'Have we become untouchables?': Woman alleges caste discrimination at Hindu temple

[UPDATE: July 22] Inaccurate in many aspects, says Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on caste discrimination accusation

---

Mere weeks after worship services were allowed to resume, one Hindu temple has found itself in the middle of an online furore.

Sri Thendayuthapani Temple has been copping flak online after a woman accused the historic Hindu temple of caste-based discrimination and said they mistreated her elderly father on July 19.

Vekaneshvari Jayabal recounted her father's experience in an open letter to the temple's management on Facebook, writing: "We genuinely want to come and pray and not get involved in your caste system.

"If you think that you are a very special caste and have a very closed mindset at a place like in Singapore in 2020 — then please declare to the public that only Chettiars are allowed to enter the temple."

Chettiar is a caste label historically associated with merchants, traders, bankers and moneylenders.

According to Jayabal, her 68-year-old father had arrived at the temple, located on Tank Road, at 7pm that day to pray.

However, he was told he had to wait outside the premises for an hour while the Chettiars were praying, she said.

Despite his complaints about his leg hurting, he was not allowed to sit inside the temple, she added, asking, "Have we become untouchables for us to be treated so differently?"

She also detailed her other gripes with the temple, which is managed by the Chettiars' Temple Society: "Previously before this Covid-19 pandemic, I have also seen this, when food is served — it will be for the Chettiars first.

"Even for temple ubayams (thanksgiving prayers) — mostly it is all taken up by Chettiars."

Concluding her post, she said she was "extremely disappointed and furious" and requested an explanation from the temple.

In response to AsiaOne's queries, Sri Thendayuthapani Temple said it is investigating the matter.

In an update yesterday, Jayabal said that she has also received a response from the temple's management and would meet with them on July 22 to resolve the issue.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10157561688897864&id=619692863[/embed]

As the post made its rounds on the internet, netizens slammed the temple and declared that there was no place for caste-based discrimination in Singapore.

Others chimed in with their own anecdotes, suggesting that Jayabal's father's experience was not isolated.

The caste system is an ancient social hierarchy which divides Hindus into several main classes and is believed to date back about 3,000 years.

There has been pushback against the practice in modern times — after India achieved independence in 1947, laws were introduced to prevent caste-based discrimination.

In 2015, former Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) president S Dhanabalan said in an interview with tabla! that prejudices based on one's caste are "something that we should reject completely".

Some Indian nationals remain "strongly caste-conscious", Dhanabalan said.

"I think, among the Indian Singaporeans, caste is probably much less, but it's still there."

kimberlylim@asiaone.com