Author: PTI
Publication: The Hindu
Date: October 07, 2002
URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2002/10/07/stories/2002100704910400.htm
Sangh Parivar outfits in Kerala
have welcomed the recent Supreme Court verdict on appointment of non-Brahmins
as priests in temples, saying the apex court ruling ``will help reinforce
the internal unity of the Hindu society''.
The State units of RSS, VHP and
the Kerala Kshetra Samrakshana Samithy termed the ruling as a ``historic
verdict which will be welcomed by all sections of Hindus'' and wanted devaswom
boards and temple trusts to come forward to implement it.
While holding that properly-trained
non-Brahmins could be appointed as `pujaris', a two-member Bench of the
apex court last week upheld the appointment of K.S. Rakesh, who belongs
to the Ezhava community, as pujari in the Kongarpilly Neerikkode Siva temple
in Ernakulam district. Mr. Rakesh was trained in the Tantra Vidya Peethom
in Aluva.
``Ending discrimination among the
Hindus is essential for the survival of the Hindu society. In that sense,
the verdict is the fulfilment of the cherished goal of reformers such as
the late Mannath Padmanabhan and R. Sankar,'' the Sangh ideologue and Bharatiya
Vichara Kendram Director, P Parameswaran, said.
``This is also the logical conclusion
of the historic temple entry proclamation of 1936, when the temples of
the state of Travancore were thrown open to all sections of the Hindus,''
Mr. Parameswaran said.
The RSS and its affiliates in the
State claimed that the verdict was an endorsement of their position enshrined
in the 1987 `Paliayam proclamation' made at a conclave of vedic and tantric
scholars who wanted all sections of the Hindu society integrated into the
mainstream by ending caste monopolies and restrictions. The RSS leader
from the State, the late P. Madhavan, had then played a key role in convening
the conclave.
The verdict was also welcomed by
the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, socio-cultural organisation
of the Ezhava community.
Mr. Rakesh, who was the sole non-Brahmin
to apply for the posts of `santhi' in temples under the Travancore Devaswom
Board in 1992, was appointed as a part-time pujari.
The Kerala High Court upheld his
appointment, when the matter came up before the court in 1993. He was promoted
as a full-time `santhi' and posted in the Vavakkad Ayyappa temple in 1998.
Mr. Rakesh's appointment, however, was questioned in the apex court through
a special leave petition filed by Adityan Namboodiri. The court ruled that
non-Brahmins too could be appointed as `santhis' if they were properly
trained and well-versed in the rituals.
