Sunita repeated the ritual with teachers, students, parents and visitors present there. Everyone reciprocated the way Ghimire did. [break]
This was how Saraswati puja was celebrated on Wednesday at the Janapremi Reshamlal Paramananda Lower Secondary School at Bagaha of Triyuga-8, Udayapur.
Sunita, who is from the so-called ´lower caste´, was the main priest of the day. She conducted the worship and put tika on the foreheads of everyone present at the function.
Ghimire said the ceremony was organized to give a message against caste-based discrimination. “In our society, people are still discriminated against on grounds of caste,” Ghimire said. “This is a beginning. Our objective was to give parents a message against caste discrimination.”
Sunita, who has always suffered discrimination from her neighbors, considers herself lucky. She said, “I am lucky that everyone accepted tika and offerings from me.”
Though several programs have been organized in the district against caste discrimination in the past, this is the first such program to have been held at a school.
The District Education Office and UNICEF said that the school has set an example.
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