- India is a diverse country with divisions within societal hierarchy vis-à-vis class, creed, caste, religion, ethnicity, and religion, despite the Constitution specifically guaranteeing the rights irrespective of the same exists is a fact that cannot be brushed under the carpet. Try as you may, caste plays a significant role in India, even though the country has made humongous progress on the back of some sterling advancements. It’s a matter of pride for us that India is the fifth largest economy in the world and would be counted among the top three in the next few years. Not only that, but the present dispensation at the Centre would also want us to believe that India will be a developed nation by 2047. Of course, these touted factors make us feel good about ourselves.
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- Nonetheless, the issue of caste discrimination is a fact that persists at different levels of our society leaving us wondering why on earth we are continuing with such despicable practices after making such mind-blowing progress on several human development parameters. Agreed, concerted efforts from all stakeholders have succeeded in largely eradicating the menace of caste discrimination, but disturbing incidents from time to time emerge, revealing the dark underbelly persisting even now. As reported recently, an upper caste leader’s purifying a temple visited by a Dalit leader is not only shocking but also an abhorrent conduct that should have no place in the present world. The former is a BJP leader, and the party knows this could be politically damaging.
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- Of course, the very idea that untouchability may still be practiced in India sounds outrageous. However, the shameful fact is, instances routinely crop up of purifying ceremonies when those beyond the caste system, Dalits, visit temples. Even so, it’s a shocking new low point that a former BJP MLA dared to purify a temple visited by the Congress Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan assembly. BJP suspended its veteran party member, a cow vigilante. Such case prejudice may escape the law that deals with mostly direct forms of assault, insult, or obstruction that include temple entry. But such egregious purification is no less a caste atrocity, simple. Such leaders wear their casteism as a badge of honour, proud and devout. This is extremely sad.
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- Some elements of the Hindu far-right have long argued that upper castes exerting control of temples isn’t discrimination, that it instead helps preserve identity. That modern India’s social justice dharma damages caste traditions. India’s founding fathers, in their wisdom, recognized equality as the foundation for an independent nation. Sadly, leaders born in independent India have long flouted the law of the land. One of the Hindu far-right’s long-standing demands is that the state exit control of temples. In the instant case of the BJP leader and his status as a seasoned politician, again, show why state control of Hindu temples is essential, simply to ensure rule of law. Such acts are beyond politics, and shameful that a senior politician would do this.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://kanigas.com/its-disgusting-to-observe-temple-cleaning-being-perpetrated-even-now/&media=https://kanigas.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/temples-in-India_8th-jan.webp&description=Despite India's significant economic advancement and constitutional guarantees of equality, caste discrimination persists as evidenced by a recent incident where a BJP leader "purified" a temple after it was visited by a Dalit Congress leader. This incident highlights the tension between India's modern aspirations and persistent discriminatory practices, revealing why state oversight of religious institutions remains necessary to uphold equality and the rule of law.){kind=link}