Thursday, June 8, 2006 (Kota):
People from backward communities in Rajasthan, till a few years ago, were forbidden from entering some temples.
But now in the state's Kota district a group of Dalits have been trained to become temple priests.
They are already performing full Vedic rituals that were till now the sole preserve of upper caste Brahmins.
Vedic rituals
The new breed of Dalit Pandits have learnt Sanskrit to ensure that Dalit weddings are performed with Vedic rituals.
"When we had weddings in our community earlier, pandits never used to come. Their refusal to come made us feel that they do not see us as human beings. So some people in our community decided that if they do not come, why don't some of us train to become pandits and learn all Vedic shastras," said a Dalit pandit .
Over the past year nearly 60 Dalits have been trained in various disciplines of Hindu priesthood by Sanskritam, an NGO in Kota.
They can now perform all traditional rituals related to birth, marriage and death. And in a sign of changing times, Dalit pandits say even other castes are now accepting them.
"We are getting a lot of respect from our Harijan community. Some people from other castes like Raigars and Bairwas have also started calling us for their functions. We pray to God that soon some higher caste people will also start using our services," said another Dalit pandit.
By performing private pujas, the Dalit pandits have clearly broken an upper caste bastion.
But though they have been fully trained to become temple priests, so far none of them have actually been appointed in a temple.
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