The presence of an ‘untouchability wall’, conduction of child marriages, disrespect towards women devotees, and financial irregularities are just a few among the thousands of allegations that have been levelled by devotees against the management of the Chidambaram Natarajar Temple (Arulmigu Sabanayagar Temple), in over 14,000 complaints received by an Inquiry Committee. The interim report was released by the committee, constituted by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) Department, on July 18 last week. The report has listed down the number of petitions the committee received in person, by mail or posts.
According to a statement released by C Jothi, Assistant Commissioner of HR&CE and the coordinator of the Inquiry Committee, a total of 19,405 petitions were received in connection with temple affairs. Out of them, as many as 14,098 petitions reportedly pertained to allegations ranging from the temple’s faulty conduct of rituals and practices to financial irregularities. Up to 28 common complaints that emerged from the petitions have been listed in the interim report, which includes the non-provision of receipt for public contributions in cash, gold, silver, jewels, etc. Reportedly, no receipts have been provided to even those devotees who pay up to Rs 10,000 to get the prasadam (oblations) at the doorsteps. Some petitions have also urged the inquiry committee to eradicate the ‘untouchability wall’ raised at the south gate of the temple, through which Nandanar, the only Dalit among the 63 Shaivite Nayanmar saints, is said to have entered the temple.
Petitioners have also sought the appointment of Othuvars to sing the Thevara Thirumuraigal in every Kala Pooja, besides urging the inquiry committee to install the hundi (money collection boxes) inside the temple and to provide receipts for poojas and archanas. Some petitioners have alleged that the rituals are not happening at the right time.
Even more importantly, certain devotees have made serious allegations that child marriages were being conducted in the temple, and that women devotees were not being treated with respect. Some have alleged that Rs 20,000 was being charged to perform at the Natyanjali event, essentially stopping performers from economically backward classes from participating in it. There are also complaints that the temple is not disabled-friendly.
Further, many petitioners have alleged that the temple’s Dikshithars (priests) have taken jewels worth crores from the temple, in the wake of which they have called for the enumeration of idols in the temple and demanded scholarly research into the inscriptions. Among other demands was the provision of basic amenities such as drinking water and sanitation.
The petitions had arrived after the committee released a public notice in the newspaper, asking people to share their views and advice in person, via mail or posts at the Cuddalore Joint Commissioner’s office, between 10 am and 3 pm on June 20 and June 21. The HR&CE Department had referred the copies of 17,219 petitions in five volumes to the Secretary, Podu Dikshithars, and called for his explanation within 15 days.
However, according to HR&CE Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran IAS, the Podu Dikshithar has said that the department has no power to call for an inspection of the temple or related records. “We are not denying that [the Podu Dikshithar] have maintained the temple for nearly three centuries, nor are we asking them to let go of the management of temple affairs. But one has to remember that the temple was constructed by the Chola kings, for the public. They can’t simply say that they would not furnish the records, as the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 has the provision to disqualify the trustees of the temple [Section 26]. We had initially approached the management with a team to access the records, but the Dikshithars opposed it. So, we eventually decided to collect direct feedback from the people to know if they liked the services provided by these hereditary custodians,” the Commissioner said.
Kumaragurubaran pointed out that many people may feel reluctant to give petitions against the temple in person. “That was why we gave an address and email ID to send the petitions. In just two days, we received nearly 20,000 petitions. Around 4,000 of the petitioners have said that they were happy with the temple services, and made no complaints against the management. It was a painstaking task to segregate the positive reviews from the negative, and then list down the common complaints. We have also ignored the letters that have no signatures or do not contain any significant details about the temple. Finally, nearly after a month, we sent copies of the petitions to the secretary,” he said.
The Commissioner also stated that the department was planning to send a special team to the temple to verify the gold and silver jewels in the temple's possession. “Podu Dikshithars have sought time for this verification process. I hope it will take place in the second week of August. We will verify the gold and silver articles by cross-checking it with the official records of 2008 to 2012 to know whether there are any contradictions,” he added.
Rajendiran, a senior lawyer and an executive committee member of the Deiva Thamizh Peravai (a Saivaite organisation vocal against the absolutism of the Dikshithars at the Chidambaram temple), opined that what the people have mentioned in their petitions are true. “Dikshithars do not have any qualification to be the priests at the temple. They treat every devotee with arrogance,” he said, further alleging that the Dikshithars don't even have a record of all the money they have received from the devotees while renting out the hall for weddings, engagements and other special occasions.
“After a Government Order was passed allowing devotees to step on the Chitrambala Medai in the temple, Dikshitars asked me to pay Rs 500 to sing Tamil devotional hymns there. I had asked for a receipt, which they refused to give. One can only imagine how much they might have extracted from devotees over all these years. They have not conducted even a single event so far with the money they have received for the development of Tamil and Saivism,” he added.
Pointing out that people would have not written 14,000 complaints against the management if there were no irregularities, Rajendiran urged the government, “on behalf of all Saivites”, to take over the administration of the temple and hire the Dikshithars only for poojas. “Only in this manner can the state government run this temple properly,” he said.
Meanwhile, priests at the Sri Nataraja temple in Chidambaram on June 8 refused to produce any records or account details to the government. The Dikshithars also did not allow the five-member team to meet the group’s secretary and advocate. The HR&CE department had reportedly sent notices and reminders to the temple Dikshithars, asking them to submit reports with details on revenue, expenditure, properties, lands belonging to the temple, etc, from as far back as 2014. However, when a committee reached the temple on June 8 and June 9, the Dikshithars refused to allow the team to carry out the inspection.