Temples deserve regulation, not political exploitation
The Sabarimala Temple dacoity, committed by its own top brass and employees, with the tacit connivance of the political leadership of the Marxist government, has been a big eye-opener for devotees, about the scale of maladministration and misappropriation of funds and assets, going on uninterrupted for decades, including under governments of different ideologies. That looting was happening was well known to the devotees, but typical ofthe Hindu mentality, it was dismissed on the grounds that karma will award an appropriate punishment to the wrongdoers. When the Sabarimala bubble burst, what spilled out into the open was organized large-scale dacoity, pilferage, commissions, and brokerage for anything and everything.
This is the same story for all major temples, not only in Kerala, but also in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and many famous temples up North. Politicians of different political parties, who are in power, have made temples into a private source of silent plunder. No other religion in the world has faced continuous non-stop plunder on a daily basis, without any questions being raised.
While audits for many large, state-controlled temples do exist, the perception that auditing is almost non-existent in temples is supported by reports of widespread irregularities, non-compliance, and a lack of transparency, especially in smaller, unorganized temples. Issues have been exposed even in prominent temples, indicating serious gaps in auditing and oversight.
Audit reports, for states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, have revealed major lapses, suggesting that existing audit procedures are totally ineffective, cursory, and are prevented from deep probing. Audit of the Guruvayoor Temple in Kerala revealed that physical verification and stock taking of valuables had not been carried out for over four decades, leading to reports of missing gold, silver, and other valuables. Conveniently, no records are maintained.
Whatever little auditing that was permitted has pointed to discrepancies in income and expenditure, unscientific budgeting, and a failure to maintain proper financial records.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has even accused the Tamil Nadu government’s HR&CE department of blocking an audit of temple assets. The CAG reported that without access to records, it could not determine if revenue was being lost due to improper rent collection from temple properties. In multiple instances, temple managements, again controlled by the DMK, have actively blocked or stonewalled audit efforts.
Similarly, in Karnataka, many temple managements, all controlled by political party functionaries, have not submitted accounts for decades, despite regulations requiring them to do so. Whatever passes in the name of auditing are not done by professional chartered accountants or IAAS officers, but by selected clerical staff drawn from other government departments who are also party sympathisers of the political party in power.
Even court interventions have been ignored by the ruling political parties in power. In 2018, the Supreme Court ordered a massive judicial audit of all religious and charitable institutions in India, covering accounts, assets, and hygiene. But, not much progress has been made because of adamant political non-cooperation.
It is obvious that normal judicial orders will not be implemented or will be effectively sabotaged, as huge financial misappropriation without any accountability are at stake. The recent naked dacoity at Sabarimala Temple in Kerala has brought to light the rot in the Devaswom Board. Gold offerings to the deity are being siphoned off with absolute ease and zero obstruction. Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a petition in the Kerala High Court seeking access to case files related to the Sabarimala gold plating incident, as part of an investigation into alleged violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED believes its probe is necessary to investigate money laundering that may have occurred in the course of the crime. The ED suspects that illicit funds were routed through international channels. The case file access is a step towards uncovering and prosecuting FEMA violations. The Kerala High Court has observed the possibility of linkages between the Sabarimala gold theft and the likely involvement of international art smugglers, suggesting trafficking of temple artefacts. In effect, it also means very low-level security checks at the temple.
Another sinister development is the major exposure of the involvement of professional healthcare personnel in the development of bio weapons. Prime suspects are Dr. Umar Un Nabi of Pulwama, the most prominent member of the Faridabad module, Dr. Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, who was teaching at the Al Falah University, Dr. Shaheen Shahid, a doctor from Lucknow, and Dr. Abdul Majeed Rather, who worked at Famous Medicare Super Speciality Hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur. These terror-doctors were holding a stock of nearly 3,000 kilograms of explosives, and were having plans to develop Ricin, a deadly toxin, for mixing with Temple Prasad, to create horrific mass casualties and deaths!
It therefore becomes imperative that the governments and courts take up a complete revamp and review of temple administrations. The present arrangement of ruling political parties, packing their functionaries to administer temples in whatever manner they like, needs to be stopped.
An interim arrangement could be the setting up of a National Temples Authority, with All India jurisdiction, to oversee uniform Temple administration. At the State level, every identified major temple should have an administration, headed by a retired High Court Judge professing the Hindu faith, who should be assisted by an expert team comprising a Member administration, Member security, Member food security, Member accounts, and a Member asset management. For example, if Sabarimala Temple is taken as an example, the Sabarimala Temple Authority President should be a retired Hindu High Court Judge. The members would be specialists in the fields of administration, security, and food specialists to ensure quality control of Prasad distributed in the temple, and a chartered accountant to supervise revenue and expenditure. Temples with extensive landed assets will need an asset management specialist. Money generated in the temple should be utilized only for that temple, for the development of amenities for pilgrims, and for the maintenance and upkeep of identified low-income temples lying within a specified geographical radius of the major temple. All personnel employed in the temple should be committed Hindus only, who should take an oath to protect the temple, its traditions, and assets.
To protect temples from terror groups, it will be necessary for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to set up a Temple Protection Force (TPF), dedicated to the protection of Temples.
The National Temples Authority can become a reality if the Narendra Modi government decides that major temples need administrations, on par with Mecca and the Vatican. Presently, pilgrimage to any major Hindu temple is a harrowing experience, involving long queues, lack of proper toilet facilities, paid Darshan like cinema tickets of different prices, rude staff, greedy priests, adulterated Prasadams, expensive boarding and lodging, and an unhygienic environment of the temple town. If Mecca handles the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage, a total number of pilgrims exceeding 1.67 million, with more than 1.5 million coming from abroad and the rest from within Saudi Arabia, comprising 877,841 male and 795,389 female pilgrims from 171 nationalities, surely India can do an equally commendable job.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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