Temples across Tamilnadu have many statues in them, apart from the sanctum sanctorum that has the idol of the main deity, there are demi-gods, local gods, mythological characters associated with that specific location or sthal, there are statues of kings with their consorts such as the various Kings during whose time the temples were constructed (I can think of the Thirumalai naicker statue in many places within the Madurai Meenakshi temple), there are statues of local statues of local chieftains who contributed towards the building of the temple, such as the Marudhu brothers, then there are statues of the nayanmars and alwars, there is a statue of even a British officer in Maduranthagam Ery kaatha Raamar kovil (I haven’t verified this personally)…these represent apart from the spiritual purpose also the purpose of acknowledging the contribution of these personalities towards the local communities or the entire region or state.
Periyar (with my limited knowledge) was a passionate leader, who was provoked by the utter indifference and inertia of people and opposed that through his sharp speeches and campaigns which he did tirelessly. His commitment to social equality and justice perhaps opened the gates of the entire movement in the southern part of the country. Tamilnadu owes much to this charismatic and controversial leader for its current status in terms of social equality. His emphasis on rational knowledge has been since then lost on the Tamilians due to the typical followers who continue to fight opponents he had made insignificant long back. But, followers always do this to great leaders, be it Gandhi or Periyar.
Why shouldn’t there be statues of Periyar erected INSIDE every major temple in Tamilnadu? It would make so much sense and will not deter either the spirit of the temple, which anyway has always had statues of personalities and would only reflect the broad Hindu philosophy which has recognized atheism also as a method of knowledge. The Hindus have so much space in some of these large temples that accommodating one statue will not in any way make a difference to the temple. If anyone Periyar among the leaders in the last century deserves a place in the Tamil temples, no other has made a social impact as huge as him in the Tamil land. It would ensure some minimal maintenance that is currently not available for his statues in main roads in all major roads of the state. It would ensure that the statue is more aesthetically located and space provided for people to even sit around and perhaps read his works in the prahaaram. Such a move will also ease the trouble of many followers of Periyar who would like to don the ‘thundu’ of atheism, but, would also like to play a role in the local festivities which would require them to visit the temple.
This would of course not capture the imagination of either the Dravidian leaders or the Hindu leaders as both stand to lose a meaningless and unproductive political pursuit which earns them their daily byte and bread.
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