Dalits enter TN village temple for first time in 70 years
Tiruvannamalai (TN), Jan 30: For the first time in about 70 years, Dalits offered prayers in their village temple near here on Monday following 'peace' talks facilitated by the district authorities with dominant castes.
Amid tight police security, in the presence of top district and police officials, villagers belonging to the Scheduled Castes entered the temple premises with garlands, flowers and others offerings to the presiding deity. Amid palpable excitement, they hailed the deity with chants and offered prayers.
The village is Thenmudiyanur under Thandrampattu taluk in northern Tiruvannamalai district and the place of worship is Muthumariyamman temple, a goddess Shakti shrine.
While authorities did not specifically mention that it is for the first time that Dalits are visiting the village temple, people belonging to the Scheduled Castes said that they are entering the shrine for the first time. Local people are of the view that the temple is 80-year old. The government said it is 70-year old.
C Murugan, a Dalit resident told reporters: "For about 80 years, Dalits could not enter the village temple. The district authorities including police officials together have got us a new liberation to offer worship. We thank the authorities and the government. We are overwhelmed by boundless joy. I am 41 years old and I am standing on the temple footsteps for the first time. Such was the caste barrier in the village and the authorities have reformed the people".
A girl, also a Dalit said she was thrown out of the temple years ago and only now she could enter the shrine.
District Collector B Murugesh said the temple is 70-year old and belongs to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. Coinciding with the annual harvest festival of 'Pongal,' each community gets a day to offer 'Pongal' (A sweet dish made with rice and jaggery) in the temple premises and they make worship. It goes on for about 15 days. This year, the Adi Dravidar (SCs) people had sought permission to offer pongal. However, other sections of people opposed it, he told reporters.
"All are equal under the Indian Constitution. There must not be discrimination in any respect." This was conveyed to those who opposed Dalit entry and peace talks were initiated by district authorities which includes police and revenue officials. Eventually, the issue was amicably settled and Dalits offered worship, he said.
Ahead of the temple entry, a team of officials, led by Deputy Inspector General of Police (Vellore range), M S Muthusamy and Police Superintendent (Tiruvannamalai district) K Karthikeyan held peace talks with villagers. They underscored that under the law all are equal and there must not be any kind of discrimination.
After the entry to one Muthumariamman temple, people belong to Dalit community prepare Pongal to offer the Deity in #Thenmudiyanur of #Thiruvannamalai district pic.twitter.com/bIIRyZwEf8
— Nithya (@NityaPandian) January 30, 2023
Dalit people in Thenmadiyanur village in Tiruvannamalai district were let inside a Muthumariyamman temple belonging to HR&CE dept after 80 yrs. Dalits in the village were denied entry inside the temple ever since it was constructed 80 years ago. pic.twitter.com/LYWgVbuwrs
— Prabhakar Tamilarasu || பிரபாகர் தமிழரசு (@pkr_madras) January 30, 2023
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
