senthilkumar and others from the Palani Hill Temple Devotees Organization, who had also reached the spot on 22 June, told the Muslim family that their actions could “lead to religious sentiments of hundreds of Hindu devotees being hurt”.
The organisation then urged the state government’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR & CE) department’s joint director in-charge of the Palani shrine to reinstate the notice board — removed during renovation work for the temple’s consecration — restricting entry of non-Hindus.
This request went unacknowledged, leading to the organisation holding a meeting on 30 June to come up with a plan of action, followed by a protest on 11 July. The protest, which garnered the participation of around 500 people, aimed to draw the attention of the state government to the pressing issue.
After this, Senthilkumar approached the court.
In the past six months, there have been over five incidents over temple entry in the state of Tamil Nadu. And while some have been resolved amicably, in some districts, like Villupuram, the temple has been sealed by the Revenue department.
While the other temple entry issues have stemmed from caste discrimination, in Palani the issue is about religion.
Hearing the petition Monday, the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC ordered a status quo ante — which essentially means an order to restore the previously existing state of affairs — by directing the executive officer of Arulmigu Dhandayuthapaniswamy Temple to put up the display board.
ThePrint reached K.V. Muralidharan, Commissioner of the HR&CE, via calls. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Speaking to media persons Tuesday, P.K. Sekar Babu, minister for HR&CE department, said the government will “go for further appeal”.
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Palani temple ‘not a public spot’
Senthilkumar, in the petition, had stated that a banner restricting entry of non-Hindus to the temple used to be up before consecration. He had added that in other religions, too, there are restrictions which are respected by citizens of other religions.
Senior counsel N. Ananthapadmanadhan, appearing for the petitioner, told ThePrint, “In the Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Authorization Act, 1947, it has been stated that all classes, castes, of Hindus were allowed into the temple till outside the sanctum santorum. There is a rule 3 in the act that says that no one else other than Hindus should be allowed inside the temple premises.”
“Right from the entrance, the sanctum is considered to be sacred. For a Hindu, it is a place of spiritual seeking, but for a Muslim, it is haram to worship a deity. When they don’t worship, what business do they have there?” he said.
Additionally, the counsel said before the court that a space of religious worship is not a “public spot”. The counsel also presented photographic evidence that the temple had banners restricting non-Hindus till recently.
The Arulmigu Dhandayuthapaniswamy Temple in Palani had in 2020 and 2023 been part of the BJP’s campaign to beef up its presence in the state. In 2020, the then BJP chief L. Murugan had done a Vel Yatra, covering the six abodes of Murugan.
Last month, the newly formed ‘spiritual and temple development wing’ of the BJP in Tamil Nadu had taken up the delay in the Palani temple consecration ceremony as their first campaign against the DMK government and HR&CE department.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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