Thursday, December 25, 2008

DALITS DEFY BAN TO ENTER TEMPLES IN TWO INSTANCES, WITHIN A WEEK

Though they had to take administration's help, which is shameful for the society reciting "modern INDIA".

After a decade,dalits defy hindu ban,enter temple
[25 Dec 2008]

MADURAI: After a decade-long struggle, Dalits at Panthapuli village in Tirunelveli district entered the Kannanallur Mariamman temple with help of district officials defying a ban imposed by casteHindus. alits, led by district collector G.Prakash and Superintendent of Police Asra Garg, entered the temple at Panthapuli near Sankarankovil on Wednesday. Though the caste Hindus resented the entry, they did not, however, make any effort to resist the move, apparently due to a stern warning issued by Prakash. The collector has initiated speedy steps to take over the temple by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Board. In order to prevent untoward incidents, cops had been deployed in adequate numbers in sensitive areas. The temple, which was closed for nearly 10 years due to a conflict between Dalits and upper castes, has been opened and poojas will be performed on a regular basis by all, officials said. A section of the caste Hindu families resisted the entry of Dalits in the past even though the local munsiff court permitted them to enter the temple. Due to tension, both Dalits and caste Hindus left their homes in the village and settled in nearby hills. The issue gained prominence after the CPI-M state unit recently threatened to take dalits inside the temple. On December17, 200 CPI-M volunteers courted arrested, trying to enter the temple.

Source
:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/After_a_decades_fight_Dalits_defy_ban_enter_temple/articleshow/3891513.cms


Untouchables enter Rajasthan temple

[Date:22-Dec-2008]

Alwar, Dec. 21,08: Alwar, a small town in Rajasthan, today witnessed a social revolution of a different kind as scores of erstwhile scavengers were allowed to enter a temple here. In addition to that, they also dined with families of “upper social strata”, a pipe dream till recent times. “It is dream come true for me, I have entered a mandir (temple) for first time in my 45 years of life. It is a revolution in true sense,” said Ms Anguri Devi, a former scavenger. The moment is equally “unforgettable” and “historical” for Ms Rajni Nanda, Ms Bimla Chumar and Ms Usha Devi, who were in the trade of scavenging. “Till recent times we were not allowed to enter the premises of temples in the locality, but from today we can enter and perform Puja freely,” Ms Nanda said. The socially significant development has taken place on the initiative of Sulabh movement, founded by Ms Bindeshwar Pathak in 1970. “People who used to run away even from the shadow of a scavenger befalling on them have now dined with such people and it is no less than achieving the impossible,” said Ms Pathak.

Source:
http://thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?date=2008-12-22&usrsess=1&clid=2&id=263530
http://www.sulabhinternational.org/news_detail.php?news_id=39

Full story: http://www.sulabhinternational.org/news_detail.php?news_id=38


2 comments:

Abhineet said...

its shocking to know that such kind of things r still prevalent in our country...its really a shame for us...a temple or other religious place is meant for every1...people should not need police to escort them to temples...

Anonymous said...

because of Caste based reservations, still people not forgetting castes. People becoming groups based on the caste because one group not getting government benefits and other group getting benefits. Caste based determinations will not go away in India, if caste based reservations not demolished.

 

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