This Temple In Uttarakhand Opens Its Doors To Dalits And Women After 400 Years!!

For nearly four centuries, women and Dalits had been barred from the temple situated in Garhwal's Jaunsar Bawar region. But now the temple's management has announced that everyone will be welcome to pray.

But Dalit leaders and activists, who said they had been fighting a bitter battle to end this discrimination, said a greater war was yet to be won as 339 other temples in the region still have the ban.

The word Dalit – literally translating to “oppressed” or “broken” – is generally used to refer to people who were once known as “untouchables”, those belonging to castes outside the fourfold Hindu Varna system. According to the 2001 census, there are some 167 million Dalits (referred to in the census as “Scheduled Castes”) in India alone, , constituting over 16 percent of the total population.There are tens of millions in other South Asian countries, as well.

The decision, the temple's management said, has been taken "in a bid to move with the times". 

Chairman of the committee, Jawahar Singh Chauhan, told The Times Of India, "This region is on the path of progress. Our literacy rate has gone up and people want scenarios to change." In the past few months, Dalits of the region had held several protests condemning these strictures.

The Parsuram temple announcement has come at a time when debates around restrictions placed on menstruating women from entering Sabarimala have been raging across various platforms.

“Dalits are hesitant to enter the temple premises because of certain beliefs. We want to send them a message that everyone is equal before the Almighty and no one can be stopped from entering a place of worship,” Chauhan added.

Dalit leader Daulat Kunwar said, "We welcome the move but there are 339 other temples in the region which also need to give their approval for the entry of Dalits."

The Parsuram temple management has also decided to stop the practice of animal scrifice here. Thousands offer sacrifices here before making a wish, or after they feel something has been granted to them by god.