Why Is The Chidambaram Temple Regularly In News? It's Not Hard To Guess

When the Supreme Court pronounced on 6 January, 2014, that the famous Nataraja temple in Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu will continue to be managed by priests (podu Dikshitars) and not taken over the State government, there was a hope that the several-decades-old tussle between the State and the temple's priests would come to end.

But what is happening is that the fundamental feud in the court has stopped (at least temporarily), while the row continues to escalate at the temple itself. 

The dispute between the Dikshitars, who are in charge of the rituals and administration of the temple and the State government, which was allowed to appoint an executive officer to oversee the administration of the temple, has seen escalation ever since the DMK came back to power in the State in May 2021.

There have been at least four major flashpoints since then, including the latest one over the access to Kanaga Sabhai platform --- a sacred stage that allows for closer view of the deity.

The issue began when the temple management put up a board stating that devotees would not be allowed to pray in the Kanaga Sabhai from June 24 to June 27 due to the then ongoing Aani Thirumanjanam festival, which, needless to say, attracts huge hordes of devotees.

The point is such closure of temple space is not unheard of in most temples during special festivities. 

But claiming that devotees were not happy with the restriction, the HR&CE department officials, on the evening of June 26, removed the board placed by the Dikshitars (priests) announcing the closure of Kanaga Sabha for devotees.

In an action which smacked of provocation and precipitation, an HR&CE official along with khaki-clad police personnel barged into the sacred space and threw the gates open.

The HR&CE Minister Sekar Babu, adding fuel to the fire, let loose a volley of allegations against the Dikshitars. "The Dikshithars are functioning from a power centre they have created. They are a law unto themselves," he charged. 

"We will gradually overcome all hurdles and will take over the administrative control of the temple with the sanction of the court,'' Sekar Babu said.

And that is when the penny dropped.

A narrative against the Dikshitars 

Just a year back, the same Minister had asserted that the State government had no intention to take over the temple control.

At that time (June 2022), the issue was over sharing of expenditure records of the temple.  

"I see a clear pattern in the moves and the motives against the temple priests," says G Sivaraman, an advocate in Chennai. "Just see the bunch of incidents that have been reported in the media over the last year or so. Initially there is a huge hue and cry, cases are slapped. But beyond allegations, and providing headlines to the media, nothing really has come out of those cases," he adds.

It is a charge that does not seem to be baseless.

In February 2022, a few Dikshitars were booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, for allegedly stopping an SC woman from praying in the temple premises.

Nothing more about the case has been heard since it was registered.

In October 2022, in another bombshell, two priests of the Nataraja Temple were arrested in connection with an alleged wedding of their minor children.

The wedding itself is claimed to have taken place in 2021. But what has followed is even more messy. The 'two-finger test', which is banned by the Supreme Court, was alleged to be conducted by the authorities on minor children said to be involved in the wedding. Photographs and videos of the alleged minors have also been allowed to circulate in the social media. 

As of the basic case of child marriage, again there has been hardly any movement after the initial charges were slapped.

Of course, the judicial process takes time. But these cases have not even reached the courts, says Sivaraman.

The Minister himself recently said that bygones should be bygones when asked about the child marriage case. That is a strange reaction to a serious allegation.

If Dikshitars are guilty, proceed against them strongly. But to throw charges and merely stop at filing the case seems a dubious ploy, Sivaraman adds. 

His insinuation is that the State government is practicing a shoot-and-scoot policy when it comes to Chidambaram temple. 

DMK gameplan in Chidambaram?

The general allegation and belief is that it is the only major temple in the State that is not within the State government's ambit. The DMK and its ecosystem is trying to take over the temple through HR&CE and hence these repeated controversies.

"It is no secret that the State government is planning to go on an appeal over the 2014 verdict," claims S Kamakshi, an advocate in Trichy. "The events around the temple, over a period of time, gives room to the feeling that there is a concerted effort to build a narrative against the Dikshitars so that it can be used in the case. Already the feeling that the Dikshitars are cantankerous and are loath to give up their hereditary powers of control has been set," she adds. 

But are the Dikshitars totally blameless and their work and administration of the temple beyond reproach?

"That is hardly the case," says S Vinodkumar, a devotee who lives in Chidambaram. As it happens in most temples in Tamil Nadu, there is the problem of special treatment for those willing to shell out money for special darshans in Chidambaram too. Touts abound in the temple corridors who help you cut the queues.

Vinodkumar says that when these things happen in other temples, it is a bureaucratic issue as they are helmed by HR&CE officials. "But here they become religious and caste problems as the Dikshitars are in charge. So they must be extra careful and diligent. But that is not the reality," he adds.

He says Dikshitars are playing into the hands of the government that is working with a clear agenda. In the end, it is, as is always the case, it is the devotees who are suffering.