Why Zail Singh Not Admitted To Kerala Temple?

Trivandrum: “Temple restrictions not relaxed for Zail Singh”. This news appeared in the Statesman (Sept. 14, 82). It said: “The Dewaswom authorities would not allow the President to enter the temple at Guruvayur wearing his turban and the President could not remove his turban without com- promising the dress regulation laid down by his own religion”. What do we dalits make out of this? Can it be that the god at Guruvayur does not like upper garments while the god at Amritsar is fond of the same? The dalit concept of god is that he is the god of all mankind accepting whatever is good in the customs and dresses of all people, all over the world. How do we then understand this ban on upper garments at Guruvayur? This old custom has its origin in the feudalistic past when the Nambudiri Brahmins and Nairs forbid Ezhavas and the dalit castes from wearing any upper garments. This unjust practice was violently enforced to maintain their superiority in a very manifest way in the society. The custom got sacralized when they themselves appeared before their gods without their upper garments in the same way as the ‘lower’ castes had to do before them. It helped them to create and maintain a hierarchical consciousness among themselves and in the society at large through the medium of their gods. Even at present the continuance of this strange feudalistic practice at Guruvayur in the mode of worship adds to the air of extra-ordinary power to that god. We dalits have a lesson to draw from here. The Brahmin pundits may boast about the universal nature of god in Hinduism. But what is worshipped in the temples is not this universal spirit but the feudal practices of the Hindu society. These practices are sacralized in the name of god which continues to create and maintain a hierarchical cultural conscience. Let us take the example of the ban on upper garments itself. When the upper garments are removed in Guruvayur the Brahmin appears with his so- called “sacred thread which gives him an air of superiority by the side of the other castes. The rich Nair flaunts his thick gold chain before the more humble flock. These sections have the place of honour and precedence over the more unfortunate ones. The pujas are graded according to. the money-power of the devotees. Only the rich can afford to offer the deity the really powerful Pujas. What is this form of cult but a sacred legitimation of the caste-class system prevalent in our society? We dalits have only one option, namely keep away from such places of worship where our social identity and common poverty are publicly put to humiliation in the name of god and religion. Forms of religious practices which militate against creating a sense of social equality can never be accepted by us.