Bangalore,December 01 :THE advancements we have made in the fields of science and technology have failed to hide some seemingly inhuman traditions that rear their ugly heads time and again, shaming the country and the people.
What makes them worse is when authorities try to justify these weird rituals by wrapping them in the cloak of religion.
One such ritual is the ‘ Made Snana’, practised at the Subrahmanya temple in Kukke, in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Here, people from the backward castes roll over leftover food — served to the Brahmins on plantain leaves during lunch — with the belief that it will cleanse impurities and cure skin ailments.
Every year, people take a vow at Subrahmanya temple to perform ‘ Made Snana’. On Monday, hundreds of devotees from the backward castes took part in the ritual. The state’s religious endowments department, under whose purview the temple falls, had last year imposed a voluntary ban on the ritual in the wake of strong objection from the civil society.
But surprisingly, this year the government lifted the ban.
“ How can the government promote discrimination based on caste? The Brahmins are served food in a separate dining hall while people representing other castes are served food in the general dining hall.
Then, these people roll over the leftovers of the Brahmins.
This is ridiculous. It is happening right under the nose of the government,” political historian Dr A. Veerappa said.
Apparently, the Malekudiyas, a local tribe, had protested against the ban on the ritual last week. Legend has it that the Malekudiyas consecrated the Subrahmanya temple and their role in the festivities is significant.
As part of the tradition, the Malekudiyas decorate the temple chariot. This year, they refused to do it unless the ban on ‘ Made Snana’ was lifted.
“ What had stopped the government from educating the Malekudiyas that ‘ Made Snana’ is not a sacred ritual? This BJP government is promoting communalism in the name of religion,” Veerappa alleged.
The Dakshina Kannada district administration claimed it had tried its best to stop the ritual but could not go against the sentiments of hundreds of devotees.
“ It is true that we did not want the Malekudiyas to perform ‘ Made Snana’ as it amounts to discrimination.
But on Monday, thousands of devotees wanted to perform the ritual. We were not in a position to go against their beliefs,” Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner, N. S. Channappa Gowda, said.
On Wednesday, a Dalit leader was assaulted by volunteers and temple staff while he objected to the ritual. Dalit leader B. K. Shivaram and four of his supporters representing the Samaja Jaagrutha Vedike ( progressive organisation) were talking to the media about the evil practice when they were trashed.
“ The temple authorities have converted this holy place into a den of rowdies. Don’t we have the freedom of even questioning social evils? It was a pre- planned attack for exposing their double standards,” Shivaram said.