Savarnas oppose Dalit entry to Karnataka temple, remove diety
Hyderabad: Tensions prevail in Hanakere village of Mandya district in Karnataka, after Savarna Hindus removed the diety from Sri Kalabhairaveshwara Swamy temple in the village, in protest of the government providing temple entry for Dalits.
Dalits were reportedly never allowed inside the temple, facing discrimination from the village’s Savarna population. A temple reconstruction that took place a couple of years ago brought the temple under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka state government’s Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department.
This change provided the Dalits in the village with legal rights to enter the Kalabhairaveshwara temple. However, this move was opposed by the Savarnas, who wanted to maintain exclusive access to the temple.
As the Dalits demanded entry, challenging years of caste discrimination, tensions began to rise in the village. To address the situation, district government authorities held two rounds of peace talks, but these efforts did not lead to a resolution.
On Sunday, November 11, Dalit community members entered the temple they were banned from entering for years, amid tight police security.
After the Dalit entry, the Savarna Hindus ‘abandoned’ the temple, saying they would not enter the temple again. They also removed the ‘Utsavamurty’ deity from the temple stating the Dalits could “keep the temple, we’ll take the diety,” South First reported.
In a video from the incident, it took place in police presence.
After the situation escalated, the district administration deployed more police force near the temple and in the Hanakare village, as the Dalits-Savarna faceoff remained tense.
In a similar incident of Dalits being denied temple entry, several Dalit women protested outside Siddheswari Ramachandi Shakthi temple in Garajanga village of Kendrapara district in Odisha on Saturday, November 9.
The protesting women alleged the temple priest and other Savarna stakeholders of the temple denied the women the chance to offer milk to the diety as a ritual in the holy month of Karthik.
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