Dalits are banned from entering temples in Madhya Pradesh, caste discrimination is already being done, Dalits alleged
Posted on by Dalit Times
Due to discrimination, they are not even being allotted leases under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Leela Bai, a resident of this place, says that the condition of her house has become so bad that now even relations for her children in the village have stopped coming. He alleges that the people of his colony are being discriminated against at every step. Resham Bai of the same village says that she had observed a fast, at the end of which she had to perform puja at her place. But she says that the temple priest refused to come to her place.
MADHYAPRADESH NEWS: There is a village in Madhya Pradesh where Dalits are prohibited from entering the temple. This discrimination is so extreme that even a priest does not come to the house of Dalits and people of the Dalit community are asked to visit the temple only from outside. The Dalits of the village also say that this discrimination has been going on with them since the beginning.
Not allowed to enter the temple:
According to BBC report, Madanlal of Kheri village in Ichhawar of Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh says that this is the Dalit colony of Kheri village and it is a colony of 150 houses. A villager from the same village said in his statement that “We are not allowed to enter the temple, even the priest does not come to our house, we come from outside after having darshan of God. We have been discriminated against since the beginning, just want to tell you this.”
What did the women of the colony say about discrimination?
When BBC talked to women about discrimination, the women said in their statement that due to discrimination they are not being allotted even leases under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Leela Bai, a resident of this place, says that the condition of her house has become so bad that now even relations for her children in the village have stopped coming. He alleges that the people of his colony are being discriminated against at every step. Resham Bai of the same village says that she had observed a fast, at the end of which she had to perform puja at her place but she says that the temple priest refused to come to her place.
Statement of Resham Bai, resident of Basti:
Resham Bai told, “We are not allowed to go to the only Ram temple in the village, we are not even allowed to climb the stairs, we are not allowed to go inside the temple. When a marriage takes place in our colony, we have to take a coconut to the temple to perform the rituals.” “When puja is performed in the temple, we sprinkle turmeric and rice outside and leave. And the coconut is given there to other boys who belong to their caste. They go inside and offer coconuts and we just come back from outside with folded hands.”
The matter was raised in the Panchayat:
According to BBC report, the people of Dalit colony allege that they have raised this issue many times with people of other communities also. I have raised it in the Panchayat and also in front of the Sarpanch, but till now no solution has been found. According to his claim, there is a separate arrangement for burning dead bodies for Dalits in the village crematorium.
Statement of Baldev Singh Jangra of Basti:
According to BBC report, Baldev Singh Jangra was born in this colony and now his children are also growing up. He says that he has faced ‘this discrimination’ ever since he regained consciousness and ‘is facing it even now’. Baldev Singh Jangra said in his statement, “We do not have any temple at all. never have been. It is their (other community’s) own temple. Go to temple sometimes if need be. But they come back after having darshan from outside. We are forbidden to go inside. Don’t go inside at all. This is caste discrimination, they are not allowed inside.”
Further, Baldev Singh Jangra told that a person from his colony had gone there to listen to the story going on in the temple. He says, “He had gone to take Prasad and climbed the stairs and went inside. So a brother from another community threw him out. He said you will not come inside here. Take prasad from outside only.” The people of the colony also said in their statement that this ‘hand pump’ is the only support for water because they allege that the water ‘connection’ that has come in the village does not provide water to their colony.
Discrimination against Dalits even regarding water connections:
In the BBC report, Madanlal told that money was also taken from him in the name of providing water ‘connection’. But they allege that their colony does not get water from the water tank in the village. They allege that this is also due to ‘discrimination’. He said, “No water is available. Neither do you get a land lease. Neither can go to the temple. If we perform puja then we don’t find a Pandit. Pandits do not come to our house. At Dalit’s place. They consider us untouchable. Have discrimination. Caste discrimination that this one is a cobbler, that one is a boy, that one is a washerman. This is Bhangi, this is Basod, there is such discrimination.”
What did the people of Chandbarh say on discrimination?
In a BBC report, people of Chandbarh told that Dalit families in rural areas of Sehore district have to face discrimination in their everyday life. Chandbarh is an area adjacent to Sehore district headquarters where there is a significant population of Dalits. The people here allege that due to discrimination, they have now built a separate temple for their community so that no one stops them from going to the temple.
Basant Kumar Malviya is very active in his society and has also provided land to build a separate temple for Dalits. Basant Kumar said in his statement that after the consecration ceremony of Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22, bhandaras were organized everywhere and especially in temples. He alleges that when people of his community went to the Bhandara, they were made to sit at different places and were fed. He also says that donations are not even taken from his community for the local temple.
Dalits are cheated in the name of elections:
Basant Kumar Malviya says, “At the time of voting they say that we are our brothers. They are our own sisters and sisters. When elections come, they say, you are our brother…come…that leader will sit in our house with full support, but when the elections are over, they abuse him and say that he is a Dalit, stay away. Sit down. How did you climb up…?” BBC report revealed that Ratanlal Ahirwal looks after this temple of the Dalits of Chandbarh. He alleges that his people are not allowed to do ‘any new construction work’ in this temple and ‘objections’ are raised on it. He says that even after many years, the government has not given the lease for the land of his temple.
Not allowed to take water from public tap:
The district administration of Sehore is accused of ignoring the issue of discrimination in the society. But on 19th March, there was chaos in the Collectorate when the women of Muskara village reached there and created a ruckus. These women alleged that they were not being allowed to take water from the public tap. He also submitted this complaint in the form of a memorandum to the District Officer. In this memorandum he also alleged discrimination against him.
What did District Officer Praveen Singh say?
But Sehore District Officer Praveen Singh does not consider the incident in Muskra village as an incident of ‘discrimination’, although he says that the allegations are being investigated but there is ‘no issue of untouchability’ in it. The District Officer said that ‘some women’ of Muskara village had come to the Collectorate and had also given a memorandum to the ‘Joint Collector’ in which it was said about the problem of water in the village. He says, “I went there and got the check done in the village. Some ‘issues’ came up regarding water. There are nine bores in the village, out of which seven have now been repaired. 7 bores have started working now. There was no Dalit atrocities, untouchability or any such issue found there.”
On discussing Kheri and Chandbarh, the district officer said that he “got this information only from the media.” He said that he is sending teams of officers to both these places. He said, “I am sending the team and whatever is necessary will be done. Action will be taken on the basis of the findings or things that come to light from the investigation report of that team. It has been trying to end this discrimination in the society since the first day of its establishment.”
What did Dattatreya Hosabale say on Hindu society?
According to Sangh’s Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, there was an intensive discussion regarding this in the All India Representative Assembly of the Sangh held in Nagpur recently. In response to a question from BBC, he had said during a press conference in Nagpur that the Sangh is serious about the issues like discrimination, untouchability etc. prevalent within the Hindu society since the first day of its establishment and is working towards correcting it. It is working. He said, “What happens in Hindu society is that one is not allowed to enter the temple. There are difficulties in taking water from ponds or wells. Regarding the crematorium and also regarding entry into the temple, things come to the fore that a section of the society is not allowed to enter. Unfortunately this happens only in some small places i.e. mostly in villages. In urban areas it is less visible or almost nonexistent. But the truth is that unfortunately this practice still exists today. So we are trying to remove this.”
When will the inequality spread in the society go away:
Kheri and Muskra villages fall in the Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency, which has been represented by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sushma Swaraj and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Sehore district is also the political birthplace of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Now the question arises that despite big names being associated with this field, why the inequality prevalent in the society has not been removed till now.
