NSS takes down crematorium wall in Palakkad that sparked caste segregation debate
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links. The Nair Service Society (NSS), a dominant caste organisation in Kerala, dismantled and removed the compound wall that they had built at the Mattumantha public crematorium in Palakkad nearly a month after facing severe backlash. The incident had sparked controversy in the state, raising questions about whether public spaces can be unofficially demarcated for caste groups. The controversy erupted on May 23, when the NSS began building a compound wall in the 20 cents of land allotted to them at the public crematorium. The land was allotted to them in 2023 by the Palakkad municipality where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power.When the compound wall and allocation of land for constructing a shed became controversial, the municipality intervened and halted the construction.It was on September 15, 2023, that the Valiyapadam NSS unit submitted a request to the municipality to allot land in the Mattumantha public crematorium to build a shed for cremation. NSS said they are building the shed for all communities, not only for NSS. Fifteen days after the submission, the order was sanctioned through a municipal council resolution. However, the people residing in Palakkad came to know about the land allotment only when NSS began the construction. Meenakshi TS, the ward member of Mattumantha, said the demolition was carried out following an instruction by the municipality. “We had earlier informed them that they cannot build a compound wall in the public crematorium,” she said. After a row erupted, other communities in Palakkad began to submit requests for land in the public crematorium. They argued that if the land was granted to NSS, they also have the right to get the land. However, the municipality has not taken any decision regarding those requests, according to Meenakshi. Land for Nair organisation in public crematorium sparks caste debate in Palakkad
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
THE Nair Service Society (NSS), a dominant caste organisation in Kerala, dismantled and removed the compound wall that they had built at the Mattumantha public crematorium in Palakkad nearly a month after facing severe backlash.
The incident had sparked controversy in the state, raising questions about whether public spaces can be unofficially demarcated for caste groups.
The controversy erupted on May 23, when the NSS began building a compound wall in the 20 cents of land allotted to them at the public crematorium. The land was allotted to them in 2023 by the Palakkad municipality where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power.
When the compound wall and allocation of land for constructing a shed became controversial, the municipality intervened and halted the construction.
It was on September 15, 2023, that the Valiyapadam NSS unit submitted a request to the municipality to allot land in the Mattumantha public crematorium to build a shed for cremation. NSS said they are building the shed for all communities, not only for NSS. Fifteen days after the submission, the order was sanctioned through a municipal council resolution. However, the people residing in Palakkad came to know about the land allotment only when NSS began the construction.
Meenakshi TS, the ward member of Mattumantha, said the demolition was carried out following an instruction by the municipality. “We had earlier informed them that they cannot build a compound wall in the public crematorium,” she said.
After a row erupted, other communities in Palakkad began to submit requests for land in the public crematorium. They argued that if the land was granted to NSS, they also have the right to get the land. However, the municipality has not taken any decision regarding those requests, according to Meenakshi.
