 seeks public control of Padmanabha Swamy Temple "Pin It")
The Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has, in a reasoned response, proposed a publicly controlled administrative set-up on the lines of that at the Sree Krishna Temple at Guruvayur for the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple here.
Speaking its mind for the first time on the question of protecting the priceless objects that have been discovered in the secret vaults of the temple, the CPI(M) sought steps by the Central and State governments to document and assess the value of each of these objects and to preserve them with utmost care. These steps should be taken in line with the wishes of the faithful, and the verdict of the Supreme Court.
“It would be appropriate to have an administrative mechanism like that of the Guruvayur Temple with representatives of the former royal family in it to govern the Padamanabha Swamy Temple. The Guruvayur Devaswom has a representative of the Zamorin [the former ruler of the Malabar region] in it. The same could be done here, but in keeping with the wishes of the devotees and the verdict of the Supreme Court,” CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan told a news conference here on Monday. The Tirupati and Guruvayur temples were functioning well with such administrative systems in place, he said.
Replying to a question on why the party had taken this long to come out with its views, Mr. Vijayan said: “We wanted to arrive at a correct position and did not want to discuss it just among ourselves. Our idea was to discuss it in the presence of our national a leadership and could do it only now.” CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat was present at the State Committee meeting here where the issue was discussed on Sunday.
Replying to a question, the State secretary said there would have to be legislation on the temple's administrative control once the Supreme Court gave its verdict. The Kerala High Court, he recalled, had given a verdict for change in the control of the temple, currently vested with the erstwhile Travancore royal family.
The case had gone to the Supreme Court following an appeal from the former royal family.
On the controversy over opening Vault B, Mr. Vijayan said the Supreme Court's criticism of resort to astrological rites to decide if the vault should be opened was significant. Nobody could be permitted to spread superstition. What was needed was a democratic debate on the question of protecting the valuables and administering the temple once the Supreme Court gave its verdict, he said.
Keywords: Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, temple treasure
The CPI(M) proposal to bring the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram under administrative control of an authority similar to Guruvayur devaswom administration, if accepted, would further damage the sanctity of temples in the State. The corruption and inefficiency in management and neglect of age-old rituals and practices in temples under not only Guruvayur devaswom administration but also the State-managed Travancore, Cochin and Malabar Devaswom Boards are notorious. All these bodies mainly serve the various vested interests of political parties here. If the government control is extended to more and more temples including the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, all these holy places of worship would also add to places of corruption and inefficiency. At this point of time, what is ideal is an unprejudiced study of the history of how a lot of Hindu religious institutions and temples came under government control. It can be easily seen that no conditions that existed then for the government take-over of temples exist now. A just and meaningful action is therefore for the government to completely withdraw from administration of temples. Government can definitely legislate on measures to ensure compliance of rules, efficiency in administration and elimination of corruption in not only Hindu institutions but also all other religious institutions. That is democracy and secularism. Age-old rituals and practices have Constitutional validity. The Court is yet to examine this in the present case of devaprasnam at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple and issue final ruling. The CPI(M) Secretary's complete reliance on Supreme Court observation (not order) on astrological rites, before a court decision, is not fully acceptable. How can any one classify beliefs as superstitions and others?
Fact: The wealth belongs to the temple property which is managed by legal Trustees.
Issue: Opinion expressed by Com.Pinarayi Vijayan, as the State Secretary of CPI(M)
Scenario: The matter has been taken to the court and under judicial process. The court of law has made it very clear that it is not going to buy the directions of the astrologers in this regard.
In this circumstances why come out with the statement that the property belong to the public? Ideologically it is right only if the party can assert the same opinion on all the properties owned by other temples/ Churches/ Mosques/ Gurudwaras and similar organizations or atleast on the assets donated by erstwhile rulers of Travancore to various religious organizations. It is a clear case of discrimination or opportunism.
Result? A good number of people, especially in and around Thiruvananthapuram, will protest. The devotees, others who stand for democratic justice and supporters/well wishers of the Party will be forced to take a stand against it. Appeal: Please review the issue and give democratic justice to the devotees and well wishers of the temple and do not force the supporters of the Party to turn away to others for justice.
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