Former royal family questions
Marxist control over Sabarimala
D Jose in Trivandrum
The Pandalam Palace, which controlled the Sabarimala temple before the Travancore Devaswom Board came up, has questioned the desirability of non-believers controlling religious affairs.
The palace management committee president, P Rama Verma Raja, has raised this issue in the light of the Sabarimala tragedy that claimed 53 lives.
The Travancore Devaswom Board is now headed by a nominee of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), which officially denies the existence of god.
The party took control of the board, which administers 2,000 temples throughout Kerala, including the ancient shrine of Lord Ayyappa, after promulgating an ordinance and changing the law that stipulated that control of temples should be vested only with Hindus who believe in temple worship.
Now, according to the ordinance, temple administrators need not be believers in temple worship.
A believer has already challenged the ordinance in the Kerala high court, which has granted a stay in the matter. As a result, two of the three positions in the board remain vacant.
The Pandalam Palace authorities believe the tragedy took place because non-believers have begun meddling in the temple's affairs. Rama Verma Raja has suggested the constitution of an independent body, comprising representatives of the government, the high court, the erstwhile royal family, the Thazhamon tantris (priests), and organisations of devotees like the Ayyappa Seva Sangham to administer the shrine. And till such time as the new set-up materialises, Verma has suggested the constitution of an interim high-level committee to govern Sabarimala.
The palace management committee president said it is imperative to "free" the temple from the Devaswom Board's control to ensure better administration and facilities for pilgrims.
He said both the state government and the board have failed to ensure this despite the steady increase in the number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala every year. He also accused the government of having failed to ensure that the board is performing its duties well.
He said the devotees are unhappy with the Devaswom Board's projects that are leading to large-scale deforestation and mushrooming of concrete buildings in the serene environs of Sabarimala. He also expressed serious concern at the government's attempt to promote "pilgrim tourism" at the shrine.
Palace sources are also worried that the board is flouting "traditional norms" and believe this could be one of the reasons for the tragedy.
They said the board had tried to interfere with religious rituals in the shrine after the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front government came to power.
The board has issued a show-cause notice to temple tantri Matatthil Kantararu Maheshwari, even though the priest is not an employee of the board and owes his position to the right bestowed on his family by the Travancore kings generations ago to conduct worship at the shrine.
The sources said the board was trying to interfere in the tantri's family matters, and said the Pandalam royal family and the priestly family would jointly oppose the "nefarious" attempts to disgrace him.
But a board official told Rediff On The NeT that the show-cause notice was issued after it was found that the priest, who is supposed to conduct the worship in the temple, was found to be absent most of the time.
He said the priest left the premises after performing puja on the first day without the knowledge and permission of the board. The pujas on the subsequent days were conducted by his son Kantararu Mohanaru. The main tantri was not even present when the melshanti (another priest) was appointed.
Meanwhile, the government is planning to hold a high-level meeting of officials and others concerned to discuss steps to ensure better co-ordination on safety measures for pilgrims at the site. The date for the meeting will be fixed after Neelalohitdasan Nadar, the new person in charge of devaswoms, assumes office.
The Kerala state page
Tell us what you think of this report
|
