Indo-Asian News Service
Kendrapada (Orissa), Dec 17 (IANS) A raging
controversy over Dalits entering an Orissa temple
and protesting upper castes ended Sunday as
both sides agreed to view the deity from an
open corridor in a compromise solution.
Only priests would be allowed to perform rituals
and enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Jagannath
temple at Keradagarh village, 45 km from here,
a village representative said.
On Saturday, around 1,000 upper castes had
protested the entry of Dalits into the Jagannath
temple on Thursday in defiance of an age-old
caste bar after a court ruled in their favour.
After talks to bring about a rapprochement
between the two sides, it was announced that
a wall inside the main boundary with nine holes
through which Dalits were traditionally allowed
to view the deity would be demolished and an
open corridor will be provided for both Dalits
and upper castes to worship.
The temple was opened late Saturday after
"purification" rituals following its
closure in the wake of the entry of Dalits.
The priests had locked the temple's main gate
and stopped all rituals.
Members of the royal family, whose ancestors
had built the Jagannath temple some 300 years
ago, spent hours talking to both the Dalits
and upper castes Saturday night.
Dalits comprise 400 of the village's 1,400
population. In November 2004, villagers had
beaten up four Dalit women for entering the
temple. Though Dalits have tried to enter the
temple many times, they were barred by the upper
castes.
They then moved the Orissa High Court, seeking
police protection when they entered the temple.
A division bench of the high court last week
ruled that all Hindus had the right to enter
any temple, irrespective of caste.
The Dalits alleged that they have been spending
sleepless nights since the day they entered
the temple. "The upper caste villagers
have vented their anger against us and many
of them turned revengeful," Bichitra Jena,
a Dalit said.
"A majority of the Dalits are landless
cultivators here. Many landowners have stopped
giving work to us," he said.
Police have also issued arrest warrants against
three upper caste leaders - Managobinda Jena,
Suren Swain, and Seshadev Nanda - for allegedly
instigating people to oppose the entry of Dalits
into the temple although nobody has been arrested
yet, he said.
