Source: www.dnaindia.com
BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, December 4, 2009: The Dalits of Kisinapur village in Cuttack district took a big step on Wednesday. They walked inside the 900-year-old Chhateswar temple in their village, which has been out of bounds for them, and offered prayers to Lord Shiva. They were received at the temple gate by the priests and served prasad.
All these centuries, Dalits had been barred from entering the famous temple, and nobody had even thought of defying the ban. “It was the greatest day of my life. I had never dreamt of offering puja to the deity,” said 49-year-old Sabita Mallick.
She and hundreds of other Dalits organised under the Rastriya Yuva Sangathan, undertook a padayatra to mark the 75th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s march against untouchability in 1939. The padayatra began from Bairee in Jajpur on November 30 and ended at Kisinapur.