We are living in the digital age that is trying to dissolve all the barriers. However, it seems that Dalits are still facing discrimination as a new report has emerged where a 31 years old Dalit woman was stopped from entering a Shiv Temple in Madhya Pradesh. In the Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh on 1 March this year, on the festival of Mahashivratri, the woman was denied entry to the temple premises to offer her prayers to Lord Shiva.
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The police said that a case has been lodged against three people that also including a priest Shankar Pujari, Manju Patidar, and an unknown woman under section 505 (2). The statements that create or promote enmity, hatred or ill-will between the sections of the society come under this IPC section. The case has also mentioned the important sections of the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act, as per Siddharth Chaudhary, superintendent of police, Khargone.
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The case involved people who live in Temla village. The priest has been arrested and both the women are said to be missing. The incident occurred at the event of the Mahashivratri festival but the local police only took the required action after a video of the incident became viral on social media on Thursday. In the video, the three people involved could be heard saying wrong things to the women for belonging to the Dalit caste.
As per the statement given by the police to the media, the complainant Pooja Khande and her friend Shivani Khande who stayed in the Temla village had visited the Shiv Temple on 1st March 2022 to offer their prayers to Lord Shiva. However, they were stopped by the temple priest as a special function was being conducted for the Patidar community. Pooja wanted to go inside however, the two women which also include Manju Patidar started abusing Pooja and stated that Dalits were not allowed to worship with their community people.
Shivani immediately took the video footage and informed the police on Thursday. After which, a team of police was sent to visit the village and an FIR was registered against all the three who had stopped the women from going inside the temple.
At a time when we are embracing the modern technologies and the innovations that are appearing in this era, our thoughts on communities and castes in India seem to be still rigid. Many people are still being abused verbally and physically for belonging to a particular sect, caste, creed, religion, and language. When will modern India wake up and ensure that there is no discrimination at any level based on any group at any place?
Will we see a time when people live in peace and harmony with the way they exist rather than separating them from others and creating a rift? Will there be a time in India when we proudly say that such incidents have become almost zero and no one is concerned about what the other person belongs to and stop the judgment and discrimination policies? Hope so, such a time will arise soon.
