Dalits worship at Hanuman temple, seek role in management
LUCKNOW: Members of Dalit Uthan Sewa Samiti worshipped at the Dakshinmukhi Hanuman temple in Hazratganj on Saturday and demanded appointment of Dalit priests in Hanuman temples across the state.
Raj Bahadur, former minister in the Bahujan Samaj Party government and patron of the organisation, led the ceremony at the temple. The participants, including 20 activists of the samiti, recited Hanuman Chalisa (a devotional hymn) and showered rose petals on the deity.
They also raised the slogan of ‘Dalit devta Hanuman ji ki jai’ (Hail Dalit deity Hanuman ji), and carried placards with ‘Daliton ke devta Bajranj Bali ka mandir humara hai’ (Dalit deity Bajrang Bali’s temple is ours) written on them.
Bahadur also demanded that Dalits be appointed as priests and made members of the management committees of all Hanuman temples in the state. At an election rally in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on November 27, CM Yogi Adityanath had reportedly said that Lord Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit.
On November 29, around 30
Dalits wore ‘janeu’ (sacred thread) and recited Hanuman Chalisa at the Hanuman temple at Langre ki Chowki, on DelhiKanpur Highway, Agra. Samiti
members asserted that they would continue with such events till the time the state government appointed Dalits as priests in Hanuman temples.