For about 250 Dalit families in Pazhangkallimedu in Nagapattinam district, their wish to perform rituals on at least one day during the five-day temple festival still remains elusive even after their last year threat to convert to Islam protesting against the age-old discrimination.

The Dalit's threat to convert to Islam got them nation-wide media attention but nothing much changed. The caste Hindus remain adamant in refusing to allow them to perform the ritual in Bhadrakalli Amman temple in Kallimedu.

Even though the 800-year-old temple is administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment department, the influential caste Hindus belonging to Pillaimar community, traditionally comprising landlords, continue to oppose the participation of Dalits in the rituals. The five-day temple festival which will be held in the auspicious month of Aadi in Tamil Calendar, usually falling between mid-July to mid-August, was cancelled by the district administration this year too.

"For the last five years, we have been fighting for our right to perform Mandagapadi (an act of offering money to hold the ritual for a day in the festival). But the caste Hindus are not ready to make any compromise in allowing us to take part in the temple rituals even if that leads to the cancellation of the festival," said M Ramani of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, a Dalit party.

"In the five-day festival, the rituals in the first and the last day of the festival was led by the HR and CE department while in the intervening three days it is the people from Pillaimar community who perform the rituals, he said. This year, he said, the government temple authorities asked us to take part in the rituals on the first day. "We agreed to that offer immediately. But the caste Hindus did not even turn up for the peace talks called by Tahsildar. As they refused to allow us, the collector cancelled the festival," Ramani said.

A resident of Kallimedu where the Caste Hindus reside said the Dalits were projecting us in a bad light as if "we were denying them entry into temples itself." "For years together, we were doing rituals during the festival. It is a tradition. Now suddenly at the instigation of some political party, they (Dalits) are seeking to take part in the rituals," the resident who did not wish to be named said.

Ramani noted that Hindu groups which offered to mediate in the issue, after they threatened to embrace Islam, had vanished. "We will embrace Islam if the festival was conducted without our participation," he threatened.

A senior revenue department official said the festival was cancelled as they could not reach an amicable solution. "We are hopeful of resolving the issue. We will ensure all the people take part in the temple ritual in the next year's festival," the official said.