Nepal Girls in Mass Hindu Kanya Puja Prayer Ceremony

Organizers say that the aim of the ceremony was to bring
about social revolution by ensuring a more inclusive society.

More than 11,000 girls have taken part in a mass Hindu prayer ceremony in western Nepal, which organizers say is one of the biggest of its kind ever to be held in the country.


The traditional Kanya Puja ceremony honors girls as incarnations of the Goddess Bhagawati.

It included girls from different ethnic communities and castes.

Organizers say the aim is to dismantle the caste system and spread a message of equality and social harmony.

Many girls taking part in the ceremony at Ramnagar in Nawalparasi district wore school uniforms and performed Hindu  devotions and chants.

"It is our Vedic traditions to offer Puja [Hidu devotions] to kanya [girls] who are regarded as incarnations of Goddess Bhagawati, " festival organizing chief Bharat Raj Poudel said.

Demarcation Call

He added that the Puja was being done in a manner to bring about "social revolution" by ensuring a more inclusive society and discarding discriminatory caste traditions such as "untouchability".

Ethnic minorities want their rights respected in
a new constitution

"We want to do away with ethnic discord, " Mr Poudel said.

Nepal has recently witnessed ethnic unrest amid heated debate over the composition of a new constitution. Members of parliament remain divided over the issue.

Some ethnic communities, mostly from indigenous groups called Janajati, have called for the country's provinces to be demarcated along on ethnic lines.

They have also opposed what they have described as the domination of high-caste Hindus - such as Brahmins and Chhetris - within "the body politic".

The Kanya Puja is to be followed by the two-week-long Mahayagya - another Hindu ritual which is typically performed by priests using fires to carry out symbolic sacrifices.

The main objective of the Mahayagya, according to organizers, is to preserve Hindu traditions, philosophy and values of life.

Priests from neighboring India have been invited to this program.

Formerly a Hindu kingdom, Nepal was transformed into a secular republic six years ago.