“Unity cannot be imposed,” the Madras High Court said, allowing a petition to conduct a village temple drama in Tamil Nadu’s Sivajangai district, despite state objections over caste tensions and a dispute between rival groups over temple ceremonies.
Judge S. observed: Srimathi on Thursday said that even humans belong to the “animal kingdom” and that divisions arise naturally after a certain point. The court held that the authorities could not prevent separate celebrations simply because the communities refused to unite.
The court was hearing a petition filed by S. Sukumar seeking directions to the police and district authorities to grant permission and protection to conduct Arulmegu Sri Pon Munyandi temple festival and organize “Drama Vali Thirumana” in Sivajangai district on May 22.
The Tamil Nadu government opposed this petition, arguing that rival groups were claiming rights to the festival and dramatic performance, leading to continuing tensions in the village. The court also informed that the village peace committee had already discussed the issue and recommended against holding the drama.
However, the petitioner maintained that the show would be put on a private property near the temple, with the consent of the landowner, and not on the temple premises. He said the peace committee’s decision only applies to temple land and cannot restrict the event to private property.
The petitioner also cited an earlier Supreme Court ruling from November 2023, where it had decided a similar dispute and held that no particular community could be prevented from celebrating despite opposition from other communities.
The Supreme Court agreed with the petitioner’s contentions and said that unity cannot be imposed forcefully. She considered that divisions among citizens were normal. Justice Srimathi also compared social behavior to the patterns we see in the “animal kingdom,” where loneliness exists only to an extent.
“As rightly pointed out, unity cannot be imposed. Even humans belong to the animal kingdom. As per the behavioral pattern in the animal kingdom, there can be unity only to a certain extent. Beyond that, there will be divisions, which are natural. Therefore, unity cannot be imposed. Considering the rival claims, this Court is inclined to allow this petition,” the Supreme Court said.
The court further said that separate celebrations could not be prevented merely because there were rival groups. It granted the petition and directed the district authorities to grant permission for the event, as per standard conditions, while warning organizers against “obscenity in songs, dances or performances.”
