An Anti-Sanatana Dharma Tamil Nadu Government Has No Moral Authority To Administer Hindu Temples

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin recently hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who charged the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regime with 'encroaching' on Hindu temples in the state.

Stalin strongly denied the allegation and condemned the Prime Minister's pointed words.

The irony in Stalin's response was stark.

For, he defended his government at an event marking the culmination of a year-long celebration of the 200th birth anniversary of revered Hindu saint Vallalar, whose 'Hinduness' is sought to be erased by the very same DMK-led Dravidian commissars.

Vallalar, also known as Ramalinga Swamigal or Ramalinga Adigal, advocated universal brotherhood, compassion for all living beings, free feeding, and the worship of the divine — he did so all within the ambit of the Hindu Sanatana Dharma.

The white spaitka Shiva lingam at Sathya Gnana Sabai in Vadalur, where the Hindu saint philosopher set up his marg (cult) in the late nineteenth century, stands testimony to the fact that Vallalar never disowned his Hindu roots — a false claim propagated by the Dravidologists.

Even if Vallalar did not adhere to conventional forms of worship, he wore the vibhuthi stripes prominently and proudly on his forehead.

The Dravidian sections are trying, as they did with Thiruvalluvar, to bowdlerise the sacred ash from the saint's visage in a disingenuous bid to paint the saint in non-Hindu hues.

Therefore, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's claim that the DMK government is safeguarding Hindu temples at an event for Vallalar seems out of whack.

Stalin also claimed that the state administration in the last two years has reclaimed temple lands worth Rs 3,500 crore. Of course, there is no concrete evidence in the public domain to back this tall boast.

Like Chalk And Cheese

The de facto number-two in the Stalin cabinet, Udhayanidhi Stalin, has stridently sworn that the Dravidian government would strive to eradicate Sanatana Dharma, the essential framework of Hinduism.

How, then, can anyone trust the government he is part of to be a guardian of the affairs of temples steeped in the very same hoary traditions of Sanatana Dharma?

Leaving the temple administration in the hands of the Dravidian disbelievers would be no different from handing over the security of, say, Israeli defence installations to Hamas.

The Tamil Nadu government, with vehement votaries against Sanatana Dharma, has no moral ground to hold the reins of the hundreds of temples whose traditions are sacrosanct and life-affirming to crores of people.

Forget for a moment the oft-repeated though relevant charge that a constitutionally secular federal government cannot be in charge of religious administration; those running the DMK government have sworn allegiance to the ways of E V Ramaswamy, on whose CV in bold font is a crusade against Hindu gods, including beating revered and sacred images with slippers and brooms.

It is frankly revolting to one's senses to see great temples in the hands of sworn philistines.

Trust In Non-Governmental Trusts

Every time there is clamour for the state government to dismantle the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) Department, the Dravidian sections come up with their practised spiel of a reply: 'Who will the government hand over the temple to?'

This is a clever by half response. The implicit reference is to the lack of a single identifiable vertex in Hinduism.

But that need not be the worry of the government. These temples have existed with all their riches from well before the formation of HR&CE.

They have also survived minatory assaults from inimical forces. So, thank you for your concern, government. But, no thanks.

Unshackling temples from the imperialism of the HR&CE would actually allow the local community to step up and take the rightful responsibility of temple administration.

There are hundreds of temples, especially in the urban landscape, which are run efficiently and religiously by various private trusts.

Those temples, many of which adhere to the centuries-old agama traditions, are led by representatives of the various communities within the Hindu fold, and truly reflect the essential all-encompassing spirit of the religion.

Notably, in these temples run by non-governmental trusts, the charge of casteism is practically non-existent.

The government giving up administration of, say, the Parthasarathy Swamy Temple or the Kapaleeswarar Temple, would not lead to discombobulation in its affairs. If anything, it will broadbase its functioning and make its finances agreeably transparent.

The very functioning of the HR&CE can be read as ultra vires of Article 26 of the Constitution of India, which invests in people of all religions the freedom to manage their religious institutions.

Religious places, by definition, are not secular. And a secular government, by definition, cannot be involved with it.

In any case, a government run by self-professed atheists, who have also taken a vow to dismantle Sanatana Dharma — a double whammy, really — has no business to be in charge of Hindu temples.

For them to run Hindu places of worship seems like the very definition of looting, as it were.

Note: An earlier version of this piece wrongly mentioned that the Tamil Nadu government charges different rates for electricity supplied to temples and to religious places of other denominations. The error is regretted and has now been corrected.