Dalit appointed chief priest at Janannath temple in Gaya

Gaya, Feb 15: A dalit has been appointed the chief priest at the Jagannath temple at Gaya in Bihar which took this bold initiative as performing rituals is considered a strict prerogative of the Brahmins.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief K.S. Sudarshan graced the ceremony kicking off the renovation of the temple under the guidance of the new head priest Deepak Das.

"We are all children of god. Nobody is a low-caste (dalit). That is the reason why the word dalit is not mentioned in our Constitution," said Sudarshan.

Buddhist monks from the Mahabodhi temple also attended the ceremony.

At present, non-Brahmin priests perform rituals in just a few temples of certain sects.