After Animal Sacrifice Demand By Muslim Groups, Now Meat Eaten — What’s Happening In Lord Muruga’s Tiruparankundram

What's happening in Tiruparankundram hill, one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga (Kartikeya) in Tamil Nadu, has left Hindus in the state in deep anguish.

Days after a row over the demand by Muslim groups to allow the sacrifice of goats and roosters at a structure now being referred by some mischievous elements as Sikandar dargah (also located on the hill), a group led by K Navas Kani, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Member of Parliament from Ramanathapuram had non-vegetarian food there. In a X post about his visit, Navas Kani said that there was no bar on consuming cooked non-vegetarian food and that he had spoken to the police commissioner regarding this. 

For Hindus, who believe that not a drop of blood should be spilt in the area, this was yet another setback. Many of them asked as to what was the need to do so and saw it as an act of provocation. Some of them called for a boycott of ST Courier, a company owned by Navas Kani.

Condemning the act of consuming non-vegetarian food, Bharatiya Janata Party state president K Annamalai wrote "....This is not only an inappropriate act but also one that has the potential to spark religious unrest.

"The Thirupparankundram Subramanya Swamy Temple was built by the Pandya kings centuries before the emergence of many religions in the world. For such a long time, the people of Tamil Nadu have lived in harmony, respecting the worship practices of all faiths. The behavior of an elected Member of Parliament that threatens to disrupt this harmony is utterly irresponsible and unacceptable..."

Apart from these issues, Hindus are also worried about the demand to rename the hill, referred to as ‘Skanda Malai’ in honour of Lord Muruga as ‘Sikandar Malai'.

“Tomorrow they will want to take over the entire hill. Kani’s statement about the dargah being under the Waqf board and news reports of the Jain cave temples on the hill being painted in green colour have added to the fear,” say leaders from the Hindu Munnani and Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK), two of the organisations that protested against allowing animal sacrifice on the sacred hill.

Who Owns The Hill ?

According to a judgement by the Privy Council in 1931, the entire hill belongs to the temple and so Hindus feel that it is only fair that their sentiments be respected.

Not The First Time That The Dargah Has Become An Issue

In July 2023, a Madras High Court bench of Justices R Subramanian and L Victoria Gowri refused to pass a stay order on a petition seeking to prohibit namaz from being offered at Nellithopu, which is on the way to the Kasi Viswanathar temple on the top of the hill.

According to the petitioner, Ramalingam of the Akila Bharatha Hanuman Sena, it was causing inconvenience to the public and that the said area was often used by Hindu devotees to take rest and have their meals.

Hindu outfits also state that the administration does not allow the lighting of the Karthigai deepam at its usual spot. As per them, the deepam is to be lit at the hilltop, in the Kasi Viswanathar temple (which is close to the dargah) but instead of that it is now being lit by the temple authorities at the Uchipillayar temple.