Deepam row: Tension at Thiruparankundram after Tamil Nadu govt defies Madras HC order

Chennai: Tension prevailed at Thiruparankundram in Madurai on Wednesday evening as right-wing activists clashed with police after the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department officials failed to light the Karthigai Deepam atop the hill near a dargah as per the directions of the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.

Justice G R Swaminathan, had on Monday ordered that the Deepam be lit at Deepathoon atop the hill, changing the century-old practice of lighting the lamp at the Deepa Mandapam near Uchipillaiyar temple. But, the HR&CE officials lit the fire at the Uchipillaiyar temple at 6 pm as per the tradition.

As the petitioner, Rama Ravikumar, informed the court that the order has not been executed, Justice Swaminathan not merely pulled up the DMK dispensation for breaching his order but also asked CISF personnel guarding the high court premises to accompany the petitioner with 10 people to the hills to help light the lamp.

The judge called the act “symbolic but necessary” to uphold the authority of the court. Before the petitioner and CISF personnel could reach the hill - Ravikumar was accompanied by more than 10 people in breach of the court order - the Madurai District Administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in Thiruparankundram until further orders.

As the situation escalated, top police officials rushed to the village to ensure peace even as the Tamil Nadu government challenged Justice Swaminathan’s order before the principal bench of the Madras High Court.

Police led by Madurai Commissioner J Loganathan prevented the petitioner and CISF personnel from climbing atop the hill citing the prohibitory orders and the government knocking at the doors of the high court against Swaminathan’s order.

Before the petitioner arrived, activists belonging to right-wing organisations broke the security cordon and tried to climb the hill but were stopped by police. In the melee, three policemen were injured even as the atmosphere was charged with protesters raising slogans against the state government, terming it “anti-Hindu”.

Thiruparankundram hill has been a haven of religious co-existence and communal harmony for centuries, hosting the Subramaniya Swamy temple, Kasi Viswanathan temple, and Sikkander Badusha dargah.

However, in February this year, Hindu organisations launched a protest after Lok Sabha MP Nawaz Kani allegedly consumed meat at the hills – since then, the temple has been at the centre of a row though the residents of the village continue to live in harmony.

The BJP also been calling Thiruparankundram as "Ayodhya of the South" as part of its efforts to made inroads into Tamil Nadu by whipping up religious passions as Lord Murugan is known as the Tamil god.

The petitioner, Rama Ravikumar, is a known Hindutva activist affiliated with many Hindu groups and eyewitnesses said he was accompanied only with outsiders and no locals were seen with him.

While Hindu activists wanted the lamp to be lit at the Deepathoon atop the hill, the HR&CE department maintains that it will continue to light the fire at the Uchipillaiyar Temple.

“The Deepam was lit at Uchipillaiyar Temple at 6 pm. But there has been no lighting of the Deepam at the Deepathoon,” Justice Swaminathan said as he ordered CISF personnel to accompany Ravikumar.

“Defying the order of this Court would send a very bad signal… That would sound the death knell of democracy itself,” the judge wrote in his order.