Bad blood existed since 1960s

MADURAI: Although a ‘caste wall’ had divided the Pillaimars and Dalits in Uthapuram in rural Madurai only from 1989, the bad blood between members of the two communities had existed since 1960s. As early as 1964 the village had witnessed a major bloodshed following a clash between the Pillaimars and Dalits. The second clash in 1989 resulted in the death of five members from both sides prompting elders of 18 neighbouring villages to construct a wall to prevent unnecessary friction between the two communities. Since then the Dalits never got to even see the Muthala Amman temple.“The wall had divided the Dalit settlements from the Pillaimar community,” recalled Ponnaiya, a Dalit leader. The Dalits were unable to use the road abutting the ‘caste wall’ too. After members of the Untouchability Eradication Front ‘discovered’ the wall, they led a massive agitation seeking to demolish the wall. Bowing to pressure, the district administration demolished a portion of the ‘wall of shame’ in 2008. However, simmering hostilities between the two communities remained alive and Dalits were denied entry into the temple. But persistent peace efforts overseen by Madurai SP Asra Garg appeared to have paid off on Thursday when Dalit worshipped at the temple. Dressed in white dhotis Sankaralingam and Ponnaiya (69) along with 13 other Dalits marched towards the temple, while members of Pillaimar community welcomed them and jointly performed rituals. Activists said that it was a dream come true for around 1,500 Dalits of Uthapuram.