Upper castes in remote area of Uttar Pradesh object to Angrezi Devi
Published: Tuesday, Nov 9, 2010, 3:15 IST
By Deepak Gidwani | Place: Lucknow | Agency: DNA
A Dalit-dominated hamlet in remote area of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is on
the radar of top officials of the Mayawati administration nowadays. At
the crux of their interest is a new goddess 'Angrezi Devi'.
Construction of a temple consecrated to this goddess of English is in
full swing in Jang Bahadur Ganj village of Lakhimpur Kheri district.
But tension has already begun to simmer over this unique campaign to
popularise English and modern education among Dalits. Upper castes
feel this is the first step towards conversion of Dalits to
Christianity. They also feel worshipping 'Angrezi Devi' is an insult
to Hindu goddesses.
"Those who are opposing the 'Angrezi Devi' temple are either ignorant
or are acting at the behest of some vested interests," says renowned
writer on Dalit issues, Dr Chandrabhan Prasad, who is the driving
force behind the ingenious initiative. "English education is the
primary need of Dalits. We are working on Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar's
inspiration," he said.
A three-feet high statue of the goddess of English is ready for
installation. The statue is designed on the lines of New York's Statue
of Liberty. It holds aloft a pen in one hand and a copy of the Indian
Constitution in the other.
But even as Dalits of Jang Bahadur Ganj toil day and night for the
proposed inauguration of the new temple by month-end, top officials in
Lucknow are a worried lot. "We have been getting reports of tension
between Dalits and upper castes over this temple… we only hope this
issue doesn't flare up," a senior police official said. State
intelligence agencies, he added, were keeping a close eye on the
situation.
"The upper castes feel this is only a ruse to convert Dalits to
Christianity," he said, adding that a number of people had apprised
senior district officials of their objections. "They also see the
temple as an attempt to grab land," the official said.
Because of its Dalit dimension, the "Angrezi Devi" issue is highly
sensitive for the Mayawati government. So, no senior official is
willing to go on record about the controversy.
Meanwhile, students of the Nalanda Shiksha Niketan, a local Dalit
school, have even written a prayer to worship the goddess in English.
The structure of the temple, being built on about 800 square feet of
land, is almost complete. Prasad says the temple walls would be
adorned with scientific formulae, famous quotes and gems of knowledge
from a variety of subjects. However, what remains to be seen is
whether this new temple spreads the light of knowledge or the flames
of caste conflict.
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