Our fair but humble town of Thiruvananthapuram has been in a tizzy since it was discovered that our benign presiding deity, Lord Sree Padmanabha, had been resting on a huge treasure-trove, so fantastic that no one has been able to stop talking of it since then. This seems to have changed drastically the way we have perceived our past — or rather, the historical amnesia which we have been suffering from has been drastically accelerated. In the decades after independence, very few people, except the upper caste retainers of the Travancore royal family and the accolytes of the regime, thought that rajabharanam was a good thing. There were stories about the days immediately following the accession of Travancore to India, of how people gathered outside the Padmanabhaswamy temple, and when the Travancore Maharajah, Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma arrived there for his daily visit, reminded him of their equality with him as citizens of India, addressing him personally and intimately … ‘Hey, Balaa’! That seems to have gone for a toss and we are back to His Golden Majesty, Ponnutampuran, though such a tampuran has no place in our political system. Continue reading Can Kingly Mortals Donate to the Gods?
Tag Archives: Kerala temple treasure
The Lord’s riches are not the Lord’s riches
Giving a historical background of why the Sree Ananta Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram came to have these riches, Malavika Velayanikal writes in DNA:
True, the bags of gold coins, diamonds, precious stones, 18-feet-long gold necklaces, jewellery weighing many kilograms, and solid-gold statues of gods and goddesses landed in the vault via the king. But in reality, the temple treasury was nourished by the sweat and blood of the masses as well.
One of the main sources of the royal income was taxes. They were incredibly high for the lower castes, with marriages, childbirth and even death being taxed. Country boats, ploughs, carts, umbrellas, headscarves, why, even a moustache, were taxed. Mothers were allowed to breastfeed their newborns only after they paid the ‘mulakaram’ (breast-tax) to the local lord, who would then grant permission. [Must read]
But you won’t hear this said too often because, as Appu Esthose Suresh reports in Mint:
“If the government makes any move, then the believers will protest and BJP will support the people,” he (a temple staff member) was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
It is precisely the fear of antagonizing a section of the Hindus that is forcing the state government to be cautious.
“This government does not have the courage to go against Hindu sentiments,” said P.R.P. Bhaskar, a political observer. “It will move in a direction which will accommodate the royal palace.”
“The Left Front gained Hindu votes for two reasons. Firstly, its traditional vote base consists of Hindus and a perception that Christian and Muslim votes are moving towards the Congress and its allies had led to a consolidation of Hindu votes. This might help the government change that perception a bit,” he added. [Link]
Hindu appeasement. That’s what will come in the way of a just, fair, pro-people decision about what should be done wit the temple wealth.
KAFILA - COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006 