An Agenda For Temple Freedom And Future — Unveiling Our Special Print Edition

Our November special issue — An Agenda For Temple Freedom And Future — is here!

After the Tirupati Laddu row, the debate over temple management is once again at the fore. There is a rising call for freeing the temples from the clutches of government.

Our special print issue features diverse views on the debate over temple control in India. We've ensured a healthy mix of stories, ground reports, and interviews.

But there is still some scepticism when it comes to temple freedom.

How would temples be run without any government oversight given the fears of caste discrimination, corruption, and a lack of accountability? Can they sustain and self-regulate effectively?

We have two stories, one each from Rajesh and Sharan, exploring two models of how ancient and free temples are thriving under private self-management:

• Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu

• Sri Kshetra Manjunatha Swamy temple in Dharmasthala, Karnataka

It'd be interesting to see if these robust and fascinating models can serve as templates for free and privately managed temples across the country.

But wait. Before talking of freeing the temples, it is pertinent to understand how Tirumala Tirupati, one of our most revered and richest Hindu temples, come under the control of British colonial government.

• Inside the November issue is a piece by Adithi Gurkar detailing the same.

And then one would wonder, under which divine diktat does the government control the religious places of just one community?

So recently, Dushyanth Sridhar and Vikram Sampath filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to bring accountability to the functioning of Hindu temples across the country and divest control of the government over these places of worship.

• The November issue features an exclusive interview of Sridhar by Arjun Narayanan where the former discusses his petition and the struggle to bring temples out of government control.

The hurdles to temple freedom are not just legal. While there are some legitimate concerns about discrimination in access (nothing which cannot be addressed or overcome), there is also a shrill but hollow Dravidian rhetoric of social justice.

• In our November issue, K Balakumar calls out the discrimination and exclusion that Dalits face in small temples of Tamil Nadu, especially in the state's hinterlands.

He exposes the dubious and self-righteous claims of Dravidian government and the overarching ways of its Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) department.

Now, there is also a 'madhyama marga' (middle path) of temple management that Rajesh studied at the temples of Nagarathar Chettiar clans in Chettinad region of eastern Tamil Nadu.

• He's written a piece capturing his observations and conversation with the management on how these temples have significant operational autonomy while still being under government control.

Anyway, what would an ideal solution for temple administration then look like? Temples completely free from government oversight? Or the above mentioned middle-path? Or some other novel model is needed?

• Aravindan Neelakandan pens down his vision on how managing these temples would involve minimising, and not eliminating, government presence in temples.

At the same time he argues that the Hindu society must also discard the colonial tropes of inter-caste antagonism that are preventing the rejuvenation of temples and community.

All of this is just a gist of what's inside our special November issue. It will be an enriching read. That we can promise.

As the conversation on temple freedom moves forth, we're sure Swarajya's special print edition presenting well-thought and well-researched articles is a welcome addition to it.

Our team has been on ground collecting and curating these ideas for weeks. And we're glad to have subscribers like you who value this patient but sober journalism.

All subscribers can access this special edition straightaway here or on the mobile app. If you are a print + digital subscriber, you will hear from us in the next days about the printing and dispatch.

And for our well-wishers who haven't subscribed yet — well, this is the best time to do so as we gear up for more of such work. There’s no better encouragement than your readership and subscription—it’s what keeps us going.

We know you're as much proud of this work as we are. But we'd love for you—as readers and subscribers—to have as much sense of ownership of this work as we do.

So, please subscribe and book your copy here — this is a keepsake. Or, if you prefer, go digital at a 40% discounted price, where you get PDFs of magazines and uninterrupted digital access for all of Swarajya for the next 12 months.

Additional support: If you are subscriber already and you’d like to contribute and help fund this effort directly (without altering your current subscription's end date), you can do so here. Every voluntary contributor will receive a copy of this special issue.