Dalits enter Jagannath Temple; Priests abandon rites in protest

Kendrapada, Dec 14 (UNI) Armed with Orissa high court order as many as 18 Dalits today entered the 300-year-old Jagannath Temple at Kedargada breaking the age-old tradition.

But soon after the Dalits entry the temple priests and the sevayats locked the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and left the premises without performing the ''sandhya arati'' in protest the entry of the dalits into the temple.

Official sources said there was no untoward incident when the Dalits entered the temple for the first time amid tight security cover around the Jagannath temple.

The priests and the sevayat of the temple, protesting the entry of the Dalits into the temple, however, did not offer any prasad or ''tulsi'' to the dalit devotees who had a darshan of the Jagannth inside the sanctum sanctorum.

The trouble started last year when the upper caste people imposed penalty to some Dalits woman for entering into the temple premises, breaking the 300-years-old tradition. The temple built by the Kanika Raja had imposed a restriction prohibiting the Dalits to enter the sanctum sanctorum.

The controversy took a new turn when the Dalits united under an outfit called'Dalit Manch' decided to enter the temple. A petition was also moved before the Orissa High Court in this regard and the court put an end to the age old tradition stating that every Hindus, irrespective of the caste, has the right to enter the temple.

The High Court also directed the district administration to ensure proper law and order during the entry of Dalits in the temple.

Meanwhile, the upper caste people of the area have decided to abide by the court order but put another restriction on the dalits entering into the temple forbidding them to do any household work in their houses.

UNI XC DP BA RL KN2133