Taking a cue perhaps from the Tamil Nadu government’s brazen attempts at looting Hindu temple coffers off their funds, the Kerala government has now done pretty much the same, using its functionaries in the Guruvayur Devaswom Board to feed it money. Kerala has a total of five Devaswom Boards, which have been given control of Hindu temple assets by the government.
On 6 May, the Communist government of Kerala brazenly extracted a sum of Rs. 5 crore from the corpus of the Guruvayur Devaswom Board, despite most temples in Kerala and the country too, facing a cash crunch owing to the nationwide lockdown. The sum of money was handed over to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund by Advocate KB Mohandas, the Chairman of the Guruvayur Devaswom Board. “Guruvayur Devaswom had also donated a fund to CMDRF after the flood and it was given after obtaining the permission of the Devaswom Commissioner,” he proudly proclaimed, ignoring the fact that there was no lockdown due to the floods.
Using the unconstitutional and despicable Devaswom boards, the Kerala government is on a mission to destroy the Temple ecosystem in the state. pic.twitter.com/9D0HsLZd5k
— Unroll (@unroll_media) May 8, 2020
The state BJP Chief, K Surendran meanwhile, fumed at the brazen loot of Hindu temples, and also asked why the Communist government of the state was not accepting donation funds from other religious institutions. He also stated that temples across the state did not have the funds to even light their lamps, and that the money of Guruvayur Devaswom Board should have been used in helping such entities. “As per section 27 of the Guruvayur Devaswom Act, the main deity, Sree Krishna, is a minor and the owner of all property and income. It is well written by law that this income and properties should only be used for temple purposes. Moreover, there already exists a case in the High Court challenging Guruvayur Devaswom’s contribution to CMDRF after the 2018 flood,” he said.
Petitions in #KeralaHC challenging the decision of Guruavayoor Devaswom Board to donate Rs 5 Crores to CMDRF Fund as #COVID19 relief.
Bench says it will pass an order saying that the donation will be subject to the result of the petitions. Posts the matters after vacation.
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 8, 2020
It is worthy to be mentioned that the communist government of Kerala is in control of approximately 14,000 acres of land belonging to the Sri Guruvayur Temple, and as compensation for the same, it offers the temple a meagre 13 lakh annual return, which translates to a monthly income of Rs. 8/- per acre. If this is not robbery of the highest order, what is?
KB Mohandas, the current Chief of Guruvayur Devaswom Board, is incidentally also a Communist, who has been a functionary of the CPI(M) All India Lawyers’ Union.
For reasons best known to them, the Chairmanship of the Guruvayur Devaswom Board is reserved for the CPI(M). Despite being proclaimed atheists, why a party would want to have the final say in the religious matters of the largest revenue earning temple board of the state is something which we do not need to stress our minds on. By installing its proxies in various temples of Kerala, the Communists have resoundingly diluted age old traditions, while horrendously robbing the treasuries of Hindu temples.
KB Prasad, for instance, is infamous for having shouted at the Tantri of the Guruvayur Temple, while also breaking the traditions of the shrine. He is reported to have raised his voice against the Tantri, who asked the Chairman to refrain from entering the gate when rituals were being performed inside. According to tradition, only the Tantri and priests are allowed inside during rituals. He also demandingly asked the Tantri as to which “tantric text” prevents him from being a part of the rituals.
Under a Communist rule, Hindu temples are suffering the brunt of a toxic and violent ideology, which is known to exploit positions of power and various institutions to benefit itself. The same is being seen in Kerala, where Hindu temple coffers are being sucked dry by a thirsty government which has installed its proxies in positions of power to administrate temples. Hindu temples need to be freed from the clutches of government control, and that needs to happen right now!