Washington, D.C. (December 23, 2006) - The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) bemoaned as "archaic, inhumane and discriminatory" the ‘purification’ of the Jagannath temple by priests in the village of Keradagarh in Orissa, India after Harijans ("Dalits") entered to worship. In the past, Harijans have only been permitted to worship the Deity at the Keradagarh temple through nine holes carved in the wall of the temple.
The Foundation had applauded the Orissa High Court ruling earlier this month that all Hindus, irrespective of caste, should be allowed to enter the temple after Harijan women were attacked attempting to enter the temple in November 2004. Armed with a court order and under police protection, Harijans entered the temple on December 14, 2006. Immediately following, temple priests closed the temple and performed ‘purification’ rituals, while other caste villagers staged a hunger strike.
"The bigoted and vile practice of discriminating against fellow Hindus by not allowing entry into a temple should be condemned and immediately stopped," stated Ishani Chowdhury, the Foundation’s Executive Director. "Hinduism does not support caste-based discrimination in spiritual practice and our Foundation demands full equality for Hindus regardless of caste, community, race, or nation of birth."
The Constitution of India outlaws discrimination against its citizens based on caste, and the banning of temple entry to Harijans has largely disappeared in urban areas and at most major Hindu temples. The leaders of the Foundation strongly advocated prosecution and even incarceration of the "retrograde" minority that may seek to deny Harijans their spiritual and religious freedom to worship.
It is reported that members of the local royal family, whose ancestors had built the Jagannath temple some 300 years ago, negotiated with the Harijans and other villagers on December 17, 2006. An agreement was reached whereupon the holes in the temple wall would be demolished to create a common corridor for all Hindus.
"It was the Puri Jagannath temple in the same state of Orissa that served as home of the great saint Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who taught the Hare Krishna mahamantra to people of all castes, overruling then orthodox objections to the same. It is a sad commentary on the current priests that they would deny the Harijans the right to worship in the very state that Sri Chaitanya lived," said Swaminathan Venkataraman, member of HAF’s Executive Council.