Archaka Salaries continue to remain in the hundreds but governed by Political Trustees
It
is that review phase in everyone’s life. It is time to understand what priests in remote temple towns have gone through
since the 1970s. Most priests in high profile temples are now experiencing what
priests in several thousands of temples in TN have been undergoing for decades. 'Perform aradhana morning and evening and wait for that elusive devotee for a
Thattu Kaasu' to run one’s family has been the way of life of 1000s of priests in TN temples for decades. Archakas
in several thousands of temples continue to be paid monthly salaries of less than Rs. 1000
and even this miniscule amount is paid infrequently.
While
many activists have filed several cases in the last 5-10 years on temple
related issues, not one has looked at the issue of low and unpaid salaries to
these several thousands of archakas in temples in Tamil Nadu.
Periya
Nambi Acharya Narasimha Gopalan who also doubles up as the lone Priest at the
Kulasekara Azhvaar Rajagopalaswamy Temple in Mannar Koil near Ambasamudram went from ‘pillar to
post’ a decade ago pleading with many on the filing of a case on a traditional
issue. But no one came forward. Years later, he approached activists on larger
issues relating to remote temples in Tamil Nadu. Activists refused to even
implead in any of the cases filed by Acharya Narasimha Gopalan.
His
father performed Aradhana at Mannar Koil in the 1980s for a two digit salary
that remained unpaid. Narasimha Gopalan joined the temple at a salary of Rs.
245 which after a decade was increased to 750. Most of these remained unpaid
for a long time on the grounds that there was not sufficient income from the
temple.
When
he filed a case in the Madurai High Court on the issue of priests’ salaries being
much below that stated in the Minimum Wages Act, the HR & CE immediately
raised his salary alone to try and shut him up (the case was about salary of priests in 35000+ remote
temples in TN). This case is nearing completion and one is hopeful of an order in the near future.
Therazhundur - Rs. 250 over a 30 year period ( Unpaid)
Thiruvenkadu - Low salary that he could not pay rent for cycle
Thiru Pazhanam- Rs. 250 over two decades ( Paid once or twice a year)
Mannar Koil - Rs. 250 to Rs. 750 over 15 years
Pathamadai - Rs. 19 per month
Kapisthalam - Rs. 16 per month over decades
Thiru Kannangudi - Rs. 900 over two decades
Except for the top 1000 temples, this is the scenario in the rest of the 30000+ temples in Tamil Nadu.
In well over 90 percent of the temples, the salary of the priest is in the hundreds and low thousands.
This
week with the lock-down impact the lives of the archakas in remote temples in
Tamil Nadu, Periya Nambi Narasimha Gopalan has raised the critical issue of the
appointment of Trustees in TN temples.
Role of Trustees in Temples
The
trustees are selected to administer the affairs of the temple and as a matter of
fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India, the devotees are
entitled to have their temples administered by able trustees.
Mannar Koil’s Periya Nambi
Acharya Narasimha Gopalan has questioned the transparency involved in the
appointment of non hereditary Trustees in Temples. In a letter to the
Commissioner of the HR & CE and to the Secretary to the Govt- Religious
Endowments Dept, he has requested to make public the qualifications and
credentials of Trustees selected for the Temples in Tamil Nadu.
For decades, 1000s of temples under the HR & CE
administration have had no trustees and the affairs of the temples have been
administered by “Fit Person” appointed by the Government. These "Fit Persons' in most cases are government staff. Executive
officer of one temple is appointed as Fit Person for another temple. There are
also cases in temples where the Fit Person and the EO are the same.
Parthasarathy Perumal Divya Desam in Thiruvallikeni is a case in point. The application
for funds is signed by the EO of the temple and the same individual approves the
applications and signs as the Fit Person.
Trustees - What does
the HR & CE Act say?
To become a trustee, a person has to meet the
qualifications set out in Section 25-A of the HR & CE Act. Similarly,
Section 26 stipulates certain circumstances disqualifying a person from being
appointed as a trustee. A trustee for a temple is selected on the basis of the
following factors:
He has to be from the local area, has to have good
working knowledge of the local tradition peculiar to the temple, be conversant
with the culture and heritage of the temple, enjoy good reputation among the
local public, be able to allocate sufficient time for that temple and resources
to administer the affairs of the temple.
The prospective Trustee should have made contributions
in the past three years to the renovation / repair of the Hindu temples. The
prospective Trustee should not have encroached any temple lands or indulge in
any activity affecting the interests of the temples.
Most importantly the pre requisite to the appointment
states that the prospective Trustee should be able to discharge his duties
without any influence from any political party or any vested interests.
District Committees appointing Trustees
Recently, the State Government has appointed District
Committees for selecting non-hereditary trustees for temples under the HR &
CE administration and these committees have in turn started appointing trustees
for the temples. Unfortunately, the members of the District Committee are recommended
by the ministers, bureaucrats working with the ministers, blood relatives of
the ministers and other functionaries of political parties. These District
Committee members in turn award the trusteeship solely to the persons
recommended by MLAs and MPs in the case of village temples and Ministers in the
case of temples in the district headquarters. Persons without any of these
recommendations are unlikely to be appointed as trustees.
The trustees appointed in the above fashion do not
meet any of the qualifications prescribed under the Act as they are appointed
merely on the basis of the political recommendations.
Trustee appointment- Lack of Transparency
At the moment, no information, particularly, the qualifications and other credentials said to be claimed by the trustees selected is made available to the general public / devotees even though this information is crucial for the devotees to take a considered opinion on the suitability of the trustees appointed for their local temples. If the trustees do not have sufficient qualifications and lack prior exposure to temple related works, devotees would have the right to remove them from the trusteeship.
Questioning the lack of transparency in the selection
process of trustees, the letter to
the Commissioner has requested to make public the above information about the
selected trustees by publication in the local newspaper, affixing on the main
entrance gate of each temple, on the notice board of the Executive Officer and
be available for inspection by the general public.
Going
by the past track record, it is unlikely that Acharya Narasimha Gopalan will receive
a reply from the HR & CE. And as has been the case over the last few years,
he may head the direction of the Madurai High Court seeking relief in devotee’s
interests.
7 comments:
Very detailed reporting swami 🙇🏻♂🙏🏼
Travesty of justice
Started by the anti Brahmin DK movement. Oduvars are paid government salaries as the are not Brahmin. Ganapati appointments were stopped by them and archakas are treated shabbily.
This has to be done by the department. All temporary staff and traditional musicians, elephant keepers are all paid a pittance.
This is part of the vested anti Brahmin anti Hindu bias. Someone like Gurumurthy has to take it up legally.
Looks like articles written earlier were longer than the recent posts.🙏🙏
The writing style remains the same, interesting & lucid. 🙏🙏
Nowadays for this kind of problems there is no other alternative than to knock the doors of judiciary and get an order.
Even though we get an order the same will be challenged by appeals.
Atleast now somebody should bell the cat and one day we can justice for future benefits.
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