‘Shoot at sight’ during ritual angers devotees in Karnataka

The controversial Madae Snana (a ritual of people rolling over leftover food consumed by the upper-caste Hindus) went from bad to worse when a group of people supporting the ritual attacked the president of Hindulida Vargagala Jagruta Balaga of Mysore, Shivaramu, for condemning the practice, on Wednesday.

Shivaramu and five other members of the organisation were in the temple town on a fact-finding mission. Being the last day of Madae Snana, more than 1,200 devotees had gathered to perform the ritual. The event was videographed by Balaga activists for documenting it for their report. The locals, who strongly believe in the ritual, picked up an argument with the activists.

The police then swung into action and quelled the mob. “We have a video footage of the incident. We will identify the people involved and take action,” said Labhu Ram, superintendent of police, Dakshina Kannada district.

The temple authorities, however, clarified their stand on the issue. “We do not have any ritual in the temple in the name of Madae Snana. They do it on their own accord. We tried to dissuade them but they argued that the temple authorities have no rights to stop them from performing the ritual,” said temple chiefs.

The Balaga activists are keen to submit their report to the Human Rights Commission. “We have enough material to make a report on this disgusting ritual. The attack on Balaga activists by the Malaekudias has proved that the Purohitashahi of Kukke Subramanya temple and its upper-class Hindu devotees has fully captivated the poor Malaekudias with their Brahiminical school of thought,” said Shivaramu.