The Tamil Nadu Association for Trained Archakas and the People’s Right Protection Centre have welcomed the recent judgement of the Madras High Court, clearly stating that a person’s caste will have no role in the appointment of archaka (temple priest), provided the person was well-versed and properly trained for the job.
In a joint statement, the organisations appealed to the State government to bring in necessary amendments to the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments so as to avert any legal challenges that could be posed in the future against the appointment of qualified persons from all castes as archakas to the temples.
Pointing out that students from different castes who were trained to be archakas were waiting for appointments for 14 years, the two organisations urged the State government to immediately appoint them in various temples. The organisations said such appointments should be first made in all the major temples in the State.
