Chanting mantras, breaking barriers: Kerala's first Dalit priest takes charge

Agencies
October 9, 2017

Pathnamthitta, Oct 9: Yedu Krishnan scripted history today by becoming the first Dalit priest in Kerala to assume duties at the sanctum sanctorum of the Manappuram Lord Shiva Temple at nearby Thiruvalla.

In a landmark step, 36 non-brahmins were recently recommended for appointment in various temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages at least 1,248 shrines in the state, including the famous Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.

Son of P K Ravi and Leela, Krishnan (22) had undergone 10 years training in Tantra Shastra. He is among six Dalits out of the 36 non-Brahmins recommended for appointment as priests by the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board.

The young priest took blessings of his guru K K Aniruddhan Thantri and entered the shrine with present chief priest Gopakumar Namboodiri, chanting mantras, temple officials said.

Hailing from Koratty in Thrissur district, Krishnan is a final year postgraduate student in Sanskrit. He had begun performing pooja at the age of 15 at a local temple near his house.

Krishan's presence inside the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine comes at a time when Kerala is set to observe the 81st anniversary of the historic Temple Entry proclamation on November 12.

The proclamation was a royal decree, which opened the temples in the erstwhile state of Travancore to the so-called lower caste Hindus in 1936. 

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 22,2020

Bengaluru, May 22: Karnataka reported 138 fresh cases of coronavirus on Friday, taking the state tally to 1743.

26 patients have been discharged on Friday and in total, 597 people have been discharged in Karnataka while total number of active cases in the state is 1,100. 41 people have succumbed to the virus, informed the state health department.

Out of the 138 cases, 111 are returnees from Maharashtra.Out of the 138 cases, 47 are from Chikkaballapura alone, 10 cases from Raichur eight cases each from Bidar and Mandya, five cases each from Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru Urban, and 14 are from Hassan.

From Bengaluru Rural, three patients are returnees from Maharashtra. A fifty-five year old female from Bengaluru Rural, has contracted the virus and has been diagnosed with a history of SARI. She is currently under observation at a designated city hospital.

Five patients have tested positive from Bengaluru Urban. A 42-year-old woman tested positive in Bengaluru Urban and has been diagnosed with a history of Influenza-like Illness (ILI). She is currently under observation at a designated city hospital.

Two men, who have tested positive from Dharwad are returnees from Delhi. Both of them are currently under observation at a designated hospital in Hubli. A seventy-five year old male who has contracted the coronavirus has returned from Jharkhand.

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News Network
May 20,2020

New Delhi, May 20: With 5,611 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally reached 1,06,750 on Wednesday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 140 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 3,303.

Out of the total cases, 61,149 are actives cases and 42,298 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state with 37,136 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,448 cases), Gujarat (12,140 cases), and Delhi (10,554 cases).

The nationwide lockdown imposed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended till May 31.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 3: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday introduced the Karnataka Municipalities and Certain Other Law (Amendment) Bill, 2020, in the assembly to give voters the opportunity to reject candidates in civic polls.

The bill, if passed, will enable election officials to offer the NOTA option in the elections to municipal corporations on the lines of assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

An amendment bill which seeks to enable the government to set up a separate university for the districts of Raichur and Yadgir was also tabled. The government said the workload of Gulbarga University necessitated creation of a separate university for the two districts, a move that will also help reduce regional imbalance in Kalyana Karnataka region.

Another amendment bill seeks to allow industrial units, which have failed to start operations on allotted land after seven years, to sell off the parcels to another unit. Bills which empower authorised agencies to regulate turf clubs and horse racing and regulate salary and pension of teachers in higher education institutions were also introduced in the assembly on Monday.

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