The Government of Tamil Nadu on Monday appointed 15 'odhuvars' to government-controlled Hindu temples, including five women odhuvars.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin hailed the development as "another milestone in the journey for equality".
Odhuvars sing devotional hymns at Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu, but they are not priests. The development comes within two weeks of the appointment of three women priests in the Hindu temples in the state.
In a post on Twitter, Tamil Nadu Minister of Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HRCE) PK Sekar Babu said that 10 women odhuvars have so far been appointed.
"According to the words of Hon'ble Chief Minister "everything is for everyone". It is very gratifying that 10 women reciters have been appointed so far in the Dravidian model government to prove that men and women are equal," said Babu in Tamil.
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So far, a total of 39 appointments to the post of odhuvars have been made since Stalin took over as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, according to Babu.
The Times of India quoted Babu as saying that odhuvars would be employed only in Shiva temples and not in Vaishnava temples.
"Odhuvars sing Thevaram and other Tamil devotional hymns and songs in temples. They won’t enter the sanctum sanctorum...The odhuvars completed three years training in different temples and mutts," reported ToI.
Sharing the development on Twitter, Stalin called it "another diamond in the social justice achievement crown of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam". The DMK is the party Stalin leads, which is ruling Tamil Nadu currently.
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"Another milestone in Tamil's journey towards equality! Another diamond in the social justice achievement crown of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam! In short, as Dravidian activists praise, it is the 'flower' that our Dravidian Model government puts on the chest of the great! Congratulations to the Honorable Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HRCE) Minister PK Sekar Babu," said Stalin in tweet in Tamil.
