Temple entry controversy stirs tension between Dalits, upper–caste in Orissa

Tension stirred in Orissa after four Dalits forcibly entered a Hindu temple and offered worship.

On December 14, 2006, four Dalits forcibly entered the Jagannath temple at Keradagarh in Kendrapara district of Orissa, defying centuries old ban.

Ever since the temple was built some 300 years ago, the upper castes have never allowed Dalits to enter the temple and the downtrodden 'untouchable' community had to be content peeping through the nine holes in the compound wall of the temple.

However, recently the Dalit community protested against injustice and garnering support from various state–level organizations and armed with Orissa High Court's ruling, December 5, that all Hindus, irrespective of their caste status, have the right to enter the temple, four Dalits on December 14 congregated in front of the temple and entered the temple together, watched by a police unit deployed near the temple.

The Dalits faced no resistance as they entered the temple. They went round the shrine and offered flowers near the bamboo barrier erected for all devotees, where they accepted prasad from the priest, the officer–in–charge of Rajnagar police station, Mohammed Akbar Ali said.

The following day, December 15, nearly 100 Dalits attempted to storm the temple forcing temple authorities to stop the rituals and close down the sanctum sanctorum for two days.

"The Dalits have made the temple impure for which we will have to give the mahasanya ritual bath to the deity. We have already apprised the royal family members of Rajkanika, whose predecessors built the temple, about this. We have closed the main door and it will be opened only after the purification ceremony," said Madan Mohan Panda, chief priest.

According to sources close to the development, members of the royal family, whose ancestors had built the Jagannath temple some 300 years ago at Keradagarh village, spent hours talking to both the Dalits and upper castes on Saturday night, December 16, after which the temple was opened.

"The first priority was to open the temple gate and that was done on Saturday night after priests performed purification rituals," a village elder told on condition of anonymity.

The priests' purification decision by organising 'Mahasanya' (ritual bath) of the deity has, however, been criticized by many. CPM district secretary Umesh Singh and CPI district secretary Babaji Dhal have demanded immediate arrest of the priests and upper caste leaders who have violated the court's order.

"The High Court order only repeats what the Constitution guarantees. Problems arose because some people were being obstinate. Now we will enter the temple and if there's any opposition we will go by the advice of the administration," said Rabindra Sethy, President, Dalit Committee.

The state administration has also agreed to cooperate with them in entering the temple at any time and take legal action against anybody opposing the move, said District Collector Kashinath Sahoo.

"The police have filed a case against three upper caste leaders of the village on charges of organizing the people to oppose the entry of Dalits by violating the court order," Sahoo said. "They have been charged under Section 3 of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocity) Act."

Hundreds of Dalits now plan to enter the temple on December 20 and offer worship.

Dalits comprise 400 of the village's 1,400 population. On November 2004, villagers reportedly beat up four Dalit women after they somehow managed to enter the temple.

Meanwhile, the attempts by Dalits to enter the temple have snowballed into a major controversy in the state with upper–caste communities vowing to stand in their way.

Temple priest Narayan Das reportedly said that he and other priests "will not perform rituals if the dalits are allowed into the temple."

Hundreds of Hindu upper–castes also held rallies and staged hunger strikes on Saturday in protest against the forcible entry by the Dalits. These upper–caste people also blocked the village road for hours, a district police official said.

"We will organize a meeting of a large number of upper caste people to chalk out plans to prevent any further entry of Dalits into the temple," Suren Swain, president of Jagannath Surakhya Committee, said.

"We will not go to the temple until it is purified through chanting of mantras," said Narahari Pani, a local Brahmin.

"The situation in the area is tense and volatile. There is palpable tension among the upper caste villagers. We have sought more reinforcements to prevent any law and order situation," Superintendent of Police (SP) Shatrughna Parida, who camped in the village, said.

In a related development, a two–member panel of National Commission for Scheduled Castes would visit Keredagada on December 19 to conduct an on–the–spot inquiry into the temple entry controversy.

Meanwhile, according to sources, a temporary compromise has now been reached whereby both sides agreed to view the deity from an open corridor.

Only priests would be allowed to perform rituals and enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Jagannath temple, a village representative said.

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.

"We are very happy to have a clear darshan of the Lord. No one can stop us from going there. And if the temple is closed, it's closed for both them and us. If it's open, it's open for both," said an old Dalit lady.

A meeting was held in the village, December 17, attended by Revenue Divisional Commissioner (central division) Suresh Mohapatra and DIG of Police (central range) S.K. Upadhyay.

After an intense debate, upper caste villagers agreed to let the Dalits into the shrine and offer prayers as the former were doing and an amicable settlement has been reached, Superintendent of Police, Shatrughna Parida, who was present at the meeting, said.

There were quite a few tense moments but things fell into place at the end, he said.

It was also decided that a wall with nine holes, which stood in front of the temple to allow the Dalits to look at the deities and offer prayers from there would be demolished.

A new gate would replace the wall and serve as another entrance to the shrine, the SP said.

The situation was slowly returning to normal in the area but the police would continue to be alert till complete normalcy was restored, Parida said.

However, Dalits' jubilation may be shortlived and uneasy tension continues to enshroud the district as many of them feel that the upper caste people will bid their time to avenge the 'humiliation.'

"We have been spending sleepless nights since Thursday after entering the temple as many upper caste people and the priests of the temple have vented their anger against us," said a worried Dalit lady Jharana Jena. Her initial jubilation of having a 'darshan' (homage to the deity) has turned into fear.

Bichitra Jena, a Dalit who ekes out his living by cultivating the lands, is without work for the last two days. "Majority of Dalits of Keredagada and its nearby areas are landless. Many landowners have decided not to give us any work after the Dalits entered the temple," Jena said.

Nonetheless, "The Dalits have a rightful claim to enter the temple. Police will provide the necessary security if they request for the same," District Collector Kashinath Sahoo has assured.

Caste, a social stratification rooted deep in Hinduism, organizes people by a combination of descent and employment. The lowest group in the caste system is the Dalits. While atrocities against the Dalits have been practiced for thousands of years, caste–based atrocities are reaching new heights and are causing tension across many areas.