West Bengal News: On Wednesday (March 12, 2025), a village in Katwa subdivision of the district was converted into a fort amid the refusal of Dalit families in the East Burdhman district of West Bengal. In a while, a group of Dalits of Gidhagram village started entering the local Gidheshwar temple. This group of Dalits hopes that in such a situation, the discrimination that has been going on for centuries will end.
Temple committee allegations of discrimination
Dalit people living in Gidhagram village of Bardhaman district have been complaining for a long time that they are not allowed to enter temples. He has also been accusing the temple committee of discrimination many times. Meanwhile, Pooja Das, who entered the temple on Wednesday, told that she was also among the five people who entered the temple. He hopes that the Dalits of the village will now be able to continue worshiping in the temple.
Climbing 16 stairs broke the chains of casteism
According to the report of the Indian Express, Pooja Das said, “Our ancestors were never allowed to worship, but now we are educated and time has changed, so we appealed to the police and administration. We finally managed to get our rights. The 16 stairs we climbed to enter the temple and worship, the discrimination that we climbed up to generations ended.” Lakkhi, a resident of another Dalit resident of the village, said that for the first time he saw the idol of God in the village temple with his eyes.
Shantanu Das (45 years), Lakkhi Das (30 years), Pooja Das (27 years) and Shashthi Das (45 years) are all of the 550 Dalits of the village who were not allowed to set foot in the village. The incident was revealed when the Dalits of the village wrote a letter to the district administration and exposed the discrimination. After this, the police and civil volunteers brought five Dalits to the temple. In the temple, he prayed for an hour. During this time, the entire area was surrounded by police and rapid action forces.
‘We were banished from generations’
Shashthi Das, who entered the temple, said, “It is a historic day for us, because for the first time in history we have got the right to worship in this temple. Whenever we used to go to the temple, we were driven away from generations. Last year I had come to pray, but he did not even allow me to climb the stairs, but today I expect peace in the village.”
Ahimsa Jain, SDO of Katwa, said, “Such discrimination cannot be allowed. We held many meetings keeping this in mind. It is a sensitive issue and finally the people involved were convinced.” It is believed that Gidheshwar Shiva temple is about 200 years old.
Administration meeting with leaders and local people
According to local Dalits, they have been struggling unsuccessfully for their right to enter the temple for decades. Last month, just before Mahashivaratri, he wrote a letter to the District Administration, Block Development Officer and the District Police demanding an intervention to allow the Dalits to enter the temple. However, despite his arguments, he was kept out of the temple during the festival. After this, on 28 February 2025, the Sub-Divisional Officer called a meeting of residents of Daspara, temple committee, local MLA, Apoorva Chaudhary of TMC and BDO.
The right to worship everyone- administration
The proposal taken in this meeting said, “Such discrimination is banned in the constitution. Everyone has the right to worship. Das families will be allowed to enter Gidheshwar Shiva temple in Gidhagram under Katwa 1 block.” According to officials, this proposal could be implemented only after the meeting held on March 11. Ahimsa Jain, SDO of Katwa, said, “Such discrimination cannot be allowed. We held many meetings keeping this in mind. It is a sensitive issue and finally the people involved were convinced.”
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