Bhubaneswar, July 22: Rath yatra rituals of the Puri Jagannath temple deities getting delayed is nothing new, but temple sevayats (servitors) manhandling the district collector certainly is.

The incident happened on July 17 when the niladri bije rituals of the temple deities during the last leg of their annual chariot festival were marred by violence and interruptions with a bunch of unruly sevayats targeting Puri collector Aravind Agrawal. They also unleashed their ire on the journalists covering the event.

The trigger for the trouble was the collector's objection to one of the servitors taking his daughter atop Lord Balabhadra's chariot Taladhwaj, along with Nandighosh and Darpadalana, the mounts of Lord Jagannath and His sister, Subhadra, respectively, stood at the Lion's gate of the temple with preparations in full swing for carrying the deities inside the shrine in ceremonial processions.

Ever since nine servitors have been arrested for the attack on the collector and an embarrassed government, facing widespread criticism and also under pressure from the state IAS officers' association, has been forced to form a judicial commission to suggest reforms in the temple to ensure, among other things, safety and timely conduct of rituals.

However, the core issue of reigning in the daitapatis, who appear to be fiercely protective of their turf with material interests taking precedence over everything else, remains yet to be addressed. What happened on July 17 had been in the making for sometime with similar dramas on a smaller scale having been played out during rath yatra festivals in the past, each time the daitapatis with an eye on the main chance clashing with temple officials.

One of the first acts of daitapatis openly defying the temple administration's diktat and the Orissa High Court order - banning anyone except servitors and shrine officials from climbing up the chariots - was seen on July 8 when a woman devotee, assisted by the servitors, went up the Nandighosh, while it was stationed outside the Shree Gundicha temple.

Last year, too, a woman devotee had similarly climbed Nandighosh with a sevayat being suspended for violation, but it seems the tribe of servitors, increasingly assertive of its claim on the temple, their soul source of earning, is hell bent on resisting any attempts at disciplining them. The temple administration, with its half-hearted attempts at infusing discipline among the daitapatis, has not helped matters.

"The expectations of daitapatis have gone up, but their mindset has not changed. Reforms are a must but the government seems to be wary of implementing recommendations in this regard," said Pradeep Dash, the administrator, niti (rituals) of the temple.

Jagannath culture researcher Surendra Mishra called for a rewriting of the temple's Record of Rights, which defines various sevas (services) involving sevayats and others. "The sevayats still treat the temple as their personal property. They should know India is a democracy and the temple belongs to the people," said Mishra, who was also critical of the role of both the temple administration and the temple management committee. "The administration tiptoes around sensitive issues as it is more interested in getting work done," he remarked.

The scholar was also against the idea of servitors being offered puraskar (monetary rewards) on special occasions. "This amount is not specific which creates confusion," he said.

Surendra Nath Dash, another Jagannath culture researcher, felt that chaos ruling the temple rituals and occasions such as rath yatra was a reflection of sevayats' bloated ego. "They claim to be the brothers of Lord Jagannath with exclusive knowledge of their rituals. Unfortunately, we have a weak government which has failed to discipline them," the scholar fumed.

While senior BJD leader, Surya Narayan Patro, equally aggrieved with the goings-on in the temple, has suggested a Tirupati-like trust to run the state's most famous shrine, the daitapatis are in no mood to give in. "We will not allow our rights to be curtailed or taken away under any circumstances," asserted president of the daitapati association Ram Krushna Das Mohapatra. This battle seems set to intensify.

Don't you think that the controversy over niladri bije rituals should end. Tell ttodisha@abp.in