http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070509/asp/jamshedpur/story_7750359.asp
At god's door there's no divide OUR CORRESPONDENT Cuttack, May 8: Orissa government has informed the high court that Dalits have been allowed to enter the Jagannath Temple at Keredagarh in Kendrapada district by restricting the entry of caste Hindus through the Lion Gate. The government was responding to the notice issued by the court on a fresh petition filed by a Dalit lawyer. The petitioner had contended that discrimination with regard to entry in the 300-year-old temple continues despite a high court order against it. At present both caste Hindus and Dalits are allowed darshan only from a distance of 37 feet. In a five-page report submitted on Monday, Kendrapara collector Kashinath Sahoo said: "All people, irrespective of caste and creed, have darshan from the main entrance of the temple and are not allowed to go further. Only the priest and sevayats go inside the temple." Previously, according to age-old tradition, the caste Hindus were allowed to enter the temple through the Lion Gate located on the left side and facing east, while the Dalits were only allowed to have darshan through nine holes on the 6-feet high boundary wall, which had spurred their demand of abolishing such a custom.. Acting on a ruling on a petition filed by Akhaya Kumar Mallick, a Dalit lawyer the high court had on December 5, 2006, ruled: "In our considered view, every Hindu, irrespective of his caste, has a right to enter the temple of a public deity and offer puja. In this view of the matter, both the people belonging to the Scheduled Caste community as well as the caste Hindus (Sabarnas) have a right to enter the temple for offering puja." The boundary wall had since been "demolished" and replaced by a grill gate about 9ft 6 inches away from the entrance. The Lion Gate has been "closed" and is being used "only for purposes like taking paddy, wood, stock and store required for the deity". "From the third week of January, people belonging to both Sabarnas and Harijans are enjoying the darshan from the entrance point. They were giving coconut with husk to the priests and the priests after breaking the coconut offered bhog to the god and returned the same to the people," Kendrapada collector said in the confidential report, a copy of which is available with The Telegraph. "Nobody is discriminated either in the darshan, or in offering bhog to the god."
