By Raja Chowdhury
Hassan (Karnataka): Thirty
five Dalit families were humiliated, abused, and denied entry into a temple in
Karnataka’s Hassan district on Sunday by members of the dominant Vokkaliga and
Lingayat castes. Kadaga village residents say they’ve seen rampant caste
discrimination, and conflicts around the village temple for over 70 years now.
However, on Sunday, when the temple was being opened after renovations that the
Dalit families had also contributed to, they thought the temple entry issue was
settled. But when they reached the temple to offer prayers, they were
humiliated and abused with casteist slurs. The story was first reported by The
Hindu.
“One of the village elders, Bore Gowda, and some of his men
were standing outside the temple and they did not let us inside,” says
65-year-old Devamma, a resident of the village, “Bore Gowda owns a lot of land
in the village and he is a powerful man. He began shouting at us.”
“He compared us to chappals, and said that like chappals, we
must also be kept out of the temple,” she alleged, “They told us that the
consequences would be bad if we did not listen to them.”
Soon, over 100 people belonging to the dominant castes
gathered outside the temple and barricaded the entrance, according to
witnesses. A distraught Devamma then called the Dalit Sangharshana Samiti
Hassan district president Chetan and informed him about the developments.
Chetan immediately called the Superintendent of Police, Ram Niwas Sepat, and informed
him about the incident.
Chetan also intimated the Assistant Commissioner Dr
Nagaraj and also the Tahsildar G Meghana, who arrived at the spot. Speaking to
TNM, the SP, Ram Niwas, confirmed that Dalits were denied entry into the temple
by the dominant castes.
Speaking to INDvestigations, Chetan says that
despite the presence of the officials and activists, the dominant caste people
of the village hurled abuses at the members of the Dalit community. There are
around 35 Dalit families in Kadaga village and around 65 Vokkaliga and Lingayat
families, Chetan says.
“The Savarnas have been intimidating the Dalits in the
village for the last 70 years. The temple itself is over 70 years old. It is
only in the last four to five years that Dalits are being allowed into this
temple,” Chetan says.
In 2013, the JD(S) MLA from Hassan, HS Prakash (now
deceased) brought the temple under the Muzrai Department’s purview in order to
ensure that such discrimination doesn’t continue. The temple was being
renovated and members of the Dalit community were allowed to enter the
premises. Dalit families also donated funds for the reconstruction works.
However, after the MLA’s death in November last year, the practice of
untouchability allegedly continued in the village.
“Since my father’s time, we were never allowed into the
temple. Around 20 years ago, some people from our community had tried to enter
the temple. The dominant castes had, back then, pelted stones at our homes
after the sun went down. There is a separate part of the village for Dalit
houses. We are targeted by them, and we are scared,” Devamma says.
According to Chetan, on Sunday afternoon, the government
authorities, police and members of all communities gathered outside the temple
to sort the issue out. The Tahsildar Meghana is said to have held talks with
the village residents.
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