Chidambaram Dikshitars are targeted again by the DMK government, this time for placing a notice for crowd control during a festival. They decided not to allow devotees for 4 days on the Kanakasabhai to avoid overcrowding during festival time. Finding this as a reason to harass Dikshitars Executive Officer of the Thillai Kali temple removed the notice board forcibly.
Why do they frequently interfere with activities of the Dikshitar’s managed Chidambaram Temple ?
— Tinku Venkatesh | ಟಿಂಕು ವೆಂಕಟೇಶ್ (@tweets_tinku) June 24, 2023
This has to STOP @jsaideepak @trramesh
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The anti-Hindu DMK government is targeting the Chidambaram Pothu Dikshitars and their families since it assumed power on baseless charges with the sole intent of taking over the temple. They were first accused of corruption and the Hindu Religious and Endowments Board tried to forcibly enter the temple to audit the accounts. When Dikshitars demanded documents which allowed the officials to audit the temple’s accounts, the latter claimed that they received complaints from the public.
However, they couldn’t show any complaint either and later resorted to asking the public for any grievances against the temple administration. But they couldn’t find any mismanagement or produce valid complaints of corruption. In the meanwhile, some Dikshitars were booked under the draconian Prevention of SC ST Atrocities Act after a woman devotee alleged that she was abused with casteist slurs. It was a case of a few disgruntled Dikshitars trying to defame those in the administration.
Later with the help of some dubious NGOs, complaints of illegal child marriages being conducted by Dikshitars were filed. It was speculated that as the DMK government couldn’t find any financial crime it resorted to tarnishing the Dikshitar’s community’s image through such complaints. Under the pretext of investigation women and children of their community were made to remain in police stations at ungodly hours. Dikshitar men were booked under the POCSO Act.
Girls who allegedly underwent child marriage were subjected to the banned two-finger test as per TN Governor RN Ravi’s claims. While police denied it, details emerged that the girls’ “private parts were touched” and “hymen is intact” was mentioned in the charge sheet. Photos of minor children were released to derail the community’s morality. Despite such repeated harassment Dikshitars are steadfast in defending the rights of the Nataraja temple and the community’s hereditary rights to manage it.
Now, the DMK government has picked up yet another reason to harass Dikshitars and perhaps divert public attention from its failure on the governance and political fronts. The Aani Thriumanjanam festival is underway in the Nataraja temple due to which the temple committee decided to not grant access to devotees to the Kanakasabhai for 4 days. It is a small raised platform in front of the garbhagriha. Earlier everyone was allowed to climb on it to get darshan of the deity. During the Covid-19 spread, it was made out of bounds for devotees as a part of crowd controlling and social distancing measures.
Some so-called social activists made it into an issue and the government got involved. HRCE passed an order saying that devotees should be allowed access to Kanakasabhai. Now citing the same Executive Officer of Thillai Kaliamman temple tried to remove the notice board informing devotees of the 4 days ban owing to the festival. She came with cops to force her way to remove the notice. Videos of the EO arguing with Dikshitars went viral on media with Dravidianists claiming that they heckled a woman.
However, Dikshitars can be heard explaining to her that access to Kanakasabhai is denied only for 4 days owing to festivities and that they obtained permission from Cuddalore joint Commissioner to make that announcement. They also asked the EO to show documents that directed her to remove the notice. She couldn’t show any. The next day she arrived with more police force and forcibly removed the board.
The EO has filed a complaint against the Dikshitars alleging that they obstructed her while she was on government duty. Dikshitars have also filed a complaint against her for obstructing puja and rituals by forcing her way in. HRCE minister Sekar Babu has assured action against the Dikshitars. In the meantime, a video of two Dikshitars having an altercation with a devotee went viral on social media and they have been booked. They reportedly had a scuffle with the devotee as he didn’t pay heed to their calls to move away from the path of the deity.
With this, the calls to take over the Nataraja temple have resumed once again. Even before DMK won the assembly elections, its supporters demanded that the temple should be taken over as soon as the party assumed power. The DMK government has been trying every trick in the book to fulfil their wish from day one. The HRCE minister openly said that they were looking into possibilities and legal processes of taking over the Chidambaram temple and that the CM is personally involved in this. TR Ramesh, President of the Temple Worshippers Society, tweeted that the order passed by the TN government on this issue was “arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional” and that he would file a PIL against it.
