1 of 5 8/31/2016 3:51 PM Home About Us Disclaimer Archives 2008-2013 copyright, All Rights Reserved. Vijayvaani Publishers. Follow @vijayvaani Home Search By Keyword Keyword / Author Name HR&CE & ASI mute to demolition of temple heritage in Tam ilnadu by M Pramod Kumar on 29 Aug 2016 6 Comments Tweet Namakkal district is one of the most prosperous districts in Tamilnadu with a rich history and heritage. After the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Madurai Nayaks ascended to power here. The famous Namakkal fort was built by Ramachandra Nayaka. Namakkal city, which is the headquarters of the Namakkal district, is famous for two rock cut cave temples, namely, the Ranganatha Swamy Temple and Narasimha Swamy Temple. Namakkal gets its name from Namagiri, the consort of Narasimha Swamy, who is said to be the Kuladevata (family deity) of the famous mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who credited all his mathematical work to the abundant grace of the Goddess Namagiri. On the auspicious day of Krishnashtami, 25th August 2016, the people of Tamilnadu woke up to the shocking news that an 800-year-old Siva temple, the Choliswarar Temple in Tholur village of Namakkal district, was demolished and ripped to pieces using a bulldozer! The Hindu elaborated the antiquity and heritage value of the demolished temple in its report (25 August): The Choliswarar temple at Tholur is located on the Namakkal-Mohanur Road. Its sanctum has an ardha mantapa and a mukha mantapa, and a pillared Nandi mantapa. There are shrines for Ganesa, Amman and Chandikesa. It has a beautiful Chandikesa sculpture. A 16th century Tamil inscription on an ardha mantapa pillar records the grant of oil and cotton to the temple to light lamps. There is another inscription in a mukha mantapa pillar. R. Nagaswamy, former Director, Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, estimated that the temple, built by the Kongu Cholas, was minimum 800 years old. The Kongu Cholas formed a branch of the imperial Cholas and the former ruled the Kongu region comprising the present-day Coimbatore, and part of Salem and Namakkal districts in the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries C.E. The temple is under the control of the State Government s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
2 of 5 8/31/2016 3:51 PM (HR&CE) Department. Heritage activists allege that the demolition was carried out on the recommendation of an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India. A committee was set up by the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) during its earlier tenure (2011-2016) for making recommendations for restoration and renovation of dilapidated temples. On May 25, 2015, K. Moortheeswari, Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeologist Survey of India (ASI), inspected the Choliswarar temple. Ms. Moortheeswari inspected the temple along with an officer from the HR&CE, Ms. Selvi, and sent a report to the Tamilnadu government recommending dismantling and reconstruction of the temple. The report suggested that: plenty of vegetation is seen all round the main shrine and that the veneering stones on its outer walls are disturbed and dislocated all round due to the strong, solid roots of the trees on the terrace. Seepage marks were seen on the inner walls of the sanctum, ardha manatapa and mukha mantapa. A mukha mantapa pillar had been broken and provided with support. therefore, the temple must be conserved immediately and its foundation checked since the walls were out of plumb and had cracked in many places. The temple should be given a strong foundation. Reconstruction is inevitable The whole temple should be carefully documented and dismantled. Numbers should be given to the stone members. After dismantling, the temple could be reset with most of the old stones which were in good condition Dr. R. Nagaswamy, one of the most respected archaeologists of Tamilnadu, lambasted the recommendation for dismantling the temple submitted by the ASI officer. He said that a temple should not be dismantled just because vegetation had grown over it and its walls were out of plumb. According to him, a temple should be dismantled only when there is a clear danger of its collapsing. The angry scholar remarked that There are hundreds of temples overgrown with vegetation. Should all of them be dismantled? The HR&CE Department kept quiet when the temple was demolished. What is unfolding in front of our eyes is yet another sordid chapter of systemic apathy, criminal negligence and mismanagement of temples on the part of the HR&CE and ASI. In an earlier article published here on Vijayvaani (11 August 2016), I had written about the collapse of the temple towers of two famous temples the 136-feet Rajagopuram of the famous Srikalahasti temple and the Shivaji Gopuram of the famous Srisailam temple in Andhra Pradesh due to the negligence of HRCE and ASI in carrying out timely renovation and conservation work. (See http://vijayvaani.com/articledisplay.aspx?aid=4037)
3 of 5 8/31/2016 3:51 PM There is a writ petition pending in front of the Supreme Court filed by the late Swami Dayananda Saraswati challenging the constitutionality of the HR&CE and objecting to its disruptive interference in temple administration. This latest case of the Namakkal temple demolition further strengthens the argument against HR&CE. It is appalling to see that these two government departments which are supposed to preserve, protect and promote such heritage monuments are presiding over the demolition and destruction of heritage temples in Tamilnadu. It is equally sad to note that there is not even a whimper of protest yet from Hindu organisations. Imagine a recently constructed mosque being demolished in a Muslim locality by the ASI or a Church being ripped apart by a bulldozer, not to speak of heritage structures of these communities. The minorities in India receive massive funding from the State and Central Governments for renovation of their places of worship and there is no interference from the Government either in their functioning or administration. Why should Hindus continue to suffer such discrimination silently? It is high time that Hindus rise in protest against such discrimination and also take ownership of their cultural heritage. User Comments Post a Comment Don't expect the sangh parivar, especially the BJP, to raise even its little finger against this wanton destruction of Hindu heritage.it is high time Hindus realize that BJP, RSS, VHP,etc are too cowardly to rise to their defence. Shreevalsan /** Why should Hindus continue to suffer such discrimination silently? **/ Hindu Intellectuals are asking such wierd question and forget to analyse the root cause, and corrective actions.. The 1947 is the root cause of all problems faced today.. In the name of merger, Sardar Patel, forcefully dismantled all native administrative systems through out india, and handed over all of them in a single platter to nehru and his stooges for loot and plunder. THe Hindutva ideology which idiotically believes in the alien theory of universalism, does not care about the history of the region in which the temple is located. I remember Dayananda Saraswathi swamy, saying that dharma is universal and if it is NOT universal, it is NOT dharma. Such perverted understanding is the root cause of all our problem. Whether it is ardhanareeswara, or choleeswara or kasi viswanathar or puri jagannathar, those temples are NOT hindu temples, but temples of that particular locality.. that's why they were called by their regional names..
4 of 5 8/31/2016 3:51 PM None of the historic texts call these temples as Hindu temples. Unless the hindu intellectual start thinking on their own, free from ideological warpings, there cannot be any solution to the problems faced by the bharathiya society.. senthil The Madras High Court is hearing three WPs regarding rampant defiling, destruction & demolition of Hindu temples by Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Dept. of the Tamilnadu Govt. The first WP574 of 2015 is sum-moto case taken up by the H'nble court based on a news item in Times of india in Feb 2015 regarding non constitution of heritage committee and danger to heritage sites at Mahabalipuram. Subsequently Temple Conservation Society took up the cause of Hindu Temples in Tamilnadu & was allowed to implead in the case in March 2015. Another Hindu Temple devotee filed WP 37619 complaining of rampant destructions in the Srirangam temple. Both these cases are being heard by the First Bench of Madras High Court. During the hearing several cases of wanton destruction of Hindu temple heritage was brought to the courts attention. The court passed several orders, including one that prohibited the HR&CE Dept from carrying out any kind of renovation in any temple in Tamilnadu. Here are some of the orders & comments made by the court: "We have, thus, no hesitation in stating that the works of demolition of any of these temples be stayed till we examine the whole aspect" Nov 30 2015 WP 37619 of 2015 "we had directed stoppage of any demolition, but observed that the essential works may be carried out. In our view, there can be no doubt about what is meant by the expression essential works. This is a reference to works which cannot brook any delay, as the structure may itself collapse in the mean time." - Jul 5 2016 WP 574 of 2015 "The impression we got is that the HR & CE Department of the State Government feels that the heritage belongs to it alone and there should be no interference with it. In our view, this is a misconception" Oct 14 2015 WP 574 of 2015 "The objective of ours is clear that the heritage temples with archaeological and religious significance should be identified, maintained and renovation be carried out in a manner to ensure that no damage is caused. The relevant material has been produced before us. For example in the case of an early Chola temple, the extent of damage is quite apparent." Oct 14 2015 WP 574 of 2015 "We made it clear to the learned Additional Advocate General that it is a matter of great concern that the Consultant to the HR & CE Department has recommended that the existing temple complex may be demolished totally on the ground that it is "inauspicious". That such Consultant would be advising the HR & CE Department in all matters is also a matter of great concern" Nov 30 2015 WP 37619 of 2015 Nagarajan
5 of 5 8/31/2016 3:51 PM Till such time,we have people,like Srinivasan's,who sits inside the cozy comfort of,a/c Rooms&throwing stones,nothing will happen.come out of your Deep Slumber& come out from the house to the streets,&fight for such common causes of Hindus,nothing will happen for Centuries.Look back to your Own conscience,before commenting on others?send me the details of no of protests you have participated with respect to protecting Temples &,it's properties? mahadevaiyer hariharakrishnanr It is though your article, that I was aware of such silent mishaps which do not make it to the mainstream media in TN. By and large, it not surprising because the dravidian parties are either minority appeasing or indulged in atheist propaganda, and such incidents happen under their nose. Supreme court declaring HR&CE as unconstitutional is the only hope for staunch Hindu organisations to be freely vocal and creating strong public opinions, as at a local level, they will grow stronger with the temple management. Venkatakrishnan Ram Surprised to see Officer defied courts order. Jay Comments are free. However, comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate material will be removed from the site. Readers may report abuse at editorvijayvaani@gmail.com Post a Comment Name E-Mail Comments