TUMAKURU: A Dalit man, who had entered a temple barred for Scheduled Castes, had to face the anger of the local community twice over despite ‘atoning’ for his act.
Jagadish MS had entered the Doddamma temple at Mallekavu village on May 20 with his family. Angered by this, the other communities held a meeting the very next day and penalised him. Jagadish promptly got the temple painted at a cost of Rs 25,000 in what is seen as an act of cleansing. But the temple main door frame remained unpainted, which was enough to target him again.
A villager, Meese Ramanna, badmouthed Jagadish in the name of caste, saying it may spark controversy over ‘purity’. Unable to cope with the repeated insults, the victim lodged a complaint against eight villagers, including Block Congress president M P Somanna, with the Koratagere police. Incidentally, the village comes under Koratagere assembly constituency represented by Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara.
“So what if the Deputy CM does not visit the temple? I entered it and I need justice”, he told to TNIE. He asserted that he is a Hindu and wants to enter the temple like any other. He claimed that ever since he entered the temple, he has been facing threats to his life and that his family members left the village in fear.
Jagadish used to be an autorickshaw driver in Bengaluru but returned to his village and got into farming. The village has about 600 households of which about 150 are SCs. The community is barred from entering the Doddamma temple.
“It is an age-old tradition and no Dalit enters the temple which is maintained by the Kaadu Golla community. Anjaneya temple in the village is open to all. But the village ostracising Jagadish’s family is not true”, claimed Mallekavu Suresh, a local. Koratagere police are on the lookout for the accused.