Sivamanithan, SSSivamanithanAbraham, Mary SadhanaMary SadhanaAbraham2025-12-122025-12-122025-11https://www.epw.in/journal/2025/46/commentary/shared-worship-segregated-rituals.htmlhttps://gnanaganga.alliance.edu.in/handle/123456789/8770Once known for its communal harmony and joint participation, the Pattaladamma deity festival has become a site of caste-based exclusion orchestrated by the caste panchayat in a village in Karnataka. The field observations show how informal caste governance, through structures like the nyaya panchayat, overrides constitutional values and fosters structural untouchability under the guise of tradition. This article argues that ritual exclusion is not an isolated cultural aberration but a deliberate assertion of caste hierarchy that demands urgent legal and constitutional interventions.enDalitsCastePanchayatAnthravalli, Karnatakatext::journal::journal article