Times of India 21 Oct 2021
This press interview below with the TN State Minister in charge of Hindu temple administration gives one the impression that the Minister takes his job very seriously.
But then his job-description seems to be overly focused on trying to professionalise (quasi-corporatise?) temple asset-management functions — and this is, of course, to be very welcomed, no doubt — and far less weighted upon the side of temple upkeep, repairs, maintenance, renovation and restoration and even much less upon solving the serious, chronic and festering problems of temple staffing, organisational structuring and good-governance based upon clear and healthy separation between the priestly and commissionary jurisdictions.
Throughout the interview, the Minister’s responses clearly address only the glaring asset-management issues related to Temple administration in the state of which he is seized to the exclusion of several of the “soft-management” issues therein . His ministerial KPI (key performance indices) narrowly cover only the following :
1. “Master plans are getting ready to improve facilities for devotees in 529 temples. It is a golden era now under the HR & CE.” What Master Plans ? What is going to be the outcome of such a Master Plan? Who are the stakeholders and architects of such a Master Plan?
2. “…. we have reclaimed 400 acres of land worthRs 2,000 crore across the state and removed 160 encroachers. … We restored titles for 180 acres. …..” Restored to whom? And restored for what purpose? Are “Old Age Homes” and “Schools and Colleges” going to be the only ones to be given such land ? What is the administrative set-up to run such institutions? Is this an employment-generation plan? Employment for whom?
3. “The department has matched the records of 3.5 lakh acres of temple land with Tamil Nilam, a repository of land records of the state revenue department. There are appeals to establish ownership of another 30,000 acres. Digitisation of four crore land records is on. Installation of 5ft-tall stone slabs has begun on the reclaimed land just like the milestones on highways. Aggressive collection of rental arrears from tenants has begun. We hope to reclaim anotherRs 500 crore worth land by the year-end.” Again , the question is What will the temples do with all these reclaimed lands ? Who decides ? Who manages? Who bears accountability for outcomes? The whole edifice of Temple Trusteeship form of organisation has been systematically emasculated and eviscerated in the last 60-70 years in the state…. There are no effective trusteeship models with true esprit de corps that really work anywhere in the state … So what will temples now do with all these reclaimed land and assets?
4. “We have set up a committee of retired judges of the high court and apex court to oversee the gold monetisation scheme. …. Our estimate is that at least 2,000kg of gold is lying unused. This according to the Minister “has been in vogue since the 1970s by which more than 600kg of gold offered by the devotees to temples is deposited under the gold bond scheme.” What was actually done or accomplished with the proceeds of the earlier monetising of temple gold? And what exactly is going to be done now with the proceeds of the gold monetisation ? Is the Minister going to build more “new age” temples under the aegis of the HR&CE?!
5. “To protect the icons of the temples, 34 icon centres have been built and 23 are functioning (at least 8,693 icons are kept in safe custody). ….. Arrangements have been made to provide security cover to the rest, …. our plan is to build 100 strong rooms for which fund has been allotted….. The chief minister told us to get a museum ready for the retrieved idols. Identifying a location in Chennai has begun on a warfooting.” A Museum for 10,000 stolen and recovered Temple idols! Coming up on “war footing”! For what purpose, Minister Sir? People don’t go to museums to worship idols and icons ….. Are you Minister for Hindu Temples or Tourism Development ?!
6. “The DMK’s policy is to ensure adequate security and a good and peaceful environment for everyone to worship.” A “good and peaceful environment everyone to worship” is an excellent Mission Statement for the HR&CE Dept indeed. If that Mission is to be realised within 5 years of the term of office of this elected Government, then the following Objectives should be met first:
1. Restore true Trusteeship organisation to replace the present Commissionary style of governance in all temples.
2. Separate commissionary and priestly domains in temple functioning. Respect the Agamas both in letter and spirit .
3. Discourage the pathological habit of running to the Courts of the land to settle even petty disputes related to temple affairs. As far as possible try and settle all issues of temple management without judicial activists poking their nose into religious matters. Encourage the use instead of the Wisdom of Religious Heads and Leaders to adjudicate on serious and contentious issues arising from frictions and fissures within the temple organisation.
4. Establish educational centres of excellence in Temple Administration whose graduates will be fully trained to be genuine (not crash-course) archakas, paricharakaas, kainkaryapaaraas, madapalli servitors, Nithyapadi sevakas, Temple accountants, clerical staff , trustees, musicians, artists and artisans, Veda , Odhuvar and divya Prabhandham paatashaalas, annadaanam kootams, Temple archivists … and so on and so forth …
5. Above all , please rein in, if not root out Atheistic and Hindu-baiting political entities that across the State are carrying on their hate-propaganda against the Hindu religion, against certain castes, communities and people’s traditional ways of life.
God bless you Minister Sir … you appear to be a man with his heart and head in the right place. It is only your Vision and Resolve that need reorientation and some degree of adjustment.
A Humble Temple-goer,
Sudarshan Madabushi