Hyderabad priest carries dalit man on shoulders into temple

Hyderabad: A Hyderabad priest carried a Dalit man on his shoulders into a temple on Monday and embraced him, re-enacting a 3,000-year-old custom that he says holds a strong message in the scenery of the violence and discrimination against Dalits. 

CS Rangarajan, a priest in Hyderabad’s Chilkur Balaji temple, carried Aditya Parasri into the sanctum sanctorum of the Sri Ranganatha temple. The old custom from Tamil Nadu is known as Muni Vahana Seva. 

“This is the re-order of a 2,700-year old custom. It is being done to re-set up the significance of Sanatana Dharma and to promote quality among all sections of the society,” the priest said. “This demonstration is established as a way to stop the abuse of dalits and preach brotherhood universally” he added.

The 25-year-old devotee Aditya said that he hopes the move would prompt a change in mindsets of the poeple. 

“Being a dalit, my family was mistreated and was humiliated when I was denied entry into Lord Hanuman temple in my local Mahbubnagar. This treatment is as yet existent in a few temples,” he said. “I trust this is only the start of progress.” 

India saw conflicts amid a countrywide bandh on April 2 as Dalit community challenged a Supreme Court order they felt would debilitate a law for their security against outrages. 

On March 20, the Supreme Court had ruled against the arrest of individuals blamed for assaulting or harassing Dalits and other minorities under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, or the SC/ST Act. The court said its aim was to check counterfeit cases, yet Dalit leaders dreaded the order would leave the groups more powerless against assaults.