Some of you must have already come across this piece of news mentioning how Dalits were barred from entering the Jagannath Temple in Kendrapara which led to their subsequent conversion to Buddhism.
The issue has been simmering for a while now (see this “Priests to purify Orissa temple after Dalit entry” ) and there was mention of conversion in the past too: “Orissa: Dalits threaten to convert“.
So whats news?

The news is the conspicuous silence of the RSS, the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and others on this matter.
The RSS news-site has …

Our honourable Railways Minister Shri Yadav made the headlines again last week with his promise that �priority would be given to Muslims in appointments in all sectors of the Railways.�
Now thats a great statement�except I am not at all sure what this means in practice.
Is it that all things being equal they would be preferred over a say, Hindu or Christian candidate?
Or would they be preferred even if they come short on some of the criteria as compared to other candidate(s)? If so, what is the �margin� (or �premium� or …