Indian untouchables break caste barrier

Priesthood has been the domain of the upper castes

By Ram Dutt Tripathi BBC reporter in Lucknow

A group of lower caste Hindus, once known as "untouchables", are set to throw a new challenge to India's three-thousand-year-old Hindu system of social hierarchy.

They have completed a three-month intensive course on Hindu rituals and will soon be ordained as priests, a profession until now the exclusive domain of upper caste Brahmins.

The course was run in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh by the central human resources ministry.

Many of the trainees came from the lowest rungs of the caste system, officially described as the scheduled castes.

India has 160 million dalits and, despite laws banning discrimination, they suffer from it in some parts of the country.

Training

The training course was considered to be another attempt to integrate the dalits into the social mainstream.

Priests play a central role in Hindu rituals

The students were admitted after a rigorous and open competition.

All entrants were required to be proficient in the ancient Sanskrit language.

During three months of training, they studied ancient texts, learned to perform complicated Hindu rituals like marriages, child-naming ceremonies and death rites.

Many of the trainees said the course had boosted their confidence.

New society

Goverdhan Lal Meena is a proud man.

He is looking forward to embark on his new profession.

He is a dalit and says his parents had never imagined that he will be a Hindu priest one day.

Mr Meena says that Hindu society is going through rapid changes and social discrimination will soon be rooted out.

His colleagues and trainers are optimistic too.

They said non-Brahmin priests would symbolise the changing face of Hindu society.