Three young women priests of Tamil Nadu who successfully completed training to become priests will soon be designated as assistant priests at temples in the state.The women identified as Krishnaveni, S Ramya, and N Ranjitha have completed their training to become temple priests under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the state government after breaking a long-standing male-only tradition.They were also awarded certificates by Tamil Nadu Minister Sekar Babu, along with men trainees who completed the course at the Archakar Training School run by the Sri Ranganathar Temple in Srirangam on Tuesday.Tamil Nadu CM respondsTamil Nadu Chief Minister also commented on this historic event and said that the Dravidian model government is the one that made it possible at a time when women are deemed impure and are not even allowed in the temples of female deities.“Despite womens achievements as pilots and astronauts, they were barred from the sacred role of temple priests, deemed impure, even in the temples for female deities. But change is finally here! In Tamil Nadu, as our #DravidianModel Government has removed the thorn from Thanthai Periyars heart by appointing people of all castes as priests, women are also now stepping into the sanctums, bringing a new era of inclusivity and equality,” Stalin tweeted.பெண்கள் விமானத்தை இயக்கினாலும், விண்வெளிக்கே சென்று வந்தாலும் அவர்கள் நுழைய முடியாத இடங்களாகக் கோயில் கருவறைகள் இருந்தன. பெண் கடவுளர்களுக்கான கோயில்களிலும் இதுவே நிலையாக இருந்தது.ஆனால், அந்நிலை இனி இல்லை! அனைத்துச் சாதியினரும் அர்ச்சகர் ஆகலாம் எனப் பெரியாரின் நெஞ்சில் தைத்த… https://t.co/U1JgDIoSxb— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 14, 2023Manickam Tagore, the Congress MP from Virudhunagar also urged the central government to introduce a similar scheme for the entire country during the upcoming special session of Parliament while calling it a “revolutionary step forward.”Reactions of these women priestsS Ramya, one of the three women who got appointed as priests said that training was initially difficult. She is also an MSc graduate from Cuddalore. “Though it was difficult, we didnt want to give up. Our teacher, Sundar Bhattar, also taught us really well. We want to thank the government and all our teachers for their support,” she said.Krishnaveni, an undergraduate in mathematics, said she wanted to serve God and thus the people and hence chose the training.Ramya and Krishaveni are also relatives and both were encouraged by their family members to pursue the one-year course in which they got ₹3,000 stipend. Meanwhile, Ranjitha is a BSc graduate who joined the course as she found it interesting.Sanatana Dharma row of Stalin JrThis development comes forward at a time when the DMK government is in a tight spot because of the Sanatana Dharma row. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalins son, Udhayanidhi Stalin compared Sanatan Dharma with dengue and malaria in his speech at a conference recently.While Udhayanidhi defended his statement and said his attack was against the caste-based society, the BJP made it an issue to corner the opposition alliance INDIA.This issue even divided the opposition INDIA alliance with Stalin asking his party members to not speak on the issue further, according to media reports.
