Students demand ban on disgraceful practice of 'Madae Snana'

The students of Bangalore University (BU) staged a demonstration on Friday to express their disapproval of the annual ritual of Madae Snana and demanded that the government ban the practice.In this regard, post-graduate students and PhD Students' Association (PPSA) organised a bandh at the Jnana Bharathi campus on Friday. The students were angry that members of the fact-finding team who visited Kukke Subramanya temple on a fact-finding mission were assaulted by those in favour of the practice.G Govindaiah, president, PPSA, said the association wants that the men who assaulted the duo should be arrested. He said even the priests of the temple should be held accountable. He added that the government should ban Madae Snana as it is inhumane to have people rolling over the food left by upper-caste Hindus.The students met BU registrar BC Mylarappa, who visited them in wake of their demonstration. He said he received the memorandum from the students and would pass it to the government. He condemned the practice of Madae Snana, calling it an insult to humanity. BU vice-chancellor N Prabhu Dev, too, criticised the practice. However, he disapproved the students' method to put across their point.