Muzaffarnagar: Scores of Scheduled Caste members trooped into a Hanuman Mandir here and attempted to take control of the temple on Tuesday, days after Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath claimed that the Hindu god was a ‘Dalit tribal’.
According to local media reports, there was heavy police presence around the temple to maintain law and order as the crowd raised slogans and refused to leave the temple.
The incident comes two days after Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar asked members of the Dalit community to take over the priesthood and administration of Hanuman temples across India following Yogi’s statement.
While addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Alwar district on Tuesday, Adityanath had said, "Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to unite all Indian communities, from north to south and east to west."
A Right-wing group in Rajasthan has also sent a legal notice to Adityanath, asking him to apologise for calling Lord Hanuman a Dalit.
A week ago, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) chairperson Nand Kumar Sai had also claimed that Lord Hanuman was a tribal.
During an event in Lucknow on November 29, Sai said, "I want to make it clear... People think that there were monkeys, bears, and vultures in the army of Lord Ram. In Kurukh language spoken by people belonging to the Oraon tribe, 'tigga' (a gotra) means 'vanar' (monkey). In the Kanwar tribe, which I belong to, there's a gotra (clan) called 'Hanuman'."
"Similarly, 'Giddh' or vulture is a gotra in many other Scheduled Tribes. Therefore, I believe they belonged to the tribal community and accompanied Lord Ram in the big war," he had said.
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