Threatened, ostracised and pushed to the edge, a group of about 130 Dalit families in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district are pinning their final hopes on police and district administration to end a caste-based discriminatory tradition of three centuries and receive their Constitutionally-guaranteed right to worship their God.
The families at Daspara area of Gidhgram village, all having 'Das' surnames and belonging to the traditional community of cobblers and weavers, have allegedly been forced to stay away from the steps of Gidheswar Shiv temple, the only place of worship in the locality, by the shrine committee and other villagers on grounds that they belong to a 'low caste', victims alleged.
At their wits' end, victims at the receiving end of this discrimination now plan to take 'the fight to the end' and even seek legal recourse if the state administration fails to resolve the crisis.
The discriminatory practice almost unheard in modern Bengal and violative of Article 25 of the Constitution which guarantees equal freedom of citizens to worship as a fundamental right has reportedly been in vogue ever since the temple was founded some 300 years ago, locals claimed.
Recent interventions from police and administration in the presence of two MLAs to facilitate the entry of Das families to pray at the temple during Shivratri on February 26 and an on-paper truce agreement between the two opposing communities have failed to break ice.
Indeed, the matter has escalated grassroots tensions, prompting the police and administration to allegedly 'play safe' for now.
Besides, economic ostracisation of Dases, who currently work as farm labourers and rear cattle, at the village dairy centre has been enforced, the victims alleged.
It began with a written appeal to Katwa SDO by six Das families on February 24, which informed their decision to pray at the temple on Shivratri and sought the administration's protection, prompting it to pull its socks and take notice of the medieval practice.
"We are abused, mistreated and thrown out of the temple whenever we go to pray. A section of villagers say we are untouchable cobblers belonging to low castes and, as such, have no right to visit the temple. Lord Mahadev will turn impure if we worship him at the temple," the appeal, written in Bengali, read.
Although the victims failed to offer Shivratri prayers in the wake of persisting ground resistance, an administrative meeting on Friday, February 28 -- attended by Katwa and Mangalkot MLAs, both from the ruling Trinamool Congress, SDO and SDPO (Katwa), a local community development officer and six members each of the temple committee and the Das families -- passed a signed resolution to allow the aggrieved families to pray at the temple in future.
"Currently India is a secular nation and the Constitution has erased all discriminations based on caste, colour or race. All citizens of all caste and religion in this country are equal and everyone has equal rights to enter a temple to pray," the resolution stated.
That resolution, however, has remained on paper and yet to be enforced.
"The very next day, we received a call from police urging us to not visit the temple in the wake of the ongoing Shivratri fair and that it could escalate the law and order situation. We had no choice but to oblige," Ekkori Das, a signatory, told PTI.
"Police asked us to wait till the fair ended and, accordingly, called us again to prepare a temple visit on Friday, March 7. But when we reached there, despite being accompanied by the local BDO and seeing police presence around the temple, we sensed tension on the ground. The temple gates were closed and locked. We returned without offering prayers," he added.
Dinabandhu Das, another villager, said they are waiting for police and administration to take affirmative steps to ensure security of the Das families.
"We were ready with fruits and milk to offer our pujas to Lord Shiva. But we couldn't because we fear for our safety. Let the administration look into this," said Lipi Das, a woman from Daspara.
Ekkori informed that companies, under instructions from villagers, have stopped collecting milk from the Dases at the village milk collection centres from Friday evening, affecting the livelihood of some 30-40 families.
Dinabandhu Mondal, a temple committee member and among the resolution signatories, said, "They have never set foot inside the temple following an ancient tradition. No one in this village wants to break this age-old custom. If they try to force their way in, an unrest in the village is likely. The administration must tread cautiously."
Mangalkot MLA Apurba Chowdhury, while rubbishing the possibility that his party may lose popular voting mandate if villagers were forced into submission, said the problem would take time to resolve.
"The matter can only be solved through discussions," he said.
Till reports last received, the SDO has called for another round of meetings with the resisting villagers on Saturday, with the Dases maintaining that chances of a breakthrough are likely slim.
"We will soon implement the decision taken at the February 28 meeting. We are closely monitoring the situation," said Anisha Jain, SDO (Katwa).
"We will either take this fight to the end and knock on the doors of Kolkata and Delhi or pack our belongings and leave this home of our ancestors," Ekkori said.
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