Social ReformBritish Crown rule
Kamudi temple entry agitation
· Kamuthi
Nadars entered the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple at Kamudi in 1897; the courts, and in 1908 the Privy Council, ruled against their right of entry.
The Nadars of Ramnad district sought the right to worship in the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple at Kamudi, which was under the trusteeship of the Raja of Ramnad and was opposed by the Maravar community. On the night of 14 May 1897 a party of Nadars entered the temple and offered worship in the sanctum. A criminal case followed, and in July 1899 the Madurai sub-court issued a permanent order barring Nadars from the temple. The Madras High Court upheld this, and in 1908 the Privy Council in London dismissed the Nadars' appeal. The dispute deepened tensions between the Nadar and Maravar communities in the southern districts.
