Kerala temple that landed in controversy for barring dancer over religion now faces caste bias row

The Sree Koodalmanikyam temple in Irinjalakuda (Thrissur district of Kerala), which faced criticism in 2022 for denying permission to a dancer citing temple tradition, is now embroiled in a new controversy over caste bias.

What happened?

The Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board recently appointed a member of the Ezhava community to the kazhakam (garland-making and allied services) post, triggering opposition from upper-caste temple’s tantris and Warrier Samajam. They alleged that the appointment was made by bypassing representatives from the temple’s traditional family.

The tantris sent a letter to the Devaswom Board, objecting to the decision and stating that their opinion was not sought. Meanwhile, the Warrier Samajam expressed concern over the exclusion of members from their community in the appointment process. In response to the Devaswom’s decision to replace traditionally appointed individuals, the hereditary kazhakam representatives have approached the Kerala High Court.

Meanwhile, the temple's tantris refused to perform poojas for several days. Apparently succumbing to pressure from the tantris, the Koodalmanikyam Devaswom authorities temporarily reassigned the appointed employee to office work and posted another worker from an upper-caste community as kazhakam.

However, as the matter became controversial, the devaswom authorities later stated that the employee from the Ezhava community would be reinstated as kazhakam and that disciplinary action would be taken against the tantris who continued to abstain from performing poojas.

2022 controversy

In 2022, the temple was embroiled in a controversy after temple officials denied permission for a dancer to perform, claiming that temple tradition does not allow a non-Hindu to enter the premises.