Hindu organisations protested HRCE’s decision to allow converted Christians to hold a wedding in ancient temple in Tamil Nadu. The wedding invitation with Hindu names but hailing Jesus has gone viral on social media.

The seemingly ordinary wedding invitation of one Vignesh and Bhavatharani to be held in Shri Adi Jagannatha Perumal temple in Thirupullani, has raised a storm on social media. Even though all the names in the invitation are Hindu, the first line hails Jesus. It says, “Hail Jesus; This action is blessed by Jesus”.

Usually, traditional Tamil wedding invitations invoke/hail the concerned family’s Kula Devata in the first line. Even though Vignesh-Bhavatharani’s invitation is written in the usual Hindu way using Sanskrit phrases, it only hails Jesus. It was to be held on April 21 in the Adi Jagannatha Perumal temple, a Divya desam(temples sung by Vaishnavite saints, Azhwars), in Ramanathapuram.

Hindu Munnai opposed HRCE’s decision to allow the wedding of converted Christian in a Hindu temple and complained to concerned authorities. But it is unclear whether the wedding was stopped in time. The temple is associated with Ramayana. It is believed that Bhagwan Rama took rest here until Samudra Raja allowed him to build Ram Setu. It is sacrilegious that such an ancient temple is

In a similar incident, HRCE officials in the Madhava Perumal temple in Chennai had allowed a Christian wedding in a hall near the temple premises. Non-vegetarian food and liquor were served in the hall against protocols. When locals inquired the HRCE officials about it they received a rude response.

The officials said that the couple who got married were SC (Dalit) Hindus and even though the groom’s name was indeed displayed as ‘Charles’, his real name was ‘Yuvraj’ with ‘Charles’ being his pet-name. They claimed that all allegations about temple sanctity being violated were just a conspiracy by ‘Brahmin vested interests’.

Claiming that the HRCE rules do not prohibit the use of temple-owned ‘commercial property’, such as the marriage hall, by non-Hindus, the officer refused to acknowledge his mistake. There are many people who convert to Christianity and enjoy the benefits of reservation by continuing to hold Hindu SC certificates. Some of them appear to be working in the HRCE department as well and using their authority to allow such sacrilege in temples.