A classical dancer was denied permission to perform in a temple festival in Kerala for not being a Hindu.
The Koodalmanikyam temple at Irinjalakudda in Thrissur district of central Kerala denied permission to dancer Mansiya V P, a topper in the MA Bharatanatyam course from Madras University.
Many activists, including former state health minister and senior CPM leader K K Shailaja, flayed the temple's decision after Mansiya shared her plight on social media.
Mansiya was scheduled to perform on April 21 as part of the temple festival. The temple had also published notices in this regard. However, the authorities later informed her that since she was not a Hindu, she could not be allowed to perform.
The temple authorities told the media that only Hinduism believers could be allowed inside the temple as per the traditions. The stage is inside the temple, and hence, Mansiya could not be allowed to perform.
Mansiya also said in a social media post that she was earlier denied permission to perform at the Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple festival on similar grounds.
When the Koodalmanikyam temple authorities asked her whether she converted to Hinduism after marriage, she said she respects all faiths. She also requested that the criterion for performance should be based on the talent of artists and not on caste or religion.
Former health minister K K Shailaja said in a social media post that denying permission on the ground of religion amounted to a threat to the country's secular fabric. She also alleged that Mansiya was initially allowed to perform, and it seems that she was denied permission due to other interventions.
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