How a Delhi temple became rallying point for Dalit activists, politicians

After the demolition on August 10, the entry to the temple has been blocked with a newly built wall, while police patrol its barricaded boundary

This Wednesday, Himman Kumar took leave from work as he joined tens of thousands of people — bound by faith in a “lesser god” — at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. For the Sanskrit schoolteacher, like many others who gathered from places far beyond the capital, it was a spontaneous response to the demolition of a temple of Guru Ravidas in South Delhi’s Tughlakabad area.

The mega rally was followed by a march of some activists to the temple site that took a violent turn and ended with the detention of Dalit outfit Bhim Army’s chief Chandrashekhar Azad and several others.

Kumar, who