Hindupost has been consistently reporting about how alleged Christians are managing one of the holiest places for Hindus – the Tirumala Tirupati temple. The Jagan Reddy government had appointed people who were said to be Christians in their private lives but had a Hindu name.
Following the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, the newly appointed Chief Minister of the state, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, on his visit to the Tirumala Tirupati temple on 13 June 2024 stated that he would cleanse the Devasthanam of corruption.
Speaking to news reporters, he said, “Cleansing in the state will start from Tirumala. In Tirumala, nothing but the chanting of Govinda’s name will be heard. It is not right to desecrate the sacred Tirumala. When you come to Tirumala, you get the feeling of Vaikuntha. There should be no other slogan on Tirumala except Om Namo Venkatesaya. Tirumala has changed for the worse in the last five years.”
To jog our readers’ memory, in 2023, Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy was appointed as the Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board, taking over from former MP YV Subba Reddy, whose two-time tenure came to an end.
Hindus in Andhra have been facing an existential threat from Christian evangelism, and Tirupati is one of the most sacred spots for Hindus across the world. Although TTD service rules mandate that employees of TTD be practising Hindus, there have been several cases in the past where non-Hindus were found employed there. And the recent appointment of Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, who allegedly had Christian leanings, caught the public ire.
In 2021, it was said that the Jagan Reddy government Rs.458 crores from the Tirumala Tirupati board for an expressway project worth Rs.684 crores. In the name of development and infrastructure projects, the YSRCP government had been fleecing the TTD. Earlier, the Jagan Reddy government had amended the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Act to raise the contribution of TTD to the Andhra government’s Common Good Fund. It was increased from Rs.2.5 crores to a whopping Rs.50 crores.
During the Covid pandemic (2020), Jagan Reddy was mulling over the liquidation of assets like land parcels and buildings donated by devotees to Sri Venkateswara to provide salaries of its about 22,000 personnel – if the temple does not reopen by June that year.
In 2017, a senior officer named Ms Snehalatha, the Deputy Executive Officer in TTD’s Welfare Department, was found to be violating her service rules by daily going to a Christian Lutheran Church in an official car and accepting gifts during the Brahmotsavam festival, despite being a government employee of a Hindu religious institution.
In 2006, a fact-finding committee was established after reports of Christian proselytization and undesirable activities by non-Hindu employees surfaced. The committee recommended thoroughly verifying non-Hindu employees working for TTD and removing them from Tirumala. The committee also found instances of Christian proselytization in educational institutions established on TTD land and funds, diversion of funds meant for Hindu Dharmic activities, irregularities in ticket sales, and missing antique jewellery offered to Sri Venkateswara.
In 2014, a video surfaced showing a Christian preacher openly demeaning Hindu Dharma and attempting to convert Hindus near the main temple in Tirumala, leading to an uproar. Subsequently, all TTD employees took a pledge to protect the sanctity of the Seven Hills and uphold Hindu Dharma, but the incident with Ms Snehalatha suggests that the pledge may not have been effective.
The repeated controversies and alleged violations at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam have reignited calls for removing government control over Hindu temples. Many Hindus feel that state interference in the management of their sacred shrines has enabled the infiltration of non-Hindu elements and practices that go against the tenets of Hindu Dharma. By bringing temples under direct community governance, free from bureaucratic oversight, there could be greater accountability and adherence to traditions. Democratically elected temple boards comprising devoted Hindus could ensure that only those professing the Hindu faith are employed and that ritualistic sanctity is upheld without external influences. Such a move would empower the Hindu community to safeguard their spiritual legacy and cultural heritage from vested interests or ideological agendas. The Tirumala episode underscores the need for Hindus to have autonomy over their millennia-old sacred sites and practices.
The previous Jagan Reddy government faced heavy criticism for its actions, including raising the TTD’s contribution to the state’s Common Good Fund, mulling over the liquidation of devotee-donated assets during Covid, and the controversial appointment of Bhumana Karunakar Reddy as TTD Board Chairman.
With the new Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu taking charge, there is renewed hope for a course correction. His unequivocal statement during his recent Tirumala visit, vowing to cleanse the Devasthanam of corruption and ensure only the chanting of “Govinda Nama” echoes across the sacred premises, has resonated with the Hindu community’s long-standing demands.
As Naidu embarks on this endeavour, the expectation is that stringent measures will be implemented to uphold the sanctity of Tirumala, address irregularities, and reinstate the temple’s governance in accordance with Hindu traditions and values. The Tirumala Tirupati shrine holds immense spiritual significance for millions of devotees, and its preservation as a sacred Hindu site is paramount.
