Kerala's first Dalit priest Krishnan commences his duties
- IndiaGlitz, [Wednesday,October 11 2017]
Krishnan, who has become the first Dalit to be appointed by the Govt. of Kerala to hold the post of a temple priest, has commenced his work in right earnest.
Travancore Devasom Board, an autonomous body of the Govt. of Kerala, has been managing and maintaining more than 1,200 temples in the State. In the scenario where Brahmins formed the entire set of priests at these temples, the Board recently appointed 36 non-Brahmin priests (including six Dalits) after the Govt. of Kerala recommended a panel of names for consideration as temple priests.
After the Kerala Govt. Agreed to the above-said appointments, priests started taking up their new assignments at various temples. MDMK general secretary Vaiko, DMK’s working president M.K. Stalin and actor Kamal Haasan were among the first to laud Kerala for its bold move in appointing non-Brahmins as temple priests. 22-year old Dalit named Krishnan becomes the first among the six Dalits to report for duty.
Krishnan entered the Lord Shiva's temple at Manappuram near Tiruvalla yesterday along with chief priest Gopakumar Namboodri and assumed charge as an assistant priest. He commenced his duties by chanting vedic hymns with the blessings of the chief priest. Krishnan thus becomes the first Dalit priest to have commenced work in Kerala. Born in Trichur, Krishnan is also pursuing his master's degree in Sanskrit.