Sharp End Of A Poll Spear

With its ‘vel yatra’, the BJP had done its bit to put the DMK on the defensive, forcing the Dravidian party to tone down its perceived anti-Hindu image. Even M.K. Stalin was seen holding a vel (spear, associated with Lord Murugan), which was flaunted as a triumph of the BJP’s campaign against the “anti-Hindu propaganda” hitherto encouraged by the DMK and its cohorts. The DMK also included the following promises in its manifesto—a Rs 1,000-crore fund for renovation of temples, rope cars for all hill temples (mostly Murugan temples), Rs 25,000 for one lakh pilgrims to famous Hindu temples in the country, financial support for performing artistes of village temples and establishment of an international centre at Vadalur, home of saint Vallalar, which attracts lakhs of devotees every year.

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While the DMK believes the pious temple-goers of Tamil Nadu, who have always separated politics from religion, would vote for the Dravidian party ­desp­ite propaganda against it, the vigour suddenly injected into a campaign to “free temples” from government control has taken the party by surprise. Stalin’s party has always resisted attempts to ­dilute the powers of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department, claiming that control of temples by local trustees would enable discrimination against the SCs and STs. However, vandalism and theft of idols for smuggling, besides massive exp­loitation of temple lands and built-up ­property, have dried up the revenue from temples, leaving little to fund their upkeep. Thus a large number of temples across Tamil Nadu are in a state of ­disrepair. According to T.R. Ramesh, who is spearheading the campaign, ­massive encroachments of temple lands, often by state government departments, could be stopped only through orders from the high court. “These lands and buildings belong solely to the temple, but have changed so many hands that there are no current records of the actual beneficiaries. The tenants are paying ­little or no money,” rues Ramesh.

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The issue is being used to harden the impression that a DMK government would only encourage further exploitation of temple property. The demand for retaking control of temples by devotees has found resonance with the BJP, which has supported the move in its manifesto, and lent its organisational support to the campaign. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev used the Shivaratri congregation at his Isha Foundation to give a lengthy speech to devotees on the need to take back ­control of temples so they can be ­revived. “When Muslims, Christians and Sikhs can control their places of worship, why should Hindus accede that right to governments?” he asked. “Due to the ­unfortunate legacy the predatory East India Company left us with, the Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu continue to be in the control of the government. This has led to the ­deterioration and suffocation of glorious Tamil traditions. The HR&CE department, which holds 44,121 temples in the state, had informed the Madras High Court that 11,999 temples have no revenue to perform even one daily puja.” Soon the hashtag FreeTamilNaduTemples started trending and people started uploading photos of temples in ruins to the Isha website.

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The DMK suspects that Sadhguru’s campaign fits in nicely with the BJP’s “pro-Hindu agenda”. “He and the ­movement to free temples are only fronts to hurt the DMK and an indirect way to garner support for the BJP and its allies,” says a DMK MLA. Jaggi Vasudev was quick to rubbish this charge: “We are not against or for any political party. We only want whoever comes to power to respect the overwhelming sentiments of Hindus to get back control of their temples so they can be preserved for posterity,” he said.

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By G.C. Shekhar in Chennai