The connotations of temple entry

After an incident of caste discrimination in Kolar district, a Dalit family replaced portraits of Hindu gods in their house with photos of the Buddha and Dr B R Ambedkar.

There are two views about the temple entry issue among Dalit thinkers and activists.

Some say that the community should renounce God, boycott temples and focus on education. Others feel that it is not easy to overcome deep-rooted cultural and religious connections that have been passed down over generations.

According to Guruprasad Kantalagere, who has researched Dalit traditions and Dalit Christians, “The Madiga community relates to temples through the idea of Jambudvipa. So, even when they convert, they generally choose Christianity as there is a similarity between their version of the origins of the world and that of Christians. Similarly, youngsters in the Holeya community see their roots in Ambedkar and the Buddha. And they choose this path.”

For Santosh Dindagur, a theatre artiste, having access to village temples has many more connotations than worshipping the deity. It is a window to the culture that took shape in his own land. “I am researching the temple architecture and will use it in my theatre activities,” he says.

“It is easy to dismiss temple entry as superstition, but we should look at temples as an integral part of culture. It is also our responsibility to pass on the culture and knowledge to the coming generations,” he adds.

It is common for villages to have more than one temple. While every other community has access to all temples, including the ones in Dalit colonies, Dalit communities are restricted to the temples in their colonies.

Interestingly, priests or administrators do not ask about the caste of devotees before allowing them into the temple. As a result, many Dalits go to temples in places far from the village. “The element of anonymity helps,” says Radha from Vijayanagara district.

In places where discrimination is subtle, temple administration allows everyone to enter the temple, but they do not actively support the entry of Dalits.

A struggle and a strategy

Tumakuru’s Kundoor village has shown how demand for justice can actually yield results. Kundoor Thimmaiah, 68, inspired by Dalit movements, led the efforts to gain access to the village water pond and temple in 1980. The violent tussle continued for three years, which included three murder attempts on Thimmaiah.

The path was not easy, but Thimmaiah won the hearts of the majority Lingayat community when he helped them solve a temple dispute with another privileged caste. He formed a youth association comprising all castes. His mantra of collective leadership made the village elect him twice as a gram panchayat member and once as a taluk panchayat member. After four decades of concerted efforts, “Dalit leadership has entered the mainstream here,” Thimmaiah says.

In Talavageri in Koppal district, college students took the situation in their stride when the temple administration served them food in paper plates while other communities were served in steel plates. They demanded the administration put a separate counter and name it as SC counter. “We knew this strategy will work as no one dares to perpetuate discrimination in public view. Within minutes we got steel plates,” says Bhim.

A struggle and a strategy

Tumakuru’s Kundoor village has shown how demand for justice can actually yield results. Kundoor Thimmaiah, 68, inspired by Dalit movements, led the efforts to gain access to the village water pond and temple in 1980. The violent tussle continued for three years, which included three murder attempts on Thimmaiah.

The path was not easy, but Thimmaiah won the hearts of the majority Lingayat community when he helped them solve a temple dispute with another privileged caste. He formed a youth association comprising all castes. His mantra of collective leadership made the village elect him twice as a gram panchayat member and once as a taluk panchayat member. After four decades of concerted efforts, “Dalit leadership has entered the mainstream here,” Thimmaiah says.

In Talavageri in Koppal district, college students took the situation in their stride when the temple administration served them food in paper plates while other communities were served in steel plates. They demanded the administration put a separate counter and name it as SC counter. “We knew this strategy will work as no one dares to perpetuate discrimination in public view. Within minutes we got steel plates,” says Bhim.