Assaulted for protesting against ‘made snana’

These beliefs in the name of religion and superstition should be banned and in the present days of equality such acts breed contempt for the actual self believing Brahmin and I am one such and I do not believe in any such ritual.

What a barbaric and inhuman practice. Look, how the sacred-cow called caste-system exist under a trampled name of a ritual.

Its very sad such practices are still present in India.But more worse is
that The present state government supports it.

Today is the first day in my life that I regret being born as a Brahmin. This is not only inhuman but also illogical in this scientific Age. We, who boast to be the leader of all sciences, are practising all this in the name of religion. Its atrocious. Even to this day, many temples in Karnataka serve food separately to Brahmins and separately to Non-Brahmins. The difference being Brahmins are served Milk Payasa while Non-Brahmins are not! What do we gain by this kind of differentiation? I salute Mr Shivaramulu and his thoughts for stopping this demeaning practice!

If some people do not have faith or believe in the age old custom or ritual, why they should protest against it? In 'made snana' no one is forced or compelled and it is an individual's voluntary act. No section of the society has a right to obstruct anyone who chooses to follow the custom. Such a ritual is being followed at many places all over the country. I have seen such a ritual in Delhi itself during important Hindu festivals like Rama Navami when even old people used to roll on the leaves with left overs. The objection by the local vedike tantamount to religious interference and totally uncalled for.

All the people involved in the assault need to be unearthed and booked and Justice must be done -- what was the police doing and what is the relationship of the thugs with the temple?

While i am neither for nor against the ritual, for it is a matter of faith, it should be noted that this is an act that is performed voluntarily by the persons who had taken a vow, there is no coercion involved and even some brahmins perform this. I am sure no Brahmin asks anyone to roll on their left over plantain leaves. Instead of seeing this as a caste issue, it has to be seen as a superstition and the people educated about it, including on the hygiene aspect. Education and awareness, rather than a ban, can put an end to such practices. Still a ban would deter at least some of the faithful and to that extent may be useful. It should also not be forgotten that groups purporting to represent similar sections of the society, opposed a ban on animal sacrifice introduced by the TN Chief minister years ago, accusing her of thrusting her beliefs on others saying that their age-old customs cannot be trampled upon by bans, forcing her to go back on it later.

As long as there are poeple to belive in superstitious practices it will prevail. Humans should understnad that God created all equals. If you bend and fall others have to climb over you. It is high time humans use their knowledge and brain. These people who are beating some one should be dealt with according to law.

A man marrying another man is probably highly civilised so much so many govts have legalised it.As long as it is not forced on anybody and it it is not harming others i do not see any reason why people cannot do what they want.

It is not uncommon in India to find superstitious practices. The writer mentions that "Those who perform the ritual include Brahmins" . so is it a social blunder of the masses or does it have a casteist angle needs to be clarified.

These practices in the name of religeon and God should be condemned.Hinduism is based on strong principles of equality and respect to all,hat is why it keeps replenishing, evolving itself and surviving. Brahminism is a part of Hinduism, which does not support rituals demeaning anyone.

This is clearly an outrage against a human being lodging a reasonable and proper protest.The following should be noted: 1. The police personnel involved should immediately be suspended pending an investigation by none other than the CBI. 2. The miscreants should be rounded up immediately and jailed pending trial.3. This should be clearly termed an assault against a SC/STperson and a hate crime charge should be made. 4. This should be considered a non bailable offence. 5. Punishment should include jail term + financial compensation of substantial amount to make the offender economically suffer for this inhuman act. 6. For the sake of good order the offenders should be banned from any temple ritual until a judge has heard the petition and makes a ruling.

Though I am worshipper of hindu gods, I am totally against this practice.This should be discouraged forthwith.I do not subscribe to this practice.

It is demeaning to any self-respecting humanbeing to indulge in such crude practices.The Govt. must ban this inhuman practice.

It is an uncivilised way of treating fellow human beings in the name of rituals. India is one dynamic developing nation, which should wither away all such inhuman practices. These meaningless diversities should not be tolerated anymore.

It is sad to hear that Indians still beleive in such practices when such a strong educational system exist in India.

If given chance the upper caste want to stand by COW (an animal) but not with humans (lower caste, dalits etc.)!!!!!!

In the era of science and technology, how skin desease can be cured in this way? The people in our country,though educated , blindly supports these ridiculous tradition.Every tradition must have some explanation about its existance.

In the era of science and technology, how skin disease can be cured in this way? The people in our country,though educated , blindly supports these ridiculous tradition.Every tradition must have some explanation about its existence.

Police should identify and arrest the people who have assaulted Mr.
Shivaramu as the assault has been clearly captured in the camera -
none should be spared. Look at the person with a huge tummy beating a
dalit who is asking for justice against inhuman practice by upper
cast people - this is a shocking picture. Shame on the police and
government for their apathy to the this barbaric incident.

Everyone has right to hav belief which don violate other's right.....if u r so-called rationalist , u be...who r stopping u to do dis or dont do dis......

Similarly.....if smone hav belief in any so-called ir-rational/orthodox act, who u r to force ur so-called rational value over them.....

No one sud force anyth over others......u follow ur value....n let others follow their value....
its an act of Talibanism, where few so-called rationalistic person wants to impose their so-called rational views over others....
Those who follow it, let them follow..... no one hav right to interfere in other's religious beliefs.....
Dalit Org. or any other org..... mind ur own business ...u don hav right to impose ur so-called rational views over others.....
Freedom of expression, freedom of following one's belief sud be given prime attention.....imposer must refrain themselves.....
if i follow sm so-called orthodox rituals...wat harms caused it to others....Control ur imposing mentality..

A ridiculous practice. The Indian government should ban all these voodoo rituals and
have a clear plan of action to educate the public. It is a pity and a sad state of affairs
that politicians and some uneducated ministers support these barbaric tribal
customs.

Those who believe in it do it.... who are you do question there beliefs. You can educate them if you want but you can't rubbish everything like this. No body is pointing a gun at dalits ato participate.

What a pathetic situation our countruy still is in. I congratulate the human-sensitive people, who risk on humanitarian grounds. It is shameful for us to continue caste-ridden practices even today. What then shall we teach our children - Division, inhumaness, mercilessness? Hope those in authority rise to act on the basis of human right - which are everybody's rights.
May the light of equality, justice and harmony radiate in our desh!

The lower castes must boycott the temple. If people belonging to lower
castes go to the temple so that they can roll over garbage produced by
upper castes for a better tomorrow, who can we blame for this willing
self denigration? If the country is serious about removing inequalities,
governments must refrain from asking the caste of a citizen, and doling
out entitlements based on caste. In fact, state must provide
entitlements to the needy, not based on caste, gender, religion, or
geography.

Islam is the only religion where everyone is equal in front of Allah -
the only God. Even a King prays behind a slave. Allah created human race
and He sent guidance to them. That guidance is nothing but Islam. Please
read and refer Quran.

All the demeaning practices like this should be banned from being
practiced...

This practice is out right stupid and barbaric. It is strange that Hinduism which can boast of such highly intellectual philosophies like Advitha and Naasadeeya suktam, also has such practices. Hindu religious leaders should take initiative and eliminate such superstitious practices. Is even stranger that Hindutva forces which are so vociferous against imaginary insults to Hinduism are silent now. I hope local administration can take some corrective steps.

It's so disappointing to see such inhuman things being practiced even today, people being crazy about it (including the violence), and more worse is the government being inactive to stop such baseless acts. I wish there soon be a social activist group, like 'India Against Corruption' to wipe out such superstitious practices from our country. All religions teach to be couteous to others, including to animals, I wish the so called religious people get that.

Following the superstitions blindly in the name of traditions is a worrisome. People should stop exploiting the caste system for their personal benefits.

The temple's sanctity is at stake,because of these types of blind belief. The temple management committee should take measures to promote belief ,which are Universal in nature.
This type of acts proves time and then, that there exists vested groups hungry for cheap publicity.
let the whole India stand and condemn, this act which lowers human dignity .
Let us not forget all human beings are made out of flesh,bones,blood with emotions and feelings.

Who are the people who indulge in this practice? How are they convinced that this stupid ritual might help? That is where the root cause of this problem exists.

I am of the opinion that religion is a matter of belief & differs from individual to individual. As 'Made Snana' is considered to be an offering to God in return for grating one's wish, it should be left to the individual concerned to follow the ritual or not. Moreover, the ritual is not anti-Brahmanic as it has been made out to be as Brahmins too, take part in the same. Those who speak about our caste system should know that castes were ordained by God for the purpose of division of labour & not otherwise. Nowhere in our Vedas, Shastras or Manusmriti is it written that Brahmins are superior to non-Brahmins. I myself am a Tamil Brahmin & can vouch for the same. Before jumping to conclusions, one should read our scriptures with an open mind & try to understand them. If one reads the Kanchi Paramacharya's 7-volume book 'Deivattin Kural' (in Tamil) / 'Voice of God' in English & the Manusmriti, one will know that the Brahmin's job is the most difficult one to perfrom in this world.

Leftovers after eating by the brahmins? which brahmins? Those brahmins who have crossed the seas, studied and presently working in developed countries? Those eating beef and drinking liquor there and after coming to India daring to enter our temples?

As many readers have opined, it is a voluntary act performed by a section of people. Why should anyone bother about it? But at the same time, manhandling a protester is not permissible in a democratic society. I am afraid this is going to give another chance to the politicians to bring in caste.

This custom needs to be banned immediately. Everybody is equal in the
eyes of god.

Religion is only for surviving in society . where as the inner truth is provided only by adhering to spiritual path. Any Religion is a path for a believer and a weapon in the hands of a miscreant.There will be no disharmony when all esp. religious leaders understand the spiritual values of their respective religions, which is ultimately one and same.

This is clearly a casteist practice exploiting the ignorance and superstitious beliefs of
sections of society. We cannot sweep it under the carpet saying the people are engaging in
this voluntarily. Firstly the practice of serving food for different castes separately should be
banned. Secondly this barbaric practice of snana should be banned. Thirdly, the police who
seem to have allowed the attack on Mr.Shivaramu need to be investigated.

Such a low class act! The worst thing was the police who were supposed
to protect him, came after he was bashed. This shows the lack of
integrity on the side of the police. And to be honest, though we think
that India is spearheading in all the walks of life, I don't think that
there is an end to caste/region based discrimination unless they are
removed from the hearts of the people, which is next to impossible.

Strange and surprising practice to put it mildly. Appears illogical and unscientific on it's face. But if it is questioned, why should somebody be thrashed?
In this era of Manmohan Singh's FDI obsession, there are other obssessions that are dangerous too, that is for sure.
Lets hope we don't lapse into a failed nation of communalists, casteists and greedy capitalists running the show.

What a discrimination in this nation.when will these guys get to know we are all human beings not animals.

Enough is enough ,I do not understand what some anrrow minded people gain by pointing fingers at all the reliigous practices observed by Brahmins or Hindus,Please leave us alone. You are free to practice your own religous rituals so why not let us practice our own. Even this practice is religious and sacred for hindus and has never been coerced upon anybody ,so I do not see why this should be made a csate issue,when religion is personal and in this case it clearly is not compromising on someone else's beliefs .I urge newspapers and citizens to stop making every issue into a casteist one,maybe one day you just want to remoVE Brahmins from this country is the feel I get when everyday some accusation or the other is mounted......leave us alone

What is the guarantee that such superstitions don't exist in lower castes also? This is more of a voluntary act (maybe superstition) rather than anything being forced upon anyone. Besides, this doesn't endanger any lives unlike Jallikattu which can cause death.

Looking forward, how we can stop these things?

I was born as a Brahmin but I never felt proud of that. These things really make me wonder if I did any mistake in my past life to be born as a Brahmin. Neither do I enjoy the reservation that is extended to "backward castes" nor do I enjoy the superstitions practised in Brahmin families. It's a mad mad world, I tell ya!!

divine rituals are never been paid money.the relation between man and
god is abstract but you should pay for man-maid rituals. So i f you
agitate against the rituals you should be harrased because they are
financial beneficieris, such benefit makes them fat and criminal.All
established religions exploit the common and educated people.It has been very late to awaken by GOVT

There are hundreds of customs in remote villages followed in the name of god and religion. These may sound ridiculous to the city people but the villagers have staunch belief that it will work for them. So why meddle with their beliefs? Can you give them good health, wealth or peace and prosperity? If they believe their customs can give, then why not let them practise it? Is it not an encroachment if you go and prevent them from following the custom?

The report mention that those practices are not scientific. Well, then can anybody explain any religious issue/practices which has certificate from science community. Religion is nothing but just absence of science or a race to dominant over each other religion. So please don't try to drag science into this kind of bogus inhuman incident. Fanatics peoples always has a tendency to show a correlation between religion and science. Have you ever heard any scientist tried to glorify his religion??It says a lots.....This is shining India where we should promote science instead of unscientific ideology in the name of culture, then casteism or religious minded peoples will be diluted automatically. It is sad that in 2011 we have to go through this kind of news in the front page of Most wanted news paper.

This is pathetic and utterly abominable...
We keep hearing incidents like these all the time...
There should be Zero Tolerance for indulging in 'Brahmin-glorifying' and 'other castes-humiliating' activities like these...

I am surprised that Govt is running the temple.According to indian costitution and supreme court order no constitutional Govt. cannot support a particular religion or favour any religion. The matter should be take into Supremecourt Domain.

I am a brahmin and I know this ritual is practiced all over the country with a variety of names. Even Brahmins undergo this. This is a personal belief and no one is forced to undergo this. When one has a right to not believe he has to understand that another person ahs an equal right to believe and practice his beliefs. He should not interefere in it. No one should force any one to believe or not to believe.
But beating him up is condenmable and those who beat him could have told him that while he has a right to protest, they have an equal right to practice their beliefs.
Third point is I read some comments saying, "I am ashamed to be a Brahmin" etc. Are they are 100% sure about this ritual having no relation to skin diseases? I am sure they are not. But they just BELIEVE it to be NOT true. Thats ironically not science which is their holy thing.

Problem is belief is a common problem which is not exclusively relating to religions. We even believe many fairness creams which claim umpteen things without cross-checking it ourselves.

Bigotism, casteism, communalism... the list seems to only increase

sir

it is an uncivilised practise which should be discouraged forthwith.

It is time that steps are taken to respect basic human dignity
This ritual is barberic and to assault a person when the police were present begs the question. Caste system is endemic and all these rituals arenonsence to say the least. Has anyone has been taken to custody?

For all those believe God , support this practice held at this temple.
Kukke is not a just temple to be visited, it has years of history and thousand believers who have been favoured by god's grace.
This practice of "Made Stana", which the people roll over the eatten remains of Brahmins is a self practice decided by the devottee. Nor the temple or any person impose any complusion on any indiviual to perform to cure his ailments.
This has even scientific reason for such practice. scholars should come out with answers to stop people spreading wrong beilieve about this temple.

Recurring sadness every year.All the boards ( all religions) should be made abolished and appointing honest civil servants in control. we see similar superstitious / illogical practices in the name of gender/religion/caste/color of skin/social strata/nationality etc. every where and only way i assume is to develop secular institutions and scientific temper wherever possible.This is a shame to our democracy that we still are unable to educate our masses .

Though, whole concept of rolling on leaves containing leftovers food,to "cure" a skin problem, is unarguably unscietific and mirthful. But, the fact that it is a voluntary practice not involving violence of any sort, against any human or living being , makes it a superstition we can live with ,as compared to others unlawful beliefs which involve brutal and violent practices like witchcraft(prevailing in parts of Chattisgarh and north-east). Such a hue and cry for this event is slightly far-fetched.

Where is BJP, VHP and RSS, the self-appointed champions of Hindutva and Hinduism? These chameleons could be seen coming running when the lower castes seek to escape to other faiths!!Shame! It looks that the police personnel who were deputed to protect the leader had a casteist bias, that might why they 'stepped-in' only after the casteists mads atrocious acts.

It is an individuals liberty and freedom to involve himself in any religious activity. Indian citizens have the right to profess and follow any culture and religion. As such this act of calling for an end to Made snana amount of infringement into the personal religious activities of a person. The act is incorrect.

Its sad to know that there are still people who believe such stuff. Awareness should be spread over lay men that rituals like these will not effect skin disease they have. These superstitious belief will have an end only when the realization starts from common man. Wake up people...

The food offered to the devotees after the conclusion of any rituals is
treated as food offered to the Lord Muruga or Krishana or Rama and 'made snana' is done by Brahmins in view of this time immemorial practice.

There is tendency nowadays among people of other castes to oppose any religious rituals observed by Brahmins because of the fact they were coming up securing the benefits offered by the Government and wanted to oppose as a rule to oppose. This tendency unless curbed by the Government or political leaders the progress of the nation would be jeopardy. Let other people follow this or discontinue this at temples which were exclusively devoted to other castes and Let the other castes need not interfere with rituals offered by Brahmins.

This is an obvious confusion between religion and superstition. British brought 'divide and rule' policy into our country by just luring 11000 number of our kings and made 11 million people as fools. They looted our whole country before leaving us. This divide and rule tradition is still being followed by our politicians in the name of caste upliftment. We have to realise first of all that we are INDIANS FIRST before splttiing ourselves into millions of caste and communities. Which developed country has got this caste based system????..We have to stand united as one community which is INDIAN COMMUNITY before our third rated politicians put up a grand advertisement to foreigners as ' ALL INDIANS FOR SALE'. Please wake up, give importance to education, and be united. When we face trouble, our fellow brothers and sisters ( Indians) will have to help each other and no one politician will come to help us. UNITY IS STRENGTH. JAI HIND.

I for one believe that many Hindu rituals had specific scientific or spiritual reasons when the rituals would have been started. For eg, when someone hears for the first time now that cow dung was used (is still being used by many) very commonly by households to wash/clean the front porches of their households with, it would sound utterly disgusting and incomprehensible to them. Of course, cow dung possesses disinfectant properties, which proved invaluable in those days when medical inventions and facilities like vaccination were not common. As with many rituals, over time, they lose their purpose or the way in which the ritual needs to be done in order to meet that purpose. We cannot ignore 'medicines or practices' that claim to cure just because there is no scientific evidence. Take the case of placebos for instance - No one knows why they work quite often. Whats disgusting to one seems quite logical to another(eg. agori rituals). I would think education and awareness is the key here

sir, the practice followed is truly an ignorant practice... are these brahmins made
up of sacred godly things? can't they just see the world without shedding the
spectacles of brahmanism,
this is sheer discrimination!!!!
no man is greater than any other man. neither a brahmin is greater than a non
brahmin, nor a non brahmin is greater than a non brahmin EXCEPT IN PIOUSNESS
AND CHARACTER.
hope this message will take us to the right way

people are speaking about human dignity, inhumane and against any caste etc... i am not a hindu but i wish to convey my msg., people are believing that some skin diseases are get healed by that left over food.. but no one was forced to do because he is doing , then why the matter of human dignity, inhumane etc..
there are so many things to be said that., the politicians, actors were made god and people pray to them., eventhou they are corrupted and murdering other humans for their wishes or doing low civilized profiles..
inhumane and human dignity is those., in which african children are tested with new vaccine and medicines (like guinea pigs) for the sake of advanced countries residents..

Can you believe it, we have such practices going on ?
If it was not a news in The Hindu I won't.
Besides awe, shock, wonder and shame, couple of points :-
1) People should be educated how unscientific this way is to get skin diseases cured.
2) There was some hint of caste discrimation going on in temple. Temples in South are infamous for this.

For those supporting this degrading practice, i ask:
1) when do you say enough is enough and decide that a custom is barbaric and unhygienic. Suppose children are made to eat left over dirty decomposing food and other god knows what, in the name of belief at temples, will you still support it.
2) Do the devotees roll over on the left overs of Dalit's food or Leftovers of Brahmins' food. If everybody rolls over everybody's leftover food- then it's a matter of only personal belief and terribly poor hygiene. But if the devotees are made to roll over only Brahmins' left over food THAT'S CLEARLY DEMEANING AND DISCRIMINATION OF THE SO CALLED "LOWER CASTE" and other castes. I hope this is clear to the public.

Yes, this practice must be stopped immediately.

Such superstitions were added to the Vedic Religion during the Medieval period and should be got rid of.The Vedas in itself has no place for such blind meaningless beliefs.It says no human is inferior or superior to the other.It says we are all the Embodiments of the self same soul.These superstitions were added and still perpetuated by vested interests and it creates an opportunity for outside divisive forces to take advantage and create anarchy and chaos in the society.I think the people who perpetuate such practices should see the larger picture and understand that its actually causing more harm than the immediate selfish benefits it may seem to confer.

I see lot of comments supporting this barbaric act. Of course, everybody has rights to do what they believe, but what has caste got to do with this. I wonder if brahmins are super humans or god? Let me ask people who support this. Will you do the same if somebody tells u you live more years if u do the same with eatten remains of Dalits? Ok even if we assume that what Shivaramu did is wrong. What do you tell the act of the barbarians who has beaten up him in them in the street? why cant they just go complain a petetion? these are so stupid that we still believe in all these superstitions. Wake up people!!!

I am a Dalit, albeit an educated one. In my opinion, this particular incident apparently doesn't deserve condemnation for the religious practice in question was not coerced on anyone. Caste system of our country is an inescapable fact of life that came into existence during the development of Vedic culture. Modern and futuristic intellectuals may have risen above the old practices and, in the light of new scientific advancements, view such old practices as social evils. But, a major proportion of our people, being prisoners of the cultural past and more often than not, being victims of the vested interests are unaware of their own ignorance, making it virtually impossible to extricate themselves from superstitious beliefs and notions. This dawning era in Indian history calls for educating the masses, bringing greater awareness of basic sociopolitical and economic landscapes at the grass roots level, and most importantly setting the right national perspective to everybody. Jai Hind!

@ Muhammad:

Yes, you are very right about all humans being equal in pious Islam;
it is just that Sunnis are 'more' equal than 'Shia' in Pakistan/SA
and Shias are 'more' equal than Sunnis in Iran. Similarly, Ahmadiyas
are 'less' equal than all other muslims in most Islamic countries.
Do I have to tell about Sufism and Sala'fism?

And yes, read and refer Quran to all those sects of Islam before
preaching Islam on a public form.

What a disgusting act !! Though no one is forced to follow this ritual, people who practice this ritual should be made aware that Hinduism never prescribed any such thing. Problem is that there is no proper organized teaching of what it is to be a Hindu. If people are taught about the essence of Hinduism, they will start questioning such practices.

More deplorable is some of the comments by brothers of other religions denigrating Hinduism and calling for boycott of the temple. Instead of condemning the people behind the act, these people are just waiting for a chance to speak of ill of the religion.

Government should stop this ritual mainly because it is unsanitary. It is more likely to cause or worsen disease. As a Hindu, I feel strongly that we should keep our rituals but this is ridiculous and harmful. I also feel the police should be severely reprimanded because there should be zero tolerance for physical violence in civilized society.

Those who are holding up to the "volunteer act" must remember that this practice is done on "specific sections left over food". Why do you segregate the food as x's leftover and why not let all partake in that feast before the event? The bottom line for all this is some sections still wants to hold on to age old slavery in the name of religion and beliefs. Remind yourself that all our literatures basic foundation is the "Sanathan Dharma - righteousness" and so carefully examine every sentence/word and remove the non-edible parts before consuming

it is very bad news. always attack on dalit is very sad thing.

Please try to think with an open mind, there are 2 aspects to this.
1. Rolling in a leaf - Its a belief and no one is harmed by this, why are people trying to bring caste feelings here. No one has a right to criticize other people's beliefs, as long as they do not harm anyone.
I disagree with the protestor here.
2. Food for Brahmins only in temples - I disagree with this and strongly oppose this divide because this is no longer applicable these days.

How can this be Barbaric,here no one is forced to roll.Someone has
mentioned that Brahmin's are served milk kheer ,others are not.Don't be
such stupid my uncle is working as a cook in temple,he himself has not
noticed such discrimination, how did you noticed?If I have to be more
specific the lower caste's are first served with food,after that
Brahmin's are served,even this is discrimination against Brahmin's.

There are thousands of superstitious beliefs in the world. If someone believes in it and wants to practice, it is his/her wish. If you don’t believe in it, then you don’t participate. If you think your caste people are being affected, then educate them and tell them not to participate in it. Yes, if anyone is forcing you or any particular caste, then it is unacceptable, illegal and should be protested. Of course, these are the tactics used by crooked minds to keep caste system alive. The crooked minds survive on these beliefs and making their leaving. But now you have a choice to accept it or not. You stop practicing it first, they shut down their shops.

I did not expect "The Hindu" to publish news like this. If you guys are against your own culture, then I can't say anything else. Rather than publishing for the assault, why didn't you published that how people from low castes are being provoked to act against upper cast.

This is really bad, and this is not going to change anything, but will mark you guys amongst anti-Hindu's. Please change the title of your publication from "The Hindu" to "The Non-Hindu".

There are thousands of superstitious beliefs in the world. If someone believes in it and wants to practice, it is his/her wish. If you don’t believe in it, then you don’t participate. If you think your caste people are being affected, then educate them and tell them not to participate. Yes, if anyone is forcing you or any particular caste, then it is unacceptable, illegal and should be protested. Of course, these are the tactics used by crooked minds to keep caste system alive. The crooked minds survive in these beliefs and making their living too. But now you have a choice to accept it or not. You stop practicing it, they shut down their shops.

Some argue, this is harmless ritual. What is the reality? Earlier the King was considered as the avatar of God. People believed that. Now we know a descendent of a King is very much human. So why did they put forward a theory that King is avatar? It is to retain a high place among the people (Even a slave could become a king among arabs and all). Brahminical hegemony can be preserved if these practices persists. Such practices existed in Kerala before independence. All such superstitions were swept out, thanks to the reformist movement, followed by Communist movement. Just like what the Marxists are doing in Tamilnadu and Andhra, they should start a movement in Karnataka - the IT capital of booming India.

Unbelievable! This is what religion makes people... cruel,narrow-minded, superstitious and bigoted.
All religions are the same. They must all be abolished.
As Karl Marx rightly said : Religion is the opium of people and people will do anything in the name of religion.

This incident clearly proves that our nation need education. We are
claiming we are modern but still we are far away from the need.
Government should act on this incident in a way so that nobody will
think to do the same in future.

It is a useless exercise. Nobody should do it out of own freewill. Is it being forced, by so-called Brahmins or is it a blind belief by lower caste people.

According to India's Independence horoscope (Aug 15, 1947 12.01AM). Astrologers know that Brahmins are paying a heavy price (Jupiter is in sixth house of rinanubanda) for ill-treating other caste people for many many centuries. There are millions of good brahimns and I think these brahmins who force these ritual on others are a minority. That said, look what the "Other caste" people have done to India - They are looking India (Deve Gowda, Rajas, Yadav's etc.) Brahmins are beggars now in bangalore and hyderbad. So stop this brahmin bashing...

@KVSKumar, @Diya why blame Hindu organizations and @ALL calling it barbaric, uncivilized, castiesm, Pathetic, Bigotism, superstition and so on doesn't provide any solution to this act of MADE SNANA. Instead of criticizing MADE SNANA belief we all educated and right thinking people should reason with the followers of MADE SNANA and educate them. One can't ban the belief which is not harming others, you can ignore the act or impart the knowledge to believers/followers so that they can stop this MADE SANA.

Amazing! The number of readers who have responded saying that one should not
interfere in another's practice of faith. It shows being able to read and write does
not make one educated. I am especially critical of the two Brahmin readers -
Mahalakhmi and Ramachandran - who have missed the woods for the trees.
Supporting such practices places you at the same level of an animal. This is not
about denigrating Brahmins or any other group of people. It is about all the
ignorant, self-righteous, superstitious idiots who seem to find such practices
acceptable. Sachin Shetty says there is good evidence that skin ailments are cured
by this practice! Wonder which school he went to!

It's a shame to see that some ignorant are trying to justify this stupid activities even in this blog. Obviously, they are ‘educated’ and know English… If this will cure skin diseases, why would you need a doctor or even learn English (other than to write some stupid things in this respected newspaper). Let that stupid people roll on anything they want... even on their own human waste. Take a video and put it on YouTube. I saw the other day on TV, a well dressed, educated man drinking cow urine every day before he goes to office in Mumbai. It was broadcasted throughout the world…India will certainly shine with all these shameless acts!!

I would not generalize this based on caste. It is the ignorance of very few and we should not disrespect everyone in a caste. After all, we, the people who created thousand of gods, built the religions, imposed the caste system and developed these sacred activities!

Secular democracy permits the right to practice all sorts of religious and other beliefs so long as they do not interfere with the freedoms of others, minors etc. It also protects the right to critique these beliefs and practices! In this case it appears Mr. Shivaramu exercised his rights properly and is a victim of 'mob' violence!
As a physician and agnostic, I feel that a simple 'snana with soap' would offer better protection to the skin than this ridiculously disgusting 'made snana'!

I have never heard of any other religion in which such a disgusting ritual occurs.

It is fine for people to participate in any belief however irrational it may be, but it should not be tolerated in a govertment run institution. Many of the comments from readers are missing this key point.

Some people have said that is demeaning, I agree with that and some people have said that this is a matter of free will and I agree with that also. But, if it is a matter of free will, let people do it in their own houses or private temples. This should not be allowed in a state run temple. But then, why should the state run a temple in the first place?

I am happy that I left India for good and living outside India. Now I realize how horrible the caste system was and is in India. India can
never be proud other like civilized countries in the world. No respect
towards fellow beings in India.

more than the article, the comments make us feel we still live in
1920's. Whatever be the belief, scientific or not, this is absolutely
ridiculous.

his action is totally uncalled for.india is a secular country and we respect all religious practices how superstitious they may b as longas they comply with our laws,and this man though may b right technically has interrupted somethimg tht is legaaly allowed,if u.want proof fr everything then prove god first then talk bout religion.but at the same time other party has done wrong by assaulting him.
in our country we should b able to draw a clear line between religious practices and science

Racial discrimination against Blacks in America has boomeranged and millions are flocking to Islam, the only true religion of universal brotherhood of human beings. It will be same in India.

Some of the comments posted by the those who supports the practice are inflammatory and
proves that they are Hippocrates. When Anna protests against corruption they applaud him.
If an unknown person protests a casteist practice they want to beat him up. These
supporters still want to live in the stone age of untouchability and assert their superiority.
Think they derive some sort of sadist pleasure when the lower caste ignorants perform such
acts. Can't blame them, but we should educate people who submit themselves to such
practices without self respect.
This is a land where people like Ambedkar & EVR struggled to liberate them fro
Upper caste atrocities.
Today's politicians are too busy making money for their twentieth generation and have no
time to care about eliminating such ignorance.
People with self respect will neither allow this nor submit themselves to such practice.
God Bless Indians.

I find very amusing the way people get excited about such things and
also a bit sad at the way people tend to look at everything through
such narrow lenses.

Its a matter of personal belief - nothing more, nothing less. Its got
nothing to do with religion or caste or creed or sex or color. A
belief is a belief and is beyond logic. Applying logic to belief is
illogical in itself.

Now if the ritual in question is voluntary as people have mentioned,
its nobody's business to tell them otherwise. If its forced then its a
criminal act and should be dealt with within the purview of our
current day laws. Thats about it... no religious or caste angle needs
to be applied. The religion or caste is in our minds, not anywhere
else.

If by isolating and highlighting such stupid customs only from the Hindu
religion, your purpose was to debauch and mock Hinduism, you have
succeeded beyond expectations. ALL religions are matters of the heart,
NOT of the head. To prove that you are truly "secular", you may consider
mocking at debasing customs of ALL religions. But that needs guts.

It is truly pathetic that in a Country that boasts of democracy,free speech and enlightened thinking, these barbaric practises still continue. That a man should be assaulted for protesting such acts is even more disturbing. We must rise above these levels and show that twntyfirst century Indians have come of age! The Hindutva mob legitimize these acts and many us are content to remain onlookers!

All these noise for nothing! 1. None forced anyone to do this ritual. 2. None borke
any law by doing this ritual. Everything is voluntary ! If this socalled Dalit leader
has more constitutional right by going to the temple surroundings and shouting
slogans against this ritual etc. then all these people who wrote these nasty letters
today against this practice should be able to explain " WHERE ARE MY RIGHTS IF I
WANT TO PARTICIPATE VOLUNTARILY ?" Is there a separate constitution for the
Brahmins & nonbrahmins ? For all those who are shouting & screaming out there:
Everywhere in India there are practices in various religions which you may not
agree with but you have no right to condemn anything without knowing your own
religion. There is something called in the Vedic language Sanskrit UCCHISHTAM,
which is left over food by a great enlightened soul or a Guru which is shared by all
his disciples. It is considered to be a great heavenly gift !
80 year old Canadian Brahmin abroad 46 years.

This is a blind belief. These days brahmins neither ask for separate serving of food nor desire anyone to roll on the leaves on which they ate. Due to these age old customs brahmins themselves have to bear brick-bats. In my opinion brahmins are no more brahmins as per the duties expected listed in the scriptures. As Mr. Cho Ramaswamy asks 'where is the brahmin ?'. A brahmin has to live selflessly, and do just teaching and live by whatever offered to him. He should not go for any gainful employment. All these are not possible in modern days and culture. So age old customs also loose significance.
But within the brahmin community this practice exists even in Tamil Nadu. After a full religious function, food is served to respected devotees and the host rolls on the leaves. Immediately after that they too take bath.Perhaps it serves one purpose. He becomes simple and sublime in his thoughts and respects every other human being as an embodiment of God himself. Everybody cannot do this

World over, in all religions, castes, creeds innumerable faiths exists and none on earth can pass judgements in others faith as long as it does not hurt them directly. I am reminded of a famous quote 'your freedom ends where my nose begins'. I am not aware what actually took place in Mangalore but it appears that the self proclaimed rationalists try to unnecessarily interfere and disturb some believers of some customs and rituals. Who is he to say what is right and what is wrong if he is not a part of the faith or custom?

This is not a caste issue - it is more of basic human behaviour. I can't imagine that we have such age-old practices still in vogue.

A person never becomes a bhramin by birth alone. If he is able to practice the code of conduct and rituals as prescribed in vedas he becomes a bhramin. if that is taken u can not find a single brahmin in the earth. again it is not at all true that Brahmins are forcing lower cast to folow their instructions and practice. Please leave the poor brahmins (by birth] peacefully and don't drag them to the dirty politics. However beating a person is a condemnable one and they should be punished.

when baseless caste system end then only hindu unity will happen!

We talk a lot about Indian culture and heritage. Is this inhuman activity is a part of Indian culture? Why brahmins are considered upper class even today? How India can be taken as a serious international player when such inhuman practices are common? Well, it shows only one thing and that is the scarcity of qualified law makers in the country. When politics become a career or business serving people and the country take a back seat. It is really shameful.

I'm a Brahmin but, strongly condemn this kind of rituals & fully support Mr. Shivaramu. I appreciate his initiative. We as a society, all caste included have to ban & abandon these age old rituals. This fight should not become one caste vs. other but, any blind belief which is harmful should be abolished. The Govt. should work pro-actively to eradicate instead of fearing minor backlashes. Of course, these suppose to be voluntary acts should also be banned for betterment of society just like we did with Sati, untouchability. Mr. Shivaramu, pls pursue till you get it implemented.

I find readers stressing the "voluntary" part of the ritual. Even dedication as a devadasi, abortion of a female embryo and many such "enlightened" practices have an element of voluntariness in them. These practices are internalized by us and the decision to take part in such rituals and beliefs is then "voluntary". There were many lowcastes who would not enter the temples even after the temples were thrown open to them, because they believed in their own polluting nature. Muslim women protesters picketed a hall where Shah Bano (remember her) was speaking. Free choice, my left foot!

This is a misinformed article. The ritual first of all not compulsory, and definitely not restricted to a jati or varna. Secondly who was assaulting the "backward class leader"? Were they of "forward class"? Thirdly, the brahmin leaves being talked about is not a caste group but of the poojaries. Fourth, Its a harake, a vow taken by an individual not a compulsion. Would anybody dare asking tirupathi to stop mundan? This article is just a highlighting of personal opinion. And not a ground report at all.

Agree with the previous comment by Aatif Anjum. Religion IS the superstition, as well as the root cause of most (if not all) superstitions. It has to be done away with by educating people (not by ban). Heard someone in the comment saying 'God created everyone equal' this seemingly good intentioned comment is completely wrong, God did not create Man, its the other way around. 152 years after Darwin's 'Origin of Species' if it still can be claimed 'God created..' what a joke. By means of these assumptions and superstitions we allow other more ridiculous and some more dangerous superstitions thrive.

The issue debate is not about free choice or the right of an individual to voluntarily perform Made Snana. That is a different issue altogether. The moot point is whether or not a Public Institution,such as a temple or any other public religious body such as a church or mosque, can be lawfully used as a forum to promote a ritual which goes against human dignity, and reiterates caste inequalities that our Constitution tries so hard to eliminate. The answer is NO. It is also mentioned that this ritual has the tacit support of the State Government, which also needs to be condemned.

superstition has no limit among hindus mainly in villages, creating new things every year as rituals that is totally madness. it is unfortunate that some organizations have to take stick to protest.there in no law against superstition and only thing we can do is educate at every level thru available hindu organizations, till then mad practice will continue.

Well this argument made above, about the whole practice being voluntary is flawed in some sense. What I mean to say is that all of
this was initiated a long time ago, when brahmins were considered
superior over the others. Probably started by some corrupt
individuals or institutions who were exploiting this social status,
and the layman was asked to believe it. This is in some sense the
decaying of the brahminical way of life. This is not a matter of
faith in the supreme god, but of some supernatural healing power of
the leftovers of some individuals.

jsut two points
1. if we believe that it is the right of a human being to practice what he believes is right (follow "made snana"
2. then it is the right of another human being to protest what he believes is right

so when does it end? when the peopel at large step in to support a view? when will that happen? when people are educated & not afraid to speak their mind?

we talk about industrial reforms, agri reforms? where is religious reforms? still we talk about brahmins, dalits .... we are still throwing away the banana and preserving its skin!!

I am an indian too ... SAD ....

Why these traditions are followed blindly because Hindus are made to
believe in Caste by religious text. and the same religious text were
written by the Bhramin. These kind of practices are inhuman and must be
banned. Where are Vishwa Hindu Parishad and RSS ?

This discrimination has basicaly founded with hinduism, the hinduism has been main moulding sourse of indian ruling personals that's why this happen unfortunatly Inevitable one so the people's whoever attckt by the crazyist. You should thing, wich is the way direct the people to peace and hormony .........only islam the solution

It is paradoxical that, in the so called democratic nation where the freedom of speech and freedom of expression is ensured in the constitution in one side and curtail of such freedom in another side is illogical. The incidend happened with Mr. Shivaramu in Kukke Subramanya is inhumane and clear evident for violation of human rights. I feel the people who have assaulted Mr. Shivaramu, have also violated the constitution and huaman rights of the citizens. Hence, they are liable to penalize by the concerned authorities.

I always wonder, when such sorts of superstitious activities are being practised in any part of our country, why the so called Hindu organisations such as BJP, VHP, ABVP, etc., are not coming forward to condemn these activities?. Why not educate these people not to follow these practices blindly, though it is voluntarily by the adherents?

This is an abominable practice but some here feel that banning it
would violate people's freedom to worship as they see fit.

This practice should be banned on medical grounds. It is a practice
with claimed curative properties that is not based on scientific
evidence. On the contrary, it is obviously unhygienic and could
spread the disease rather than cure it. This practice cannot be
supported on government administered premises, by government employees
during their working hours and eminently deserves to be shut down
(banned is too strong a word).

As for the segregation of meals, that is in clear violation of the
constitution and must be immediately banned.

Will I be allowed to legally sell chalk powder claiming it to be a
cure for cancer, even if there were a line of buyers at my doorstep?
I am guessing not.

It is once again, fighting over nothing... First government should get out of temples; all they have done is administer temples like any other department that generates revenue; second, people should be allowed to practice whatever rituals they think is right so long as they do not hamper or hinder the personal liberty of other people. It is for the individuals to decide what is good for them, if people are allowed to destroy themselves by drinking and smoking and technically law can be used to safeguard an individual's right to perpetuate that suffering which invites cancer and disease, why not 'made snana'? They are not doing it out of respect for anybody, only out of the sole belief that this ritual or offering could ease some of their worldly sufferings. Third, this is not a religious practice but a local voluntary habit borne out of belief that it is going to bring them well being and solace, akin to people whipping themselves till they bleed out of sworn religious beliefs.

Any takers for practices where people whip themselves till they bleed profusely commemorating something which happened centuries ago? Don't communalise this ritual. 'The Hindu' is trying to engage people exactly in that kind of a debate here. Let the believer realise how well placed or futile his beliefs are; give him that choice. This is a voluntary thing which other people who are entirely foreign to the belief system are trying to stop and add a communal colour.

1. This is an issue of faith. Not an issue of caste. (I do not subscribe
to this practice though).
2. The activist should have understood difference between such faith and
discrimination. I my opinion, he did not understand the difference.
3. Those who assaulted the activist should be taken up for questioning
by police.

Every religion,caste or creed has its own rituals and practices.I hope no one was forced to follow certain things. It is very difficult to eradicate these practices.Some may like it and others may not. What is correct for one need not be okay for others.It is all relative terms.If possible try to eliminate the bribery system , terrorist activities,obtain a receipt for each purchase ,bring back the unaccounted money into the system.It is a very big complicated vicious circle.
Firstly , let us listen to ourselves ,then try to clean the society.One may try find fault with Hinduism and get away with it.It is not possible elsewhere.

Its a matter of Humanity, Equality of Mankind and Human Dignity.
Promotion of baseless rituals by Ministers and Governments are shame to
the Modern Democratic Society. We have to change and we have to demand
CHANGE!

We have to change as the time changes.And the place where these superstitions overcome people none can get them out of it except themselves.So we have to be aware.

I concur with the views that this ritual is not forced on anyone. To target a particular community is definitely despicable, just for self promotion in politics for petty locals (like Shivaramu in this case). When Brahmins themselves do it, what is the big deal of discrimination. If dalits or for that matter, anyone not interest need not do it. But none have the right to demand a ban on it altogether.

The practice of inflicting pain on or treating any human being/animal unkindly is inhuman and ought to be condemned. Practices such as the one mentioned in the story are as wrong as animal sacrifices. Caste is just one more veneer to the dormant evil that resides in humans. Being a proud Brahmin myself, I have imbibed from my beautiful religion (Hinduism) that I ought to cultivate an outlook of tolerance and kindness to every living and non-living thing around me. Treat everyone with respect and not contempt.

Prakash Subramanium,

Did Darwin at any time say, that his theory is the ultimate truth? Or did he say that he is just putting forward a THEORY with no proof, using words like 'may' , 'can' etc in his book?
You are claiming to be a follower of Science, but isnt what you are doing a belief? You are blindly believing Darwin and the 'Science' that is today. Even in rational terms everyone has a right to think themselves. No one knows the ultimate truth. Even E=MC^2 may be proved wrong. So on what basis can you claim that what you say or 'modern scietific BELIEFs" alone are true?

Nikhil,

Where does the caste inequality come here? Its clearly mentioned that any person [irrespective of his caste] can undergo this ritual. And what is 'human dignity'? It differs for many. Or is it that what you consider dignity applies for every one on earth? Also in a PUBLIC religious body everybody has a right to practice their religious belief.
Thats why only condenmable part here is the beating up of that individual.

" ‘Made snana,' a ritual believed to cure skin ailments, involves rolling on plantain leaves containing leftovers of food consumed by Brahmins. "
The author knows where to put the full stop to make it sensational.
The fact is anybody can roll over the leftovers eaten by anybody, including brahmins and nobody forces them to do so either.

But this lad who took it to himself to "cleanse" the world [without knowing that everyone like him has a right] got beaten up. Thats the sad part.

The attack on Mr Shivramu by the temple people has to be condemned the accused should be punished for the assault on the activist who tried to stop the inhuman, superstitious,unscientific age old Brahmanikal rituals in the temple.This is more shocking that such practices still allowed by the govt.of Karnatak.Still the Brahmans controlled the states properties like the temples in the country.The cruel and caste violence promote and protected by the temples.It is against the Constitution of India and the humanity.We all support the struggle of Mr Shivramu against the temple ritualism.

Most of the people who have commented in this article dont have first
hand information and i guess have not visited the temples of coastal
karnataka. Made snana is practised in almost all ancient temples in
this area. Its a voluntary offering to god for full filling his/her
wishes. Mr.shivaram just wants to portray it as pro brahmin and anti
dalit. If this is a blind faith. Then these dalit organisations will
also stop the hair offering or mundan in tirupathi and restricting the
entry of females in sabarimala and taking of your shirt in almost all
kerala temples. since my childhood i have seen my family members
offering this seva to god for keeping the family safe. The entire
media/political system today is anti brahmin. Today's brahmin is
yesteryears dalit. Its hightime brahmins get united.

I think it is 'MAD SNANA'...

The best way is `do not participate in the ritual at all instead of making a hue and cry over it.Persistent and conscious non-participation in the ritual will make for its silent death and burial because no mind with the slightest disposition to reason can at all tolerate such obnoxious practice.So better educate the affected sections on whose support the ritual thrives.`

I wonder what these other passerby were doing when these 10 people were beating this guy. Shame on these people standing like mute spectators. This is nothing, but weakness in genes. That is the sole reason we have been slaves for more than 1000 years. No compassion for the fellow being assaulted. The country has suffered not so much from the action of bad people, but more from the inaction of the so called good people.

As i read and understood Brahminism is a practice..There is no cast system in Hinduism. The work classification of people got converted into castiesm. If any person who is not following brahminism is not brahmin,he may born to brahmin parents. If he is in defence, he will be called as kshatriya. The people are classified on work they do, not on born. Please save our hinduism by teaching, explaining and understanding the basis of hinduism. This things can better teach by hindu intellectuals. I have read many above comments , many other religion people are using this section to devide hindu's on their own perception, some even went ahead and used words for conversion also. For them , every religion and faith has its own to-pro's . Please try to understand , hinduism is beautiful peaceful sanatana religion. Hinduism not created on castism, the road of work classification of persons converted into castism, which is not the truth from BC.

This type of reactions are expected. Probably, when the system of "Sati"
was abolished, orthodox people would have resisted saying that the
practice was prevalent. All the pernicious practices which affect human
dignity and right to live should be abolished,not withstanding religious
sanctions/practices,irrespective of religion.

Believing in religion and God in 21st century is very backward and to some extend barbaric. But at the same time the individual has got the right to believe in any nonsense as long as he believes in it.Belief does have a placebo effect and well known scientifically to mitigate some of the psychological diseases. And at the same time a citizen has the equal right to condemn these acts and to demonstarte without physically obstructing those who perform the rituals.The only way to come out of this menace is to impart value and science based education to the public. Until than I think we should accept these things and demonstrate peacefully against all the evils.But at the same time they can't perfrorm these acts on children less than 18 years and people who are mentally not fit to weigh the consequences.We all hope one day India wil become a country with no quacks offering magical cure, no brahmins offering solutions through ill defined means.

These rituals are done one sown free will and not forced on anyone.Another group
or persons to step on free actions so long it is not illegal or harmful to the society

There are several such practices in India. There are also several practices among Lower caste, Christians and Muslims that need to be condemned and stopped. Why no one ever speaks up or even if some one speaks, they are branded as communalist. It is nothing but hypocracy. While I do not believe in Made Snana, there is no atrocity here. No one of forcing any one. No violance is involved. Just a practise like 1000 others. Why such a hue and cry? If possible, focus on terrorism, corruption, nepotism. In a country where Gay marriage, coerced religious conversions, terrorism in name of religion is rampant, this should be least of the botherations

I am a Brahmin and i am proud to born as a hindu.
Before condemning Hinduism doesn’t forget Gandhi ji was also a Hindu. Many other Hindu philosophers like shri orivindo and Vivekananda have inspired the world.

I don’t find any falls in this ritual. Currently there are many religions in world and they all have there rituals.
And please don’t forget Indian constitution guaranties freedom of religion to all Indians so everyone can follow their customs.
I don’t know why these so called sudo sequaler people have always problem against Hindus. If these people will continue insulting Hinduism then witch incident happened in Norway also can be happened in India.
If Mr. Shivaramu sir has any problem with that custom then simply he should not atend the ritual ceremony instead of creating invirement of hatred among upper cast and lower cast. This is nothing but just a cast based politics for deviding hindus.

Sir

What is superstitious to one need not be the same to the other. some may believing god is superstitious some may not. If you do not believe don't believe. Just as the non beleivers want freedom so do the believers. Believers pay tax etc. when d they do all other duties to the nation can't they hold on to their believes. Now it has become a fashion to talk about science. Beggers can they talk any thing of science about of bribery; corruption; prostitution? Can they talk about science when they see human being eat the left overs along with dogs? I see many eat along with dogs; fight with them to have a marshall of food. Let these fellows stand near any marriage hall and see for themselves and then talk about science. Some fellows feel that they are ashamed of being brahmins. Feel now and renounce at once. Made made snana is voluntary and no one is coerced. Stop this nonsense Concentrate on Nation building and eradication of poverty Jai Hind

It is shameful that such caste atrocities are still beig perpetrated. The entire belt has changed
character with the the rise of hindu fudamentalism. Thanks to hindu for highlighting such
atrocities.

Sorry to say this, but this was not expected from a news paper of the Hindu's calibre. Some where one feels that there has been an attempt to sensationalise the issue, which is a the speciality of one specific news paper (no prizes for guessing that!). And it seems The publication was successfull in its goal, as the number of comments on this article tell the story.

Efforts on to safeguard the privileges of a certain section of people in Hinduism. Hinduism have not learned to think their own people as own. Some shows authority and others servitude...and when some people to accept other religion being tired of such discrimination a section make hue and cry.....

This practice is wrong and it has to be stopped. But what about the triple talak spelt our to divorce a married woman? What about forcing a woman to wear burkha ? What about 1 man being allow to marry multiple women ? Shouldn't those practices be stopped as well ? Brahmins seem to a favourite soft target of the media and some elements in the Government.

This is REAL BLIND faith in a very unhygenic & Stupid practice perpetuated by stupidity. Education is required that what cures diseases of the skin are medicines and good personal hygiene. With people in blind faith rolling in other peoples food, One would question the intellect of the people taking part in such stupidity (both the organizers and the participants).It is a stupid superstitious practice encouraged by a few stupid people in the name of God..oh, and I love the fact that the Police were involved only after the poor guy was thrashed...I am sure he was of a "different" caste and that is why they let him get thrashed before stepping in. or maybe they are just slow.

I think high caste especially Brahmins should come forward to stop this unhygienic and superstitious belief before complaining about bad treatment of Brahmins by politicians. The Brahmins Association should discourage such practices.

I am a US citizen and been to Karntaka to visit some of the Temples that were famous. I was appalled to see some of the practices inside the temples and the way they treat Non-Brahmins. Separate dinning halls for Brahmin's and Non-Brahmin's and the way to treat Non-Brahmins. I think India is the most racist county in the world till today. Current day evil practices proves that point. According to Hindu Philosophy if god is there in every living and Non-living thing and at least they should treat all human beings equally. I will challenge all the Hindus living in India and Abroad to condemn these practices and to start one caste and one religion that is Hinduism then only we will achieve respect among over selves and truly become a Hindu.

The problem is that there are some people perpetuating this, and many people who are following it because they have been brainwashed into it over a lifetime. But, take any religious ritual -- it is the same blind submission to the ridiculous in the hope of a better tomorrow. The better tomorrow can happen only when people work for it rather than work on 'bribing' Gods. But, just because I have this belief does not mean that I be condescending and ask everything that I do not believe in be banned or condemned by everyone else. Is that the definition of democracy?

More killings,atrocities,senseless acts committed in the name of
religion than under any other banner.

There is no caste involved in this dispute. Most of the commenters
had not even read the article before criticising Hinduism and
Brahminism.

Please do not bring caste, RSS, BJP, VHP and sangh in this. When Ram
sene tried to stop women from going to pubs(Ram sene was wrong), they
were criticised. If Ram Sene or any other organisation had intervened
in this perfectly voluntary practice, why should i not criticize Ram
Sene or any other rational organisation?

As a brahmin, I wish that Brahmins give up this practice. If this
practice is irrational, so is tonsuring your head in Tirupathi and
other temples. Can the government ban tonsuring ones head in Tirupati?

This is absolutely horrendous and castiest ritual that should be banned outright, no question asked. Period. I could not care less if this cured cancer, this is a practice that relegates "lower caste" people to a less than human category vis-a-vis so called "Brahmins". People who insist on continuing this abominable practice should be meted out exemplary punishment. I find it bewildering that in many ways South India is more advanced than rest of the country, but in some ways it is still stuck to the very backward mindset. I cannot imagine anything remotely like this happening in West Bengal even when that state is far behind the Western or southern India in economy or infrastructure etc.

Reading this, I really ashamed to be an Indian!

Peace and harmony ... with Islam ? As you kidding me ? Islam has several barbaric practices, please work on abolishing them before trying to point fingers at other faiths.

Instead of condemning the practice, we have condemned and debated about religion, caste and what not. Instead of asking for "enlightenment", we called the news as "sensationalization" and the newspaper as "Anti-Hindu". And we invoked the example of Gandhi, Darwin and E=MC^2 to support these stone-age practices. And then the utter blabber of "nation-building" with a blind eye to these "voluntary" acts! As I said in my earlier comment, it's a MAD MAD WORLD.

Yes, I did warn ya, I did tell ya! :)

This is a religious ritual of a few believers.Nobody is imposing this on anyone.There is no need to be disparaging or critical of Hinduism or praise Islam or Christianity.All religions discriminate in one form or another and only vary in the degree they do so.Even today women are excluded in Islam from preaching in a mosque or they are discriminated because they are Shias Bohras,Ahamadiya's,Ismailis,Bahai's or other sub sects.Even after many efforts the Catholic and the protestants cannot find a common platform.Let us restrict our criticism to a practice which may not make sense and all diseases cannot be cured by modern medicine.Eg psoriasis a skin disease.

Wow! the Dalits are protesting against state backed fraud rituals in India.God fearing Hindu's must fight this caste based fake ritual. I salute the fearless Dalits for fighting the evil and defending their dignity.
God save India!

If you do not like the practice then why go to such places? As long as
it is voluntary I don't think there is any reason to stop it. People
enjoy this practice and so they are voluntarily doing it perhaps. But
if there is any compulsion it should be banned. According to the verdict of the honourable Supreme Court of India, standing up while the National Anthem is sung is not mandatory. One can choose not to stand. Similarly one can choose to stay away from this practice.

We read a lot about the middle eastern Muslim nations and wonder are
they treating their women properly?. very recently one Arab women was
punished for having tempting eyes while wearing a full Burkha. We
Indian's take pride in saying that we are much better when it comes to
treating all equally, but this article paints the truth and a painful
picture.

60 odd years of independence has still not given true freedom to all
Indians. A Upper class person can walk into a Dalit's home and be
expected to be revered as a god and Dalit women are punished to claim
they were raped by upper class men. This is the truth alteast in very
backward and non-urbanized sections of India. In the 60's Martin
Luther King fought for nothing but equality, Nelson Mandela spent his
youth in jail for equality. But you have never seen a Indian fighter
or revolution for equality. Are we truly free??? Think about it??

Seriously this is one ritual that raises our hackles?. What about all
the other rituals, including wasting millions in donations to religious
institutions?.

Time has come for India to declare itself an ATHEISTIC country. Our country should be built upon the ideas of discovery and pursuit of knowledge, not upon any thing that makes us mute followers . All religions must be shunned immediately as they are all unscientific and autocratic, waste and ineffective. They dont enlighten our lives; they push us into the den of ignorance. And Ignorance breeds injustice. Ignorance breeds discrimination.

If you do not like the ritual.. don't participate in it. It is no ones right to stop others from practicing their faiths. Who are you people to talk about Brahmins and Hindu's.

we need one more periyar at national level to eradicate these kind of non-sense

This is one of the most stupid things that is still followed, are rest of 98% Indians fools to follow ? If they don't follow who is gonna practice? Why don't they trash rest of 2% for these?

Hindu Dharma does not hold anyone less than anyone. All are equal on this earth. The Varna (occupation) and Ashrama (stage in life) system has collapsed. Varna Ashrama dharma is an ancient system of division of labour into Brahmana,Kshatriya,Vaishya and Shudra. Goal of life is 4 fold Dharma,Artha,Kama and Moksha All these 4 tpyes of people are equally qualified to attain god. The distinction was based on work they did and that decided everything. A brahmana is one who practices a perfect life and is a example to others, a brahmana is one who can impart true knowledge of the vedas to anyone who seeks to know, a brahmana is one who is selfless,kind,compassionate and does not accumulate wealth and one who has truly realized the purpose of life and its goal. Probably the practice is continued in good faith that good brahmanas still exist. A devotee of god has no caste and god does not see that. Great acharyas like Sankara,Ramanuja and Madhwa,Raghavendra abolished the dalit system long ago

We should start with the constables that were present and did not take immediate action or were slow to respond.
If this can happen when security was provided, then imagine what would have happened if this guy had gone alone.
The next would be to stop funding the temple until it changes its ways, and freeze all current asserts.

This is totally inhuman and barbaric. It should be banned. Modern society need not give up all rituals but this should be done away.

No wonder we live in the stone age. Above you can see inhuman people not
condemning the physical assault and shamelessly criticizing Shivaramu.?
Shame on you guys.

Religious intolerance shows its ugly face again ! 10 people beating up a defenseless individual. And we Indians were once proud of our non violent philosophy and culture. Religion poisons everything. This is fact.

Why is that religion, all over the world, seems to be at the root of most obnoxious forms of de-humanising depravity?

Shame on us...

Brahmins never made any attempt to wipe casteism from Hinduism.Rather perpetuate it.Before independence when the Assembly was passing a resolution against Devadasi system one Brahmin member Mr Sathyamoorthy said this should be preserved as it involves service to God.For this he was told that the other castes have grown tired of sending girls for service and he should consider sending from his family.

It is indeed heartening to see 174 comments on this item in such a short span of time. However, we need to remember that we who are commenting are not the major part of the 1.2 billion Indian population. The major part remains ignorant of the reality that the Hindu readers' community can see. High time it is that such truths are disseminated much more widely into society.

All these people who are defending it as a personal decision, wish to do away with the fact that people are conditioned for thousand of years to follow such non-sense practices.I am Hindu,proud to be.But i whould like my religion to be reformed as these practices are not sactioned by Vedas and even caste also.These are distortions introduced for benefit of a section a society, those monopolied knowledge to the disadvantage of majority of society.I am dishearteed to know that their are so called "english speaking", "learned people" still can defend such practices shamelessly.Shame on you.If something is wrong, it need to be stand corrected as majority feels this way.Our wrongs can't be equated with others' wrong. And this is no justificaton to preptuate a inhuman practice.

All those people commenting on the ritual taking place are very much ignorent of the facts. i belong to the sameplace and the ritual is adopted by all the section of society even muslims are doing this. Even the priests are doing it.