“If you fall sick and need blood to recover, you don’t look for the caste of the blood donor”, Hassan Deputy Commissioner R. Girish told the residents of Tejuru village in Hassan taluk on Monday.

Addressing a peace meeting, convened over recent differences among the villagers, he said people belonging to all castes should come together for the overall development of the village. “There cannot be restrictions on entering a temple. Whether it is a Muzrai temple or not, a temple is a public place and people of all castes should have free access. Any form of caste-based discrimination would attract the punishment as per the law.”

The Constitution had guaranteed equal rights to all and people should not treat fellow human beings based on caste. “When you fall sick, you accept blood from a donor, irrespective of his or her caste”, he said.

Recently, a few Dalit youths were allegedly assaulted by ‘upper caste’ people for placing a banner of a TV serial based on the life of B.R.Ambedkar in the village. The Dalits also appealed to the district administration to allow them to offer prayers in the Muzrai temple in the village, alleging that all these years they were barred from entering it. The administration arranged the temple entry on September 3. Though the ‘upper caste’ people did not stop Dalits from entering the temple, many of them raised slogans cursing them. Following this tension prevailed in the village, prompting the administration to hold a peace meeting.

The DC suggested that people of both the groups constitute a committee involving representatives of both castes to resolve differences if any in future. “I wish the committee takes all people into confidence and resolve issues as per the law. Let there be coordination between the groups for the betterment of the village”, he said.

Representatives of Vokkaligas and Dalits spoke on the occasion. They resolved to maintain harmony in the village. Initially, the Vokkaligas said that they would attend the meeting only if leaders of pro-Dalit organisations were sent out of the meeting. However, the officers convinced them and held the meeting.

Superintendent of Police R. Srinivasa Gowda, Zilla Panchayat CEO B.A. Paramesh, Assistant Commissioner Naveen Bhat, District Social Welfare Officer A. Sridhar and others were present.