The obituary poster of a Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments(TNHRCE) Board official has surfaced on social media shocking many Hindus. Even though the man had a Hindu name, the obituary poster said “left to rest in peace with Christ”. It has exposed the overwhelming presence of crypto Christians in the HRCE department once again.
Recently the obituary poster of one Govindarajan had gone viral on social media. What was peculiar about it was that even though the concerned person had a Hindu name, the poster contained Christian religious symbols and phrases. It had the cross and the phrase “Left to rest in peace with Christ”. But the alarming thing about the poster is the destination of Govindarajan.
He was working as an Inspector in the HRCE department of the information given in the poster is to be believed. It has been known for a longtime that crypto Christians with Hindu caste certificates have infiltrated the department and are working against the interest of Hindus. It is coming into light with proof with such incidents. It was feared that with DMK back in power, it would encourage not only the cryptos but those with Dravidianist and Periyarist mindset as well to infiltrate the department.
A few weeks ago, an employee of the HRCE department posted in Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore, Chennai, was found to be a Christian with DMK connection. Appu Raja, the concerned employee, had arranged for his marriage to be conducted in the temple. Only through his marriage invitation was it known that his parents and other relatives have Christian names and the marriage reception was planned to be conducted at a ‘parish hall’ in Santhome.
In April 2022, HRCE had done the same thing by allowing a Christian couple’s marriage in the ancient Adi Jagannatha Perumal temple in Ramanathapuram. In both incidents only after the Hindu activists pointed out the obvious Christian background from the wedding invitations, did the HRCE officials revoked the permission. It is mandatory to submit the invitation while obtaining permission for conducting marriages in temples under HRCE control. How rotten should the department be for crypto Christians to occupy positions and flout rules?
Such incidents again strengthen the calls for freeing temples from government control and handing them over to Hindus with considerable local participation to ensure the historicity, traditional and religious aspects of the temple are protected.
