time to ban temple priests or search for Kabir within or monitor implementation of reservation of dalits as temple priests? frankly i prefer option 2 or 1. but people have to decide Ranjani. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dalit-boy-thrashed-for-entering-Tamil-Nadu-temple/articleshow/8631401.cm  Dalit boy thrashed for entering Tamil Nadu templeRead More:Siddhi Vinayaka Temple|Mettupalayam Police|Dalit Liberation Movement|Anti-Untouchability Act COIMBATORE: A teenage Dalit boy, who entered the sanctum sanctorum of a temple, was allegedly thrashed and abused by a Brahmin priest and his son in Mettupalayam, Coimbatore district, on Friday. K Vinith had gone to the temple with his younger sister K Sruthi for special prayers, an hour before her Class X results were declared on Friday. He entered the main temple, took `vibhuti' (holy ash) kept on a plate and smeared it on his sister's forehead. The priest and his son, who were not present in the sanctum sanctorum, returned then and allegedly slapped him repeatedly. The two have been arrested on charges of abuse and causing voluntary hurt under sections of the Indian Penal Code. However, the police are yet to invoke the sections under the anti-untouchability law (The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act) against them. Despite the presence of a stringent law and numerous public campaigns, complaints of Dalits being denied entry into temples abound. According to Vinith, he had gone to the Siddhi Vinayaka temple near the co-operative housing unit in Mettupalayam around 9.30am to pray for Sruthi, who scored 71% in the exam. Temple priest S Jambunatha Gurukkal, 49, had left a plate of `vibhuti' at the entrance. ``Vinith took a pinch of `vibhuti' for his sister when the priest returned and confronted them,'' said P Krishnamoorthy, advocate and social activist. The priest asked Vinith where he lived. When the boy said he was from the Adidravidar colony at Nadur, Jambunathan slapped him repeatedly for entering the temple, Vinith's father Krishnan, a railway contract employer, said. Sruthi was shocked and screamed for help. Then, Jambunathan's son Sugavanam ran in and joined in beating up Vinith. The priest and his son asked them to leave after warning them to stay away from the temple. Krishnan lodged a complaint with Mettupalayam police against the priest and his son. ``We took them into custody based on the complaint filed by the victims,'' said sub-inspector P N Thangavelu. The priest's family claimed there was no caste angle to the issue, and Jambunathan just lost his temper when he saw the boy entering and ``defiling'' the sanctum sanctorum. ``He did not have any other intention. He could not control himself,'' said his wife J Revathi. Nagarajan Iyer, another priest associated with the temple, claimed Jambunathan merely punished the boy for entering the sacred area and taking the `vibhuti'. Dalit outfits have demanded stringent action against the priest. ``The priest and his son have been arrested on minor charges. They should be proceeded under the anti-untouchability Act,'' said S Karuppiah of the Dalit Liberation Movement. |
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