Dalits enter Orissa temple

10 Dalit devotees from Keraragada enters the temple and offer prayers, reports Himansu S Sahoo.

After days of struggle, Dalits finally entered the Jagannath temple in Keraragada village on Thursday. The Orissa High Court had recently passed an order favouring their entry into the temple in Kendrapara district.

HT Image

On Thursday, 10 Dalit devotees from Keraragada entered the temple and offered prayers.

Dalits were banned in the three-century old temple since its construction till now. A public interest litigation filed in the Orissa High
Court by a native from Kendrapara changed all that.

In its December 5 order, the high court ruled that a Dalit and any Hindu, irrespective of his caste, has the right to enter any Hindu temple to perform the rituals.

Email Himansu S Sahoo: himansu.hsekhar@gmail.com