Word: bihar
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Last week Bhave came to the holy place of Deoghar, in Bihar, where proud pandas (priests) still cling to the tradition in spite of the law. At a prayer meeting, Bhave expressed gentle regret that Untouchables were not permitted to enter Deoghar's 1,200-year-old Temple of Baidyanath to receive darshan, or spiritual blessing. "On the question of service and devotion to God," he said, "there should be no barrier." Later, as dusk spread across the ancient holy grounds, Bhave put his faith in man's conscience to test. The holy man walked silently...
...national cry of protest rose up across India. "This stupid and brutal assault," cried Premier Jawaharlal Nehru, "brings out forcibly the degradation of those who claim to serve religion, and want to make it a vested interest of their own." President Rajendra Prasad, who gave up his Bihar estates to Bhave's campaign to collect land for his landless ones (TIME, May 11), sent a message of shame and regret. The opposition Socialist Party bitterly criticized Bihar's Congress-dominated government for not protecting a man revered by millions of Indians as a saint...
Quickly, the Bihar police arrested twelve of the pandas for assault, and for barring the temple to Untouchables in defiance of the law. It was the first time Hindu priests had been prosecuted for a defiance that many had practiced since the law was passed. Bihar's chief minister warned the other pandas that he would lead the next party of Untouchables to the temple...
...place to go. And although the sacred cows roam free down Chowringhee, the native Bengali feels no more free than the refugee: the Marwaris and the British have the best businesses; the quick Madrasis get the best jobs; the workers for the jute mills come mostly from Bihar. Moreover, there is seldom enough money for the dowry, and the daughters stay long at home. All this discontent spreads like a heat rash and inflames at the slightest provocation...
...visit. And his disciples carried on with Bhoomidan-yagna, collecting 33,000 acres of land. When Bhave took to the road again, the donations came in so fast that the ash ram's bookkeeping system was almost snowed under. Last week, after 110 miles of dusty tramping in Bihar, he had picked up another 365,000 acres...