Correspondent
It is was unusual experience for the residents of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Nagar, an exclusive Dalit locality with more than 200 houses, to brush shoulders with saffron-clad swamis of different religious mutts and share the food prepared by them.
In a district like Yadgir where the caste system still rules the roost, the heads of religious mutts visiting Dalit colonies and eating the food prepared by them is unheard of. To protest against the discriminatory practise of serving food to upper castes and others in some of the temples in Dakshina Kannada district, the swamis initiated the movement of Sahapankti Bhojana — where the upper castes have food with Dalits in their colonies.
The first such programme was held in Basavakalyan in Bidar district and the second at Belthangady in Dakshina Kannada district last year. This is the third Sahapankti Bhojana held in the State. Right from the morning, the Maremma Temple complexwas teeming with the people, both Dalits and curious onlookers from other localities.