Temple Trustees appointment

Mannar Koil Head Priest Periya Nambi Narasimha Gopalan questions lack of transparency in the appointment of Temple Trustees 

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.

Salary Scenario in TN Temples 

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.                                                                                               

Current Scenario in Temples

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.