Dalits Denied Right to Offer Prayers to Goddess

From kantiputonline.com Dalit parents denied right to prayer Kantipur Report BAJURA, Feb 2 - Dalit parents were prohibited from offering prayers during a Saraswati Puja ceremony organized by a school at Martadi of Bajura district on Saturday. Priest Dharmadev Upahdyaya, who was invited by Badimalika English Boarding School to conduct the ceremony, denied the Dalit parents from offering prayers to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge. The school had sent invitations to all the parents of children attending the school on Friday, requesting their presence at the ceremony. The Dalit parents, waiting with other parents for their turn to offer prayers to the goddess, were asked to leave by Upadhyaya. “It was an embarrassing situation to be placed in, in front of all other parents,” said Harka BK, a Dalit parent. The mortified parents said that even the school Principal Binod Mishra ignored them when they complained to him about the priest's actions. Priest Upahdyaya and Principal Mishra both apologized for the incident after the Dalit parents, along with Martadi-based rights activists, lodged complaints at the District Administration Office on Sunday. Posted on: 2009-02-01 20:26:13 (Server Time)

Goddess Saraswati

From The Times of India Saraswati Puja celebrated with gaiety 12 Feb 2008, 0553 hrs IST,TNN PATNA: Saraswati Puja was celebrated here with traditional gaiety, religious fervour and spirit of pursuit of art and knowledge which goddess Saraswati provides. Pandals were put up at many places, including schools and art and music institutions, where the students and youths of different religions joined in the celebration and worshipped the Goddess. Cultural programmes were organised at different pandals and in schools. The day was also observed as Basant Panchami with the people offering abir and gulal to Goddess Saraswati and then smearing it at one another to mark the festive spirit. The day started with offering prayers at the pandals and at homes. Many people, particularly students and artists, were seen clad in basanti colour (light yellow) in schools, colleges and at puja pandals. At Bihar Sanskritik Vidyapith, the day was celebrated by worshipping the goddess and the day was also observed as Sanskrit Protection Day. Presiding over the function, Bharat Sadhu Samaj general secretary Swami Harinarayanand appealed to the people to follow the teachings propagated through the Sanatana Dharma to make the nation prosperous. Speaking on the occasion, former CM Jagannath Mishra said the budget allocation on education should be increased from three per cent of the GDP to six per cent. The participants at the function paid floral tributes to the Goddess. They included Lokayukt of Bihar Justice R N Prasad, Adyacharan Jha, Justice Rajendra Prasad, Justice B P Singh, Justice Bimalendu Narayan Sinha, former DGP R R Prasad and welfare minister Rameshwar Paswan. At Patna Central School, a fervour of devotion (bhakti) prevailed among the students and teachers. The school students presented Bihari folk dances, besides Rajasthani, Punjabi and Bengali dances and played musical instruments displaying their artistic talent. Founder of the school Acharya Sudarshan said, "Saraswati is the goddess of civilisation, culture, art, education, wisdom and human consciousness for a positive development." Another story about the celebration of Basant Panchami.