ANDHRA PRADESH/KARNATAKA, INDIA, June 30, 2005: Seers from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are planning to launch a drive against untouchability. Seers and sadhus will join hands cutting across community lines to spread the message of equality. They will campaign to allow people from weaker sections to perform puja worship in village temples. As a result, all the 32,000 small temples that are going to be freed from government control in accordance with chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s decision, will have daily worship performed by local devotees. A convention of seers and saints, with participation of about 1,000 spiritual heads at Guntur on July 12, is expected to come up with a new slogan against untouchability. Seers of different peethams, who assembled in Hyderabad on June 21, reportedly discussed the problems caused by the practice. According to sources, there were two basic realizations among the seers. One, the menace of untouchability is leading to conversions and the spread of other religious campaigns in villages, and two, the temples are lacking in care due to untouchability. Hampi Viroopaksha Vidyaranya Mahapeetham Seer Vidyaranya Bharati said, “Untouchability was not a part of ancient Hindu dharma. It is a practice adopted later for the benefit of certain sections. So, as heads of various sects, we need to campaign against it.” “After all, temples are places that are intended to establish and strengthen social relations in villages. They are places of peace and we want that holy feeling revived,” he added.
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