A Leftover Caste Problem

Karnataka finds it hard to ban a tradition that makes Dalits roll on leftover food of Brahmins

Kukke Subrahmanya The Karnataka government is finding it difficult to stop an abhorrent practice that denigrates Dalits and backward castes, making them roll sideways on the leftover food of Brahmins in temples around Mangalore. Called Made Snana, which means ‘bathing in leftovers’ in Kannada, the voluntary ritual specifically involves rolling over plantain leaves on which Brahmins have eaten during annual feasts at the temples.

Last month, when the state government decided to stop the practice, it met with stiff resistance. A fact-finding team was sent to the Kukke Subrahmanya temple, an important religious destination. Members of Scheduled Tribes attacked a backward caste leader present with the team. They were arrested, but were given a hero’s welcome at the temple after their release on bail.

A minister in the Karnataka government added to the confusion by saying there were “medicinal properties that help skin diseases” in the plantain leaves, only to retract his statement later. Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda this week said there will be a public hearing on the issue in Bangalore before the government legislates a ban.

Govind BK, a local resident, says Made Snana has social sanction. “It was never questioned, least of all by its practitioners, who book days in advance to take part in the ritual,” he says. In the middle of the row last month, an affiliated Krishna temple near the Kukke shrine also organised the ritual. The math head, Lakshmivara Tirtha, told mediapersons, “If we don’t let devotees do it, it will amount to betrayal of their trust.’’

But calls for a ban are getting louder. Eighteen Hindu religious leaders have come together to force it. Veerabhadra Channamalla Swamiji, spokesperson for an umbrella organisation, says the ban is necessary to protect human dignity: “We oppose such obnoxious values and want to bring in progressive change.”
According to writer G Rajashekhar, “There is humiliation of lower castes in the ritual.’’ Talk of understatements.

About The Author

Anil Budur Lulla