http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=67367
Orissa's Jagannath temple closed
after Dalits enter premises
Keredagada (Orissa), Dec 16: An uneasy calm prevails over Orissa's
Keredagada village after 'Dalits' entered the local Jagannath temple
in defiance of a 300-year-old ban imposed on them by the upper caste
Hindus.
Dalits entered the temple and performed rituals on Thursday backed by
a court ruling that permitted all Hindus to enter the temple.
The temple gates were immediately closed by upper caste Hindus in the
village, who claimed that the Dalits had made the temple impure.
"It was our old tradition that Dalits cannot enter the temple. For
them, nine holes are made in the temple walls through which they can
see. Since last year, they have been trying to enter the temple. Now
in 22 villages life has come to a standstill. No one has consumed food
as god's ritual has stopped," said, Bijaya Kumar, an upper caste
Hindu.
Upper caste Hindus in Kendrapada District are now seeking permission
from descendants of the local royal family to purify the temple.
Last year, a group of Dalits women were fined Rupees 10,001 by the
temple authorities for entering the temple. As per local custom,
Dalits are allowed to worship through holes created in the temple
walls.
The matter finally went up the High Court in Orissa, which ruled, in
favour of them.
"When we entered the temple, they (Upper caste Hindu's) closed the
temple. We felt bad. We cannot have food if the rituals are stopped in
the temple," said, Satrughan Majhi, a Dalit.
Meanwhile, the police is maintaining a strict vigil, but has not taken
punitive action against any community.
"Why would we instigate them? Don't we have other work? We have
already clarified this before, the high court has made it free for all
Hindus to visit the temple," said, Satrughan Paride, superintendent of
police, Kendrapanda district.
Low-caste Hindus make up about 16 percent of
population, and have traditionally been at the bottom of the
3,000-year-old Hindu caste hierarchy.
Caste discrimination is banned by the Constitution, but reports of
Dalits being beaten or killed for using a well or worshipping at a
temple reserved for upper castes in the conservative rural areas are
still common.
In the recent past, the Dalit community in
aggressively over the brutal murder of four low-caste people who had
opposed the construction of a road through their land, and further
over the desecration of a statue of their leader Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
--- ANI