A report by Dinamalar has confirmed that the priests of Srivilliputtur’s Periyamariamman Temple who were seen drunk and obscenely dancing in a viral video, were trained under the DMK government’s much-touted “All Castes Archakas” scheme.
Four priests – Vinod, Ganesan, Gomathi Nayagam, Sabarinathan – were suspened and case filed against them after videos of them engaging in obscene dancing and misbehaving with women devotees went viral. The incident, which sparked outrage among devotees, occurred during pre-consecration rituals at the Periya Mariamman temple in Srivilliputhur, the birthplace of Andal, one of the 12 Azhwars.
According to reports from Hindu Munnani and eyewitnesses, the priests were those who were enrolled in government-funded training program under “All Caste Archaka” scheme introduced by the DMK government.
However, DMK-supporting Dravidian Stockist handles like ‘We Dravidians’ have been spreading misinformation, falsely labeling the priests as Brahmins and resorting to their customary inflammatory rhetoric to deflect criticism.
It is noteworthy to mention that We Dravidians, is an X handle supported by the DMK ecosystem that peddles anti-Hindu, anti-India and hate against Hindi-speakers. One of the admins of We Dravidians is Kathir RS who is associated with PEN (a political consultancy firm founded and run by Stalin’s son-in-law Sabareesan).
Report by DMK-supporting sleazy gossiping tabloid Nakkheeran had also falsely claimed that the priests in question were from traditional archaka community and were not from the All Caste Archaka scheme.
Traditional archakas from various temples across Tamil Nadu, including the renowned Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, have strongly condemned attempts to malign their community by falsely portraying the accused as traditional archakas. They have denounced the spread of misinformation and clarified that the individuals involved are not part of the hereditary archaka tradition.
“The priests of Srivilliputtur’s Periyamariamman Temple who have been caught in controversy studied in the ‘all caste archaka’ training schools. They’re burying this fact and slinging mud on the entire archaka community.“, they’ve said.
The Dinamalar report quoting the traditional archakas said that the incident of the priests drinking and obscenely dancing and throwing Vibudhi powder on women were unacceptable to the archaka community and those going to temple with devotion.
The report stated that none of the traditional archakas were able to identify the culprits involved in the obscene acts.
“They had come for the kumbabishegam. They’re not traditional archakas. They were trained under the ‘All Caste Archaka’ centres run by the HR&CE department of the Tamil Nadu government and are currently under training. It is condemnable that they’ve hidden this fact and are involving in mud-slinging to defame the entire archaka community.“, the archaka community was quoted saying.
“Those who are trained as archakas traditionally, enrol in Veda Patashalas and Agama schools at a very young age, often immediately after completing primary school. Students who are enrolled in such schools before the age of ten naturally have feelings of shame and fear. Due to the rigorous discipline training they receive, even after they have passed the age of ten, their psychologically wired about shame and fear throughout their lives. That is the defensive weapon that prevents them from engaging in such activities. That cannot be expected from those who have studied and trained in “all caste archaka” centres.“, they further added.
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