The dalits have traditionally been consuming hundreds of buffaloes offered to Goddess Durga on Mahaashtami at temples like Ugratara, Ningalasaini, Tallidehi, Tripura Sundari in Dadeldhura and Baitadi districts.
Rights activists had been protesting the tradition for the past few years but dalits had been continuing with this tradition. Dalit youths had protested the tradition last year and there was a confrontation between those willing to continue with it and against it in some of the temples.
This year, the Dalit Sewa Sangh itself has started agitation with the help from rights groups to prevent anyone from scavenging. It has started the campaign from district headquarters of Dadeldhura and Baitadi and will stop collecting and eating meat of the sacrificed animals.
President of Dalit Sewa Sangh, Dadeldhura, Ganesh Lahur vowed to take the campaign that started from district headquarters to villages. “We have started the refusal campaign by raising awareness. Intellectuals in the rural areas have also been standing against the tradition for long,” Lahur said.
“This tradition is a glaring proof of caste discrimination at a time when there needs to be debate on the issue of sacrificial offering itself,” said President of Nepal Dalit Sangh Santosh Jairu, adding that the tradition has invited disputes every year and it should be stopped through awareness campaigns.
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