No room for Dalit groom

Temple shut for 'untouchable' couple who headed for ritual

NT Correspondent

Gadag: Exposing how deep social divisions are in rural Karnataka, a Dalit bridegroom in Shyagoti village in Gadag district could not visit a temple to perform a premarriage ritual because it was shut.

The village, which is located about 13 kilometres from the district headquarters, also witnessed shuttered shops as the groom Sharanu Madar walked down to the local Dyamavva temple. Madar and his family said that they were going to the temple for a rite called ‘Devara Karya’.

They alleged that there had been a social, religious and economic boycott of their Dalit family due to threats by certain upper caste persons who had vowed to collect Rs2,500 from shopkeepers if they entertained the family. Last Saturday, a verbal complaint was registered with Gadag Deputy Commissioner (DC) Vyshali ML, who directed the Tahsildar Kishan Kalal to visit the village and resolve the issue. However, tensions continued to simmer and cops have been deployed to ensure the conflict doesn’t escalate.

Temple authorities, however, denied any wrongdoing and claimed that they had been shut since morning on that fateful day, a very unusual occurrence because, like other places of worship, the temple doesn’t remain closed often.

Madar and his family on the other hand lodged a complaint, claiming that the temple had indeed been open in the morning and was shut down after the news of him coming down to the spot broke. Madar insisted that the shopkeepers were repeat offenders and that fear of paying a fine was only an additional motivator.

He alleged that retailers have in the past, refused to sell their family certain goods, falsely claiming that they did not have it. He added that the offending persons would agree with the authorities but would promptly go back to strict adherence to ritual notions of purity and pollution once they were left to their own devices.

Tahsildar Kalal said that police personnel had been deployed in the village for security purposes, adding that they were trying to sensitise villagers on matters pertaining to untouchability and social inequality