http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dalits-in-gujarat-s-surendranagar-prevented-from-entering-temple_1499348
Dalits in Gujarat's Surendranagar prevented from entering temple
Published: Wednesday, Jan 26, 2011, 16:23 IST
By Charul Shah | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
"We have booked 18 people including the husband of the village
sarpanch and the deputy sarpanch of Rampur village in Surendranagar
district under various section of Atrocities Act for discriminating on
basis of caste." - This is what deputy superintendent of police of
SC/ST cell, PM Bhalia, revealed on Tuesday, adding that the
investigation of the case is over and cops have arrested all the
accused on Tuesday morning.
Though there is hardly anything new in the sordid tale of casteism
that blotches the democracy's name, it is particularly unnerving that
such an event had taken place on the eve of the country's 61st
Republic Day celebration. Surendranagar police arrested 18 people for
preventing dalits from entering a temple.
The dalits' entry into the village temple of Goddess Meldi Ma was met
with severity by the 'upper' caste villagers who restricted entry of
over 13 dalit families from paying obeisance to the deity. The
incident was reported with the police with the help of Navsarjan
trust, an NGO working for the marginalised people. Matters turned sour
when some dalit families wanted to enter the village temple.
"We were not allowed to sit with others and were always abused by the
members of upper castes. We were also not let inside the temple,"
alleged Purushottam Chawda, a member of the backward community who
lodged a complaint against the 18 people. "In our absence, other
villagers gathered near the temple and passed a resolution that all
villagers should boycott us. They were asked to swear by the Goddess
and promise that they would not keep any relations with us," Chawda
further said, adding that people caught violating the diktat were
threatened to be fined of Rs5,000 for insulting the Goddess.
Incidentally, though Khoda Koli, the husband of sarpanch Jasuben Koli
and the deputy sarpanch Samant Koli were arrested, they were later
released on bail.
"We have asked members of both the communities to maintain peace and
harmony. We will also be maintaining vigil in the area," Bhalia
further said.
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