This story is from December 9, 2014

Swamis eat dalit-cooked meal at Kuppegala school, set an example

Religious leaders on Monday had lunch with students of the government school in Kuppegala, where some students had boycotted midday meals prepared by a dalit cook.
Swamis eat dalit-cooked meal at Kuppegala school, set an example
MYSURU: Religious leaders on Monday had lunch with students of the government school in Kuppegala, where some students had boycotted midday meals prepared by a dalit cook.
The school, where chief minister Siddaramaiah studied, saw 138 students attending classes on Monday. All of them ate the midday meal, cooked by the recently appointed dalit cook. Out of the 150 students, 85 are dalits.
Based on instructions from deputy commissioner C Shikha, DDPI HR Basappa visited the school last week. Together with school development and monitoring committee president Puttaswamy and taluk panchayat member Mahendra, he spoke to the village elders and defused the tension.
The religious leaders, including Basava Murgendra Swami from Chitradurga, Thippe Rudraswamy Swami of Gavali Guru Peeta, Chitradurga, and Basalinga Murthy of Mysore’s Bavika Kendra, spent nearly one hour with the children. After prayers, the religious leaders ate with the students and fed some of them.
Basava Murgendra Swami said: “People should be broad-minded. In this world of science, such trivial issues should not be encouraged. Whoever prepares rice – be she from a high caste or a low one – it will be the same. There should be no discrimination. A woman from any community who cooks food is regarded as Annapoorneshwari.”
With folded hands, the swami asked people to not discriminate on the basis of caste or creed.
After having lunch with the students, the religious leaders interacted with the students and advised them to work hard to achieve their goals. Police had made elaborate security arrangements.
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