Almost a week of meetings later, the villagers allowed the Dalits entry in the temple
Almost one-and-a-half mon-ths after the Bhim Shakti Sena carried out a Samuhik Mandir Pravesh (public temple entry) at the Sumarpuri Gaushala Mandir in Sherpur village of Deesa taluka, Dalits in the village are now allowed entry into the three temples there.
But that hasn't erased the animosity towards them for daring to challenge a century-old tradition. Mahesh Parmar, a youth who first tried to enter the temple said the villagers stopped the discrimination following the mass entry programme.
"Now, everyone is allowed to enter the temple. In fact, we go there to have a puja every Monday," said Parmar. But, all is not as happy as it seems. Parmar said people now don't talk to the Dalits in the village. "No one talks to me at least, other than those from my community. The villagers are angry for I dared to challenge age-old traditions but I don't care," said Parmar, a Bachelor of Arts, graduate who decided to enter the temple after following the no-entry rule for long. He said they also cold shoulder other Dalits in the village. The village has a population of 7000 people of which 300 to 500 are Dalit families
Interestingly, the three people who had beaten up Parmar are still free after they got a stay against their arrest from the Gujarat high court. Keval Rathod Convener of the Samajik Ekta Jagruti Mission, who was also part of the temple entry programme said that on January 19 people from various communities together entered the temple.
"Later we had a talk with the sarpanch and the elders in the village where we convinced them that what they were doing was against the constitution. We told them that God wouldn't discriminate and if they continued to discriminate we may have to pursue legal recourse," said Rathod.
His team now plans to meet people of other temples where entry of Dalits is still banned. "After this incident, we also convinced the Krishna temple in Vadaviya and Motha Ashram temple in Motha both in Una to allow Dalits entry," said Rathod. He said some Swaminarayan temples in remote areas still practice the tradition and they will soon have a talk with them too.
GREEN CARD
- Almost a week of meetings later, the villagers allowed the Dalits entry in the temple.
- A team now plans to meet people of other temples where entry of Dalits is still banned.
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