Devaswom min says Communist govt has spent on temples, not taken from them

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan termed as "baseless and misleading" former Supreme Court Judge Indu Malhotra's by now viral observation about the tendency of communist governments to take over Hindu temples for its money. Her remarks caught on video seems to have been made during her visit to the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram recently.

"I regret to say that these remarks are contrary to facts and are meant to sow huge misunderstanding among the public. It was inappropriate that a retired Supreme Court justice herself had made such misleading comments," the minister said while replying to a submission moved by young CPM MLA M S Arun Kumar. Radhakrishnan even called the former Judge's remarks an "insult to the state".

He said the former judge had subverted reality. "We have five devaswoms in Kerala; Travancore, Cochin, Malabar, Guruvayur and Koodalmanickam. These five devaswoms function in the most exemplary manner and are our pride. The state government has never ever attempted to appropriate the revenue of any of these devaswoms or any of the temples under these devaswoms. On the contrary, the government in the last five years has taken up only those activities that were meant to support these devaswoms and sustain the temples under them," Radhakrishnan said.

He said many temples in Kerala were damaged during the 2018 floods and rendered dysfunctional during the extended COVID lockdown. "It reached a stage where these devaswoms could not pay salaries and pensions," the minister said.

In the five years between 2017 and 2022, the minister said that the government had transferred nearly Rs 450 crore from its coffers to the devaswoms. "We are also taking steps to prevent the alienation of devaswom land and buildings," he added.

In addition, he said the government had provided KIIFB assistance of Rs 118 crore to build five wayside shelters for Sabarimala pilgrims. He said the work on the shelters was in progress. On top of this, the minister said Rs 66 crore had already been sanctioned for the implementation of the Sabarimala Master Plan. "We are ready to provide more when the requirement arises," the Devaswom minister said.

What's more, the minister said that Rs 3.18 crore was provided to Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, which Justice Indu Malhotra said she had prevented the Communist government from taking over. "Of this, Rs 2 crore was interest-free loans. Another Rs 1.18 crore was given for other construction works," Radhakrishnan said.

Justice Indu Malhotra's sweeping remarks betrayed a severe contempt for Communist governments. "... That is what happens with these communist governments. They want to just take over because of the revenue. Their problem is the revenue. All over they have taken over. All over. Only Hindu temples. So Justice Lalit and I said, no, we will not allow it (sic).” The Judge is addressing a small group of people who tell her that they are proud of her.

She was referring to the two-bench Supreme Court order in July 2020 that overturned a High Court order in 2011 that had stripped the erstwhile Travancore royal family of its management rights over the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple and had asked the state government to take over the temple and its properties. Certain devotees had gone to the apex court arguing that since royalty was abolished, the temple and its properties should have legally fallen into the custody of the state government after the death of the last Travancore ruler, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, in 1991.

Justices U U Lalit and Indu Malhotra, in a 218-page judgment, held that the death of a ruler does not affect the royal family’s shebaitship (managerial position) of the temple. “Shebaitship was always in the royal family and the Ruler represented the unbroken line of shebaits,” the judgment written by Justice Lalit said. The judges ruled that 'shebaitship' did not lapse in favour of the State by the principle of escheat (reversion of property to the State).