Kolar: It was a special day for Dalits in Tambarlahalli of T Gollahalli Gram Panchayat of KGF Taluk in Kolar District. Since centuries, Dalit community were kept away from houses of upper class people and were not even allowed to enter temples in village. But June 25 was a special day for Dalits as breaking the tradition, the dominant Vokkaliga community hosted lunch for Dalits.
”Since we were born, we have not gone to any temple, we have not entered anyone’s house. Wherever we went, we used to stay near the door. But today, upper class people invited us into their house and fed us a lot of food. We were very happy today. May the future of our children be like this,” said Subramani, a Dalit from Tambarlahalli told Verito.today.
On June 25, Vokkaliga Community Leader Radhamani hosted lunch for dalits at her house. The programme was organised by Arivu India organisation headed by associates Professor Dr. Shivappa. Arivu Bharat Kendra went to the homes of Dalits in Tambarlahalli Village to create awareness about equality and invited them to the programme. A total of more than 10 Dalits, including women, came to Radhamani’s residence. At this time, Radhamani herself lit aarti and gave rose flowers to the Dalit women and warmly welcomed them into the house.
Everyone sat at home and enjoyed the meal along with singing. Meanwhile, Radhamani of Tambarlahalli Village was honoured with Gramaratna Award by Arivu Bharat Kendra.
Radhamani told Verito.today that when I was a child, some of the upper castes in village would not let lower caste people touch the water. Then I was disgusted as to why this was happening. At that time, Dalits were working in our fields too, and seeing them as untouchables had a deep impact on my mind.”
Shivappa told Verito.today that since 2016, not only in Kolar District but also in hundreds of places including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, we have been undertaking temple entry, Dalit home entry, sharing dinner, conducting awareness programmes among children. The villagers opined that similar programme should be conducted everywhere to eradicate untouchability.