Hereditary and/or traditional rights of control over temple wealth and administration The story of how in 50 year after Independence the State in Tamil Nadu “established a system of legal plunder…. known as the “drain of wealth”… and “mercilessly imposed” it upon temples and temple-centric Brahmin communities is indeed a very long one. The storyContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-44″
Tag Archives: East India Company
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-36
Between 1833 CE and 1874 CE the East India Company was itself going through the severe throes of winding up its governance over all its vast provinces in India. Meanwhile, it also tried its best to complete as soon and as smoothly as possible the process of transferring back to the Sri Vaishnavas of SouthContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-36″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part-35
If the process of transfer of the control and administration of the Tirumala Temple by the East India Company-appointed Collector to the traditional custodians in the Sri Vaishnava community was messy and complex, that of the Kanchipuram Sri Varadarajaswamy Temple was bitterly rancorous and disputatious. The Tenkalai-s for long since the time of Sri AzhagiyaContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part-35″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubhaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-34
Following a decree of the British Crown in London and an act of the Parliament there, the withdrawal of the East India Company from India began in the late 18th century CE and ended in 1859 CE when it was formally wound up. Consequently, the Company was forced to reverse and retreat from its policiesContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubhaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-34″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s” – Part 32
The clash over Power and Legitimacy had always been what lay at the very heart of the Tenkalai and Vadakalai tussle in Kanchipuram. The tussle has already been explained in Part-12, and how it had always been over rights of ownership and oversight and the right to direct and manage all affairs and vast commonwealthContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s” – Part 32″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-31
(D) Social Alienation and (E) Wealth dispossession As explained earlier in Part-27, throughout the 19th century CE under British Rule, the temples of the Hindus in South India were systematically drained off their wealth and revenues by the English administrators. It has been estimated that British colonial rule, with its destruction of Indian industry andContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-31″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-28
“The first expedition of the English East India Company (EEIC) to India was led by William Hawkyns, who landed in Surat on 24 August 1608 CE…. And thus began endless bloody wars between Islam and British Imperialism on India’s soil…. Many wars followed in the following two hundred and fifty years that ultimately gave theContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-28″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-27
In 1732 CE, the Persian marauder, Nadir Shah, invaded the Mughal capital of Delhi and carried out sheer unspeakably barbarian-scale mayhem, slaughter, loot and plunder for 57 days! The historian William Dalrymple writes (in his book, “The Anarchy”) that at the end of his expedition, the value of the loot that Nadir Shah took backContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-27″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 22
From a broad survey of the history of South India between the 15th and 17th century CE, it is easy to learn and conclude that the glory of scores and scores of Hindu temples (both Saivite and Vaishnavite) reached its pinnacle during the same period and it was thanks largely to the power of theContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 22″