Kalugumalai riots of 1895

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Kalugumalai riots of 1895

The Kalugumalai riots were a violent clash in 1895 between Nadars (also called Shanars), who had recently converted to Roman Catholicism, and the Maravars, a traditional Tamil Hindu military caste. The trouble centered in Kalugumalai, in the Madras Presidency of British India, around the temple of Kalugasalamoorthy and the streets used for the temple procession.

History of the dispute
- In 1849, the Ettaiyapuram Zamindar created a group of car streets around the temple and built house plots along them, with shrines for Hindu deities. He argued these streets were temple property.
- The Nadars wanted these streets to be public, not owned by the temple. Courts ruled that the streets were a religious matter and not public property.
- In November 1894, a French missionary, Caussanel, bought a house on the East Car Street and began building a Christian chapel, which sparked Hindu protests.
- In 1895, Caussanel and some Nadars set up a ceremonial porch (pandal) for a baptism on the same East Car Street, blocking the temple procession chariot. This intensified the conflict between the communities.

The riot and its aftermath
- During the Panguni Uthiram festival on 7 April 1895, the temple chariot was prevented from passing due to the pandal. The estate manager was stabbed to death, and the local official (the Munisif) was also injured and died later.
- The Maravars attacked Nadars and burned the church roof, along with Nadar homes and businesses. Official reports give about 20 to 24 people killed and more than 100 injured.
- Thirty-four Nadars were arrested. The trial led to two Nadars, Mahalinga and Karutna, being sentenced to death in August 1895, but the High Court soon freed all the accused on appeal.
- Caussanel was supported by Nadars and visited them after the verdicts. The rift between communities continued, and further clashes occurred, including the Sivakasi riots in 1899.

Key outcomes and legacy
- In 1897 the court ordered the Christian church to leave the East Car Street site. After exhausting appeals, the church was relocated away from the temple area in 1904.
- Kalugumalai, a village in the Tirunelveli area, is known for three historic landmarks: the Kalugasalamoorthy Temple (a cave temple), the Kalugumalai Jain Beds, and the Vettuvan Koil. The area was under the Ettaiyapuram Zamindar until 1954.
- The riots reflected deep tensions between upwardly rising Nadars, who were expanding as a business community, and the established Hindu castes, and they had lasting effects on local politics and communal relations in the region.