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News of Jan 4, 2007
Denied Temple Entry,
Dalits to Embrace Buddhism

Kendrapada, Jan 4
Disgusted by their failure to enter a famed Hindu temple despite a court order, hundreds of Dalits in Orissa have decided to become Buddhists.

They have submitted a memorandum to the Kendrapada district authorities here informing them about their move.

A division bench of the Orissa High Court had Dec 14 ruled that all Hindus had the right to enter any temple irrespective of their caste.

Yet the Dalits were barred from entering the Jagannath temple at Keradagarh in Kendrapada, Ashok Mallick, a Dalit leader and president of the Republican Youth and Students Front (RPSF), told IANS.

Mallick said the Dalits were earlier allowed to worship the deity at Keradagarh only through nine holes on the outer wall of the temple.

After the court's direction, the administration closed the holes and built an iron grill, barring everyone except priests entry into the sanctum sanctorum.

"It is an insult to all Dalits and violates the court's order," he said. "That is why we have informed the administration of our wish to adopt Buddhism." 

IANS News of Jan 4, 2007  

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