@CMOKerala The DMK, a descendant of the Justice Party which first brought the tenets of Social Justice to temple practices, celebrates this milestone!

DMK working president M.K. Stalin warmly hailed the Kerala government on October 7, 2017, for implementing historic reforms appointing non-Brahmins and Dalits as temple priests under the Travancore Devaswom Board. Stalin noted that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, standing as the direct ideological descendant of the historic South Indian Liberal Federation (Justice Party), deeply celebrated this momentous institutional advancement. The Justice Party pioneered the democratization of temple administrative committees and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments administration during the 1920s to end hereditary hegemony.

Stalin recalled that Thanthai Periyar fought relentlessly throughout his life for the fundamental right of qualified individuals from all castes to become sanctum sanctorum archakas. Former Chief Minister Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi had enacted landmark legislation in Tamil Nadu to eradicate hereditary priesthood, declaring that devotion must transcend caste hierarchy. Kerala's administrative order breathed practical life into that long-cherished egalitarian vision.

The DMK leader praised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for demonstrating exemplary reformist political courage. He stated that appointing trained Dalit and backward class priests shattered centuries of orthodox social discrimination. Stalin affirmed that Dravidian social justice ideals would continue transforming Indian religious institutions.