Kandadevi (AsiaNews) – The authorities of a village in Tamil Nadu allowed Hindu Dalits to participate in a religious festival for the first time. But the way they did so gives rise to suspicions that this was just a sham by the local government to cover the real discrimination which outcastes are constantly subject to.

Yesterday, Dalits in Kandadevi – Tamil Nadu, southern India – actively participated in a religious ceremony which has long been the focus of tension because "untouchables" are excluded by upper-caste Hindus from the ceremonies. The Chennai Supreme Court recently ruled all castes must be allowed to participate in the Kandadevi festival, during which all the Hindu communities get to pull an ancient 300-year-old chariot bearing the image of the deity Shiva.

The event, however, had the air of being a sham put on by the local authorities whose aim was to avoid clashes – which have erupted in the past – and to please the dominant castes. Not wanting to antagonise the dominant Thevars or risk a caste clash in this village, about 400 km from Chennai, district authorities and state police - with the backing of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa - ensured that the court directive was followed only in letter. They did so by handpicking 25 Dalits acceptable to the leaders of the Thevar caste and local nattar (descendents of the royal family).

Police quietly sneaked in the Dalit "delegation" just before the procession began, to participate for a few minutes in the rope-pulling of the chariot. Before the ceremony was over, the Dalits were taken back to the temple and they were allowed to return home only after the festival was finished.

District Collector Anand Rao Vishnu Patil said "the festival went off peacefully and harmoniously" but human rights activists defined the event as a "mockery".

District authorities had distributed handbills and put up posters asking everyone to participate but already on the eve of the feast, security forces had mobilized to prevent Dalits from participating en masse in the procession. Some Dalit leaders like K Krishnasamy and T Thirumavalavan were taken into preventive custody, and Dalits from outlying villages were prevented from entering Kandadevi, encircled by a security cordon of 2,500 policemen before the festival began.

In 2004, the harsh police intervention against Dalits who wanted to join festivities provoked criticism from several international human rights groups. Eye witnesses said this year, the slogan "Are you challenging our procession? (a reference to the Dalit activists)" could be heard.

Dalits have been excluded by upper-caste Hindus from the Kandadevi ceremonies for nearly a century. Since 1947, after India's independence, Dalits have been attempting to reclaim that right and in 1999 won a court order stating that all Hindus were entitled to pull the chariot. In 2002 the local government failed to ensure that Dalits could participate in the ceremony. In 2003, protests by upper-caste groups eventually led to cancellation of the ceremony. Last year, only 10 Dalits were present but they did not pull the chariot.

The Indian constitution prohibits discrimination against "untouchables". (MA)