Temples Protection Movement has thanked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S.Jaganmohan Reddy for restoring the status of Hereditary Archaka system.
C.S.Rangarajan, convenor of TPM, in a release said that the AP Government issued G.O. 76 on Monday to this effect. The day coincided with the 85th birth day of M.V. Soundararajan, who led the Temples Protection Movement for decades to fight against the commercialisation and politicisation of the temple system.
He said that the draconian AP Legislation 30/87 - Hindu Religious Endowments Act that abolished the Hindu religious rights to Archakas and other devotees to perform devotional services to gods in thousands of temples rendering them socially and economically crippled. It took over 20 years to obtain political consensus and the Act was amended by the government in the combined AP in 2007 during the Chief Ministership of late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and the Act 33/2007 was passed. Yet nothing substantial was done for 12 years in spite of various judgements directing the government of AP to take care of the welfare of the Archakas, Dr. Rangarajan said.
The Archaka community thanked the Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy for taking up the welfare of Archakas and such positive measures would help in protecting ‘Dharma’ though the protection of temple system, he said.
The TPM also thanked the Endowment Minister Vellampalli Srinivas, retired IAS officer I.Y.R. Krishna Rao who as the Chief Secretary initiated the process of service rules for hereditary Archakas, AP Endowments Secretary Manmohan Singh and Chief Secretary of AP L.V.Subramanyam.
