Supporting Made Snana is like destroying Constitution – G. K. Govinda Rao

Supporting Made Snana is like destroying Constitution – G. K. Govinda Rao

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Jan 1, 2011: Speaking at a seminar titled Made Snana, Belief, Practice, and Opposition jointly held in the auditorium of University College by DYFI, DSS, and other organizations opposing Made Snana, G. K. Govinda Rao, the writer and thinker, said that the aim of those supporting practices such as Made Snana is to destroy the country’s Constitution and democratic system. 

Criticizing Vishwesha Teertha Swamiji of Pejawar Mutt and Dr. V. S. Acharya, the minister for higher education, for supporting what he called an “inhuman practice,” Mr. Rao said that Made Snana cannot be allowed just because it is a belief. Since India is a democratic country, beliefs should be evaluated to see if they have a positive impact on society and cannot be permitted just because they have been practiced from centuries, he said.

Attacking the Pejawar seer for choosing to remain neutral on the issue, the writer demanded to know if the seer is ready to defend untouchability just because it has been practiced for so many centuries. Accusing people like the Pejawar seer of misleading the public by showing that these customs have been practiced for centuries in different communities, he said that it is the duty of public figures such as the Pejawar seer to clean the muck from their own house. 

He also criticized Anna Hazare and said that he is a false Mahatma created by the combined efforts of the country’s middle class and the media. Accusing Hazare of keeping quiet on the corruption in Gujarath and Karnataka, he said that Hazare is only attacking the Congress party, becoming the hero of middle class people who fly across the country to participate in his rallies and shout slogans in his honor while all the time listening to music through their earphones. 

Speaking on the issue of Made Snana, Shivaram Shetty, the coordinator of the Kanaka Study Chair in Mangalore University, said that the ritual needs to be considered from a cultural view point. It cannot be ignored that the large numbers of people who roll on banana leaf plates discarded after meals by Brahmins belong to the backward classes. Speaking of the importance of understanding the cultural politics behind such rituals, he said that those who consider the ritual as a symbol of cultural hegemony are attempting to show any opposition to the ritual as an attack on the Hindu religion. 

K. S. Shivaramu, the president of the Karnataka Rajya Hindulida Vargagala Jagruthi Vedike, demanded that a ban should be placed on the practice of seating Brahmins separately in temple dining halls. Referring to such as a practice as the “mother of Made Snana,” he said that once this practice is stopped, Made Snana has to die.  

Criticizing Dr. V. S. Acharya, he said that Acharya has to resign from his post as he has no moral right to continue in such a position after defending a practice like Made Snana. Stating that Acharya is not even fit to be a medical doctor, he called Acharya “a disease to society.” 

He also urged the government to take appropriate action as per the report submitted by 3 senior Social Welfare Ministry officers. Stating that this panel, which was appointed by the government, has stated that Made Snana has to be banned, he also informed that the panel has recommended a ban on Pankthi Beda or the practice of arranging separate places for Brahmins in temple dining halls. 

Anand, leader of the DSS; V. T. Rajashekar, the editor of Dalit Voice; Muneer Katipalla, the district convener of the DYFI; and Jeevan Kuthar, the state secretary of the SFI; were also present.