UP village tense after Dalits barred from entering temple

Dalits were reportedly barred from entering a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district. According to reports, priest of Ram Janki Temple at Garha village in the district had put up a signboard at the entrance of the temple asking Dalits not to enter the temple to take part in the ongoing recital of ‘Ramayana’ epic.

Sources said residents of the village have been regularly attending ‘Ramayana’ recital for the past few days.

Kunwar Bahadur Singh, the priest, reportedly stopped a Dalit child from entering the temple and taking part in the recital on Monday.

The priest also put up a signboard stating that the Dalits were not allowed to enter the temple. The members of the Dalit community protested the ban and reported the matter to senior officials.

The priest withdrew the signboard after it triggered a protest.

However, Singh said he had barred some Dalits from entering the temple as they were ‘drunk’. “A few days ago, some Dalit youths tried to force their way into the venue of the recital in an inebriated state. I had stopped them,” he said.

Senior officials had visited the temple and the matter was being investigated, the sources said. Action would be taken against the priest if the allegation was found to be true, the officials said.

DH News Service