Dalits are barred from entering the very places that have been built using their skills and labour. They, too, are Hindus, but the doors of most places of worship are closed to them. Why is this? Dalits must unite to break the barriers in their way.
They entered the Baglung Kalika Mandir on 15 October. But the question arises, "Why do Dalits have to enter temples, and what do they gain by doing so?" Thinking that by entering the temples they have broken all barriers, is a very shallow way of thinking and one that will prove detrimental to them in the long run.
Dalits are in the state they are in today largely because of the Hindu religion and the reactionaries who use it as a shield for their own selfish purposes. This religion is a curse on us-they use our skills to erect places of worship, but bar us from entering them. Temples are public places, so we must also have the right to enter and utilise them. Entry into such places is our right and we need to oppose moves to stop us.
In our country today, our enemies are very active and they are inciting people against us. It is necessary for all Dalits to be aware of this. We will be our own greatest enemies if we do not unite and make an effort to bring down social barriers. Our enemies will gain greatly from this. But some of our Dalit brothers are singing the praises of our enemies, they are prepared to sacrifice our community for their own personal benefit. We need to remove such characters from our ranks.
The liberation of all Dalits is a political question. Dalits should be active in the political arena and Dalit struggles should become political struggles. The Dalit problem is a political problem. If our struggle does not turn political then it will not be very effective, it may even just fizzle out. So it is incumbent on our struggle to become politicised. We have to be politically active, but in such a way that it helps our struggle. We have to organise ourselves, form platforms and participate in politics.
We know that many political changes have taken place in the past. Many different people have attained positions of power and prestige. They said all kinds of things, and we Dalits have believed them and voted for them. They promised us the sky. We believed them. But, as you can see, there has been no change in our lives. We Dalits have been exploited on all fronts, political, social, economic, cultural, even in the field of education. Despite all this, we still vote for the same parties. This will only make our situation worse. From now on, if anyone speaks in our favour, we should make sure that they really want to help us and will not make fools of us again.
Many organisations are using our cause to reap economic benefits for themselves. They are collecting donations in our name and not giving us anything. It is time we took this seriously. This does not mean that we should not accept any help that is extended to us. But we should do so only if those who come to help us come as equals and with respect. In fact, we were assisted by human rights organisations when we entered the temple in Baglung. We must work for the liberation of Dalits with an open mind and not fight to take credit for the work done. Raising slogans will not help, actions will. If we keep jostling for individual glory, we will never be free. We must fight to liberate all Dalits. That will mean freedom for all of us.
