A temple festival was denied by the police in Tamil Nadu, citing that it hurts Muslim sentiments—raising serious concerns over the repeated denial of worship rights to Hindus under the guise of maintaining communal harmony.
In Jittapalli village of Gudiyatham taluk in Vellore district, police denied permission to conduct the traditional pig-hunting ritual at the 200-year-old Mariamman and Muniswarar temples on June 1. This age-old ritual has been performed for generations by the Arunthathiyar community as part of their vow to the deity. According to Hindu Munnani state president Kadeswara Subramaniam, the police acted in a high-handed manner, blatantly disrespecting the religious rights of Hindus.
இந்துக்களின் வழிபாட்டை உரிமைகளை பறிக்க நினைக்கும் திராவிட மாடல்!#ரம்ஜான் #பக்ரீத்துக்கு மாடு வெட்ட தடை போட முடியுமா உங்களால்?#குடியாத்தம் இந்து கோவில் திருவிழாவில்
பன்றி குத்த அனுமதி மறுப்பு!#அருந்ததியர் #சமுதாயம் #வழிபாட்டுரிமை #காவல்துறை pic.twitter.com/uIkV4mduju— Hindu Munnani (@hindumunnani_tn) June 2, 2025
Police justified the ban by claiming that the ritual offends Muslim sentiments. Hindu Munnani has questioned whether the police would dare to ban the slaughter of cows, buffaloes, bulls, camels, and goats during Ramzan and Bakrid, given that it offends the majority Hindu community.
நடு ரோட்டில் மாடு வெட்ட முஸ்லிம்களுக்கு அனுமதி!
இந்து கோயில்களில் பன்றி குத்த
தடை!சந்தி சிரிக்கும் காவல்துறையின் மத சார்பின்மை !
இந்து முன்னணி வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கிறது!@CMOTamilnadu @tnpoliceoffl @mkstalin #அருந்ததியர் #சமுதாயம் #வழிபாட்டுரிமை #காவல்துறை pic.twitter.com/z9ifBSvM2U
— Hindu Munnani (@hindumunnani_tn) June 2, 2025
To pre-empt any unrest, the government deployed additional police force. Hindu Munnani said, “When Hindus tried to construct a wall around the temple—which was standing in open land—some minority residents objected. The Tehsildar then banned the wall construction. Though the matter was taken up with the District Administration, no resolution has been reached. Now, citing this background, the police and revenue officials have stopped the annual pig-piercing ritual. After public outcry, only women were allowed to cook Pongal as prasadam for the Goddess. The temple pujari and temple management members were arrested and even threatened with dire consequences. This is nothing short of denial and dishonour of Hindu worship rights in the area.”
In another alarming instance, members of the Church obstructed Hindu priests at the historic Mandaikadu Bhagavathi Amman Temple from performing the sacred ritual of collecting seawater—a tradition that is part of the temple’s consecration ceremony. This disruption reflects growing religious intolerance and the systematic marginalisation of Hindu customs under the pretext of preserving communal balance.
Last month, the temple held its sacred kumbhabhishekam ceremony, marking the spiritual renewal of the shrine after a fire in 2021. In keeping with age-old tradition, the head priest rode an elephant to the sea, carrying a kalasam (sacred pot) filled with holy water. However, the ritual met unexpected resistance.
As the procession neared the shore, it passed a now-prominent shrine dedicated to Mary, which had started as a simple crucifix tower. There, individuals reportedly forced the priest to dismount the elephant, compelling him to walk the rest of the way on foot.
This is not new to the area. In the early 1980s, tensions erupted during the Mandaikadu row when Hindu women taking ritual sea baths were allegedly harassed by Catholic elements. Eyewitness accounts described humiliating scenes, leading to police intervention and even fatalities. The violence spread to nearby Hindu villages, sparking retaliatory clashes. The then Chief Minister, M.G. Ramachandran, instituted a commission led by Justice Venugopal. The commission recommended anti-conversion laws and highlighted the need to protect vulnerable communities from coercive religious practices.
Meanwhile, Hindu Munnani also criticised the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department for failing to provide even basic facilities to devotees at the Thiruvannamalai temple. Pilgrims were forced to stand in the scorching heat despite court directives to improve infrastructure, even though the temple generates substantial revenue.
இறையருள் பெற வந்த பக்தர்களை வெயிலில் போட்டு வாட்டிய அறங்கெட்ட துறை!!
எவ்வளவு குட்டு வாங்கினாலும் திருந்த வாய்ப்பில்லா இந்து சமய அறநிலையத்துறை…
இதுதான் அமைச்சரின் செம்மையான நிர்வாகமா?
அண்ணாமலையாரை தரிசனம் செய்ய வந்த பக்தர்களை கடும் வெயிலில் எந்த அடிப்படை வசதியும் இல்லாமல்… pic.twitter.com/N7ZyfvL5si
— Hindu Munnani (@hindumunnani_tn) June 1, 2025
Recently, when a fishermen wanted to hoist a national tricolour flag, a man and woman police officers argued with the organsiers of the rally due pressures and diktats from higher ups, we could not give you permission to hoist it. It led to heated arguments between them. The video is a proof of the police highhandedness.
On the night of May 27th, at the Vangampatti Kaliyamman Temple in Dindigul, a rift between two groups led to tension. Christians opposed the temple procession due to the presence of a nearby church. As conciliation efforts failed, the police ended up pulling the chariot themselves.
These developments reveal that time and again, Hindus in Tamil Nadu face persecution in their own motherland ever since the Dravidian Model government assumed power in 2021. After denying permission to carry out tri colour national flag procession as part of I Day and Sindhoor Operation, RSS route march, Sri Ram prana prashitha at Ayodhya , temple festivals on only one parroted reason – the march would go through minority dominated residences or churches and mosques en route , fearing communal clashes if allowed. The HC and SC has again and again said if Hindus start objecting to their ( minority religion) procession ( religious and political), funeral , will the police deny permission to them as they are dominant in the areas? . The TN or DMK police still fail to learn lessons if the following incidents are any pointers.
