Hassan: The upper caste residents of Arakere village in Arsikere taluk of Hassan district have canceled a temple fest scheduled to be held on April 1, only with the aim of keeping Dalits away from the temple!
Representative photo
A few representatives of Dalit community in the village had complained to the Additional Deputy Commissioner K.M. Janaki in Hassan about strong sense of discrimination against them practiced in the village where the Dalits are not only denied permission to enter Kariyamma temple, but are also forced to perform the menial jobs assigned to them generations ago.
With changing times, the Dalits who refused to remain oppressed, demanded entry into the temple and refused to do the menial job such as cleaning village roads etc. They also insisted that the traditional temple music band, which passes through ‘Upper caste’ colonies only, must this year, tour the Dalit colonies as well. The so called upper classes rejected this proposal.
Following a complaint by the Dalit leaders, Arsikere taluk administration convened a meeting on Sunday.
Though the upper caste members agreed to accept the demands of the Dalits, in a major volte face after the meeting, they decided to cancel the temple festival rather than permitting entry to the Dalits into the temple.
Vijay Kumar, district president of Madiga Dandora Horata Samiti, said: “During the meeting, the ‘upper caste’ members said they would not oppose entry of Dalits into the temple and assured the officers that the community would not be discriminated against. But, they changed their stand as the meeting ended. They announced that the festival would be canceled. This is only to avoid Dalits from entering the temple.” The samiti has decided to hold a protest in Hassan.
The Additional Deputy Commissioner had ordered the officers concerned to hold a meeting and resolve the matter.
