Mosque imposed on a village opposed
On August 8, 2014, on the north car street (Rath veedhi) of an ancient Shiva temple at Thiruvarankulam in Pudukottai district, a mosque was inaugurated and a namaz offered. The location of the mosque is a blatant intrusion into the religious sentiments of the public. On August 13, a protest petition was submitted to the Grama Sabha by the association of rath pullers of the temple objecting to the presence of mosque right on the route of the temple rath. The petition pointed out that a building which climbed to be a community hall has now become a mosque causing tension in the area. Later a meeting of Vishwa Hindu Parishad decided to organize struggles for the demolition of the controversial mosque, if the sentiments of the people are not respected.
Salvation Army squats on temple land
A shocking revelation points to the inaction of HR&CE (the Government Department managing Hindu temples) in taking suitable action in the case of a property belonging to the famous Gangadhareshwar temple in Purasaiwalkam right in the heart of Chennai metropolis. A Christian missionary outfit ‘The Salvation Army’ was found occupying the building owned by the temple without paying any rent for years. The rent due adds up to Rs.5.30 lakhs. More pertinent is the fact that a Tamilnadu Government Home Ministry order dated 18th February 1958 prevents temple lands or buildings being let out to non-Hindu groups. Thus not only a G.O has been flouted but also temple revenue has been robbed. The entire bungling came to light when HR&CE published a list of rent defaulters of temple lands and buildings recently.
An 18 year struggle for upholding ‘Right of way’ of Hindus
Continuously for the last 18 years, on the day of Ganesh visarjan (this year on September 7), an individual carrying a one-foot tall Ganesh idol is being arrested for “trying to flout orders along a sensitive road”. The individual is Sri Rama Gopalan aged 87, the founder leader of Hindu Munnani. The road in question is the Triplicane High Road in Chennai. The law enforcement authorities display adamant attitude by not allowing visarjan procession along this main thoroughfare citing the presence of sizeable Muslim population along the road. Sri Ramagopalan insists that “the right of way” of the Hindus is being trampled and therefore the right has to be established. Meanwhile Ganesh visarjan started by Hindu organizations has now become full-fledged social festival across the State. This year over 60,000 huge Ganesha idols were installed in the State, sending the State authorities mulling ways to curb the spirit in the years to come.
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