‘Are We Not Hindus?’: Rajasthan Dalit Priest Allegedly Assaulted Twice Within a Year, Had Sought Help From Mohan Bhagwat

Jaipur: In May this year, Vishnu Balai, a 40-year-old Dalit man from Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, wrote a letter to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, seeking the latter’s help over what Balai termed as attempts by anti-Dalit persons and individuals associated with the RSS to stop him from doing the duties of a priest at a temple in his village.

“You speak of the entire Hindu community and speak of harmony. You are against caste discrimination, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is running a campaign for one well, one crematorium, one temple. However, the swayamsevaks of the Sangh have usurped my temple from me, a Dalit priest…,” Balai wrote in his letter to Bhagwat.

“…and now they want to implicate me and my family in false cases, send us to jail, and even kill us. Your swyamsevaks are behaving in the exact opposite way to what you say,” he added.

‘You, a low-caste man, we will make you drink filthy urine’

On July 16, Balai was allegedly assaulted for the second time in less than a year near the Khakhul Dev temple, when he was preparing to conduct the prayers.

“…came with weapons, iron rods, iron pipes, bamboo sticks and entered the Khakhul Dev temple illegally. They told my husband, ‘You, a low-caste man, we will make you drink filthy urine and throw you out of the temple’," says the FIR registered at the Asind police station on July 16 on the basis of the complaint filed by Balai’s spouse Sita Devi.

Balai says that he was first taken to the health centre in Asind and then later referred to the district hospital Bhilwara, where he was admitted for a day and was discharged on July 17.

Also read: A Society Built Around Caste Cannot Be 'Reformed' Into Equality

“I was beaten up and sustained injuries on my body and ear. This was the second time when I was assaulted. Earlier, I was attacked on August 14 last year and had filed an FIR. My family has been conducting the duties of priests at the Khakhul Dev temple since the last 400 years. But some people in our village, who have the protection of Asind MLA Jabbar Singh Sankahla and are affiliated to the RSS, want to remove me as priest of the temple,” Balai alleged, speaking to The Wire.

The FIR registered on June 16 at the Asind police station has named six accused: Ramprasad Vaishnav, Govind Vaishnav, Bhagwan Lal Vaishanav, Ratan Lal Vaishnav, Sammu Jat and Norat Vaishnav.

They have been booked under Sections 189 (2) (Unlawful Assembly), 115 (2) (Voluntarily Causing Hurt), 126 (2) (Wrongful Restraint) and 352 (Intentional Insult with Intent to Provoke Breach of Peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.

‘They don’t want a Dalit as a priest’

Balai added that this is the second FIR that he has lodged over the issue.

Earlier, the Rajasthan high court had put a stay on the arrest of the accused under the FIR registered by Balai in August last year, he said.

“They don’t want a Dalit as a priest. The temple gets substantial offerings from devotees. The accused tried to create a trust and remove me as priest to get hold of the temple funds. I had earlier sought the help of Mohan Bhagwat. I had donated Rs 5,100 to the Ram temple, I used to go to RSS shakhas as a child and my family showered flowers on swayamsevaks during the RSS centenary celebrations. Am I not a Hindu? Then am I being targeted just because I am a Dalit? Is this the Hindu unity that RSS talks about?” Balai told The Wire.

Officials said that with the dispute being presently in court, the government has appointed a receiver for the Khakhul Dev temple. After Balai’s spouse registered the FIR on June 16 following the alleged assault, the accused too lodged a counter FIR against Balai alleging that he had assaulted them.

“FIR has been lodged against each other by both the parties and an investigation is underway. We are also analysing CCTV footage and any decision on arrests will be made after further investigation,” Bhilwara, Superintendent of Police Sagar, told The Wire.

Activists have slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan over the incident.

“If a dispute is in court and the government has appointed a receiver for the temple, how can a mob interfere and assault a Dalit man? What authority do the villagers have that they attack a Dalit priest? We demand strict action against the accused who have been named in the FIR lodged by Balai’s spouse for assaulting him and also, the counter FIR lodged by the accused should be suspended. This is an attempt to stop a Dalit man from being a priest in the temple,” said activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi.

BJP MLA denies allegations

When contacted, BJP MLA from Asind, Jabbar Singh Sankhala, denied the allegations levelled against him by Balai.

“Around 90% of the people in Barana village are RSS supporters. Balai’s family have been traditionally priests of the Khakhul Dev ji temple. Some educated villagers felt that it is such a popular temple where thousands of quintals of grain are offered and lakhs come from offerings, but there has been zero development, and even bathrooms have not been built, not even for women. They asked Balai to construct the bathrooms to curb open defecation and ensure cleanliness which is the reason for the dispute,” said Sankhala.

Also read: A Lived Sociology of Caste

Sankhala added that the villagers created a committee and decided that the money and grains which will come as offerings as part of religious path will belong to the priest, but a separate danpatra (offering box) was kept, the money from which will be used for the development of the temple.

“When Balai declined to put up a new danpatra or to give its key to the villagers, the dispute escalated. The allegations being levelled against me are untrue and it is absolutely wrong to say that Balai has been targeted because he is a priest. There is no truth to this. Priests have no caste. The law should follow due course and whoever is guilty should be punished,” he mentioned.

‘Hand the temple back to us Dalits’

In his letter to Bhagwat in May, Balai had said that the state government did not hear his grievances and had requested the RSS chief to intervene. He had alleged that a mahapanchayat was convened in the village by RSS workers against Dalits.

“I request you with folded hands to ensure that intimidating me in the name ‘Sakal Hindu Samaj’, is stopped and the swayamsevaks are stopped from snatching the temple from me, the Dalit priest, and (you) ask the BJP government in Rajasthan to remove the receiver and hand the temple back to us Dalits, and allow police and legal action to be initiated against the accused swayamsevaks so that we can live as Hindus,” Balai had written to Bhagwat.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.