RSS ban in devaswom board temples in Kerala still in place

While devaswom board officials say they are maintaining a strict vigil, sources close to the RSS say that as many non-Hindus, especially Christians, are becoming part of the outfit, many sakhas are operating from private buildings away from temples

Thiruvananthapuram: As Karnataka is witnessing debates over the demand for banning activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in government spaces, a ban imposed on the RSS in temples under the State devaswom boards in Kerala is still in place.

While devaswom board officials say that they are maintaining a strict vigil, sources close to the RSS said that many non-Hindus, especially Christians, were increasingly becoming part of the RSS. Hence, many sakhas were operating from private buildings away from temples.

The RSS has the second-highest number of sakhas in Kerala, with around 5,500, after Uttar Pradesh, which has around 8,000. Many shakas in Kerala used to function near temples.

It was in 2023 that RSS' activities at temples under the Travancore and Malabar devaswom boards were banned, subsequent to an order of the Kerala High Court on a petition by some devotees against the RSS activities at the Sree Sarkara Devi temple at Chirayinkeezhu in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram. The petitioners alleged that the mass drills and weaponry training by the RSS on the temple premises were affecting the devotees' right to worship.

The devaswom boards' circular banning RSS activities had warned temple officials of disciplinary action in case of failing to report RSS activities in temple premises and also directed devaswom vigilance to carry out surprise checks.

Travancore Devaswom Board vigilance officer Sunil Kumar V told DH that they used to act in case of specific complaints of RSS activities in temples under the board. "We are not getting many complaints these days. There were isolated instances in which we had taken steps to prevent it," he said.

In a recent instance, the advisory committee of the Manjippuzha Sree Bagavathi Bhadrakali temple was dissolved after RSS 'ganageetham' was sung during the temple festival.

Meanwhile, RSS sakhas are still associated with many private temples under BJP-RSS management.

Sources close to RSS said that even before the devaswom boards' diktat came, many RSS shakhas had shifted their operations to other places, especially since more non-Hindus were getting associated with it. It was due to the availability of space that many sakhas earlier operated near temples.

"Many from the Christian community, especially in Muslim-dominated areas, are now getting associated with the RSS. There are even members from the Muslim community in the RSS. Hence, in order to avoid any sort of inconvenience to them, the RSS shakhas are now located away from temples in many places," a RSS source said.

Even as the RSS leadership had earlier stated that the State devaswom boards' ban would be countered legally, advocate Nikhil Sankar, who had appeared for the petitioners in the case pertaining to the Sree Sarkara Devi temple, said that so far the High Court order had not been challenged.