Why We're Delaying Swarajya November Print Issue

Dear reader,

We're doing a special print issue for November on the topic of temple management and, yes, the question of temple freedom. Why now? The Tirupati laddu controversy really engaged me.

A political party's representative claimed that animal fat was used in the temple offerings. A few days later, the highest court pointed out that there was no evidence of such contamination, and right now, we don't even have follow-up reportage on (a) why such accusations were made and (b) why there isn't accountability for those who were in the wrong?

As a simple devotee, I feel like I was being played. TV studios want outrage, Twitter celebs want engagement farming, and newspapers have moved on. I don't think it's a conducive media environment for serious discussions about temples and their future. That's why we're doing the special issue.

It's NOT an angry-activist-crying-hoarse for temple freedom kind of an issue. I want to go there but after a careful study - after I understand the issues and pitfalls - I've been played using this topic once, not going to rush in so soon once again.

Our staff are travelling across the country to put this together. They're in Chidambaram in the South and also in Uttarakhand to study some of the issues with temple management and government control there. Please give us an extra week to put all this together.

Also, if you're not a subscriber yet, please consider getting a print subscription. This will be an issue for serious readers like you to not only buy but also share with friends.

Sincerely,

Amar Govindarajan

Alternatively, you can also get the recently relaunched 2-year all-digital subscription for as little as ₹2400 ₹1600 - a whopping ₹800 OFF the cover price.