Narad
It Is now getting increasingly clear that what is projected as a case against Kanchi Shankaracharya, Shri Jayendra Saraswati for murder is, in reality, an attempt by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa, to destroy the reputation of the religious head. All this talk of letting the law take its course seems rubbish. Jayalalithaa is indulging in a vendetta. She is doing everything she can to destroy the reputation of the Kanchi Shankaracharya, leave aside the fact that the Supreme Court has given bail to the Mathadhipathi. As The Hindu (January 12) said: “The Court would permit detention only if it finds reasonable ground for believing that the person is guilty. The Supreme Court found that the prosecution in the Shankaracharya case did not cross this threshold.” Of course, the Court made it very clear that the final decision has yet to be made and as The Hindu put it, “in purely legal terms, if (the Shankaracharya's) arrest two months ago could not be seen as proof of guilt, his release on bail is not to be seen as final exoneration either”. Granted. But to quote the paper again: “With the Supreme Court finding that the evidence gathered so far in the Shankararaman murder case is too thin to warrant detention of Shri Jayendra Saraswati, the arrest of the junior Acharya who would seem to be more peripheral in the case, is inexplicable.”
What is clear so far is that Jayalalithaa is hell-bent on destroying the Kanchi seer's image. Where was the need to surreptitiously leak out the seer's alleged confession while in police custody to two private TV channels? Isn't that meant to condition the public mind in one particular direction? What kind of a sick woman is this Jayalalithaa? Why can't the court restrain her? As Hindustan Times (January 12) put it: “The case brings out the shoddy working of the police in our country.” The paper said that “instead of investigating a case and building up grounds for an arrest, the police first rush to arrest a suspect, take him into custody and, through what is euphemistically called ‘sustained interrogation’, make up a case.” The paper further said: “The time has come for the government to give serious consideration to professionalising criminal investigation across the country and ending the tyranny of rules framed in the 19th century.”
Meanwhile, another question arises. Can one sue the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for encouraging her police to leak out alleged evidence even before the court hears it? Is that proper? Importantly, is that legal? With what seems a clear case of vengefulness, the Tamil Nadu government has frozen as many as 183 bank accounts of the Kanchi Mutt, making it almost impossible for the Mutt's aid centres, hospitals, educational institutions and Veda pathashalas to function. The Telegraph (January 14) quotes one of Jayendra Saraswati's lawyers, A. Shanmugham, as saying: “This is without any basis and amounts to violation of the fundamental rights of my client.” At this point what exactly is the seer charged with? Abetment of murder? Molestation of woman devotees? Misappropriation of funds? How come Jayalalithaa is allowed to get away with her vengefulness on the theory that the law is no respecter of persons and will take its course? Is that true only of a religious head or is it equally applicable to a Chief Minister? Somebody must answer that. The Supreme Court has exposed the irrelevance of the charges so far made against the seer. Can this be used to sue Jayalalithaa for character assassination? Murder comes in all shapes and forms. The media, understandably, has been lapping up whatever material it comes across.
It would seem that the print media these days is becoming more and more attractive to young graduates. According to The Statesman (January 8), journalism is presently drawing “hundreds of young professionals from the sciences, apart from the arts stream which was where most hailed from”. Fancy journalism inviting technical graduates including those from agriculture, veterinary, geology and other applied sciences! What is it that attracts them? Print journalism is flourishing. Again, according to The Statesman, Assam's political, commercial and educational hub, Guwahati, has 20 dailies, half of them in Assamese. Seven dailies are published from more than one centre and three Assamese dailies claim a circulation surpassing a lakh each. The print media in Assam is a major employer, with 8,000 direct jobs and indirect employment for some 20,000 persons in a state with a population of 26 million. Apparently another 400 Guwahati-based journalists work for various local, regional and national newspapers. But what marks the Assamese language media and what is not widely known outside the region, says The Statesman, is that a number of their editors are award winning and highly regarded scholars like Manoj Goswami of Dainik Janasadharan, Hemen Borgohain, formerly of Amar Asom and Kanak Sen Deka of Agradoot. Sen reportedly is the current president of the Asom Sahitya Sabha, with Borgohain being his immediate predecessor.
But what is even less known is the enormous pressure under which Assamese journalists function. They are reportedly under constant threats from insurgents, surrendered militants and even security personnel. In the last 20 years, over 20 journalists have been killed in the line of duty. And that is a sobering thought. In the earliest days, Assamese journals seemed to have only one major aim: liberating Assam from the Bengali hold. Later that was viewed as another facet of social work. But it was only following the student-led agitation against illegal migration in the early 1980s that journalism assumed a political face. And that is the face it presently wears.
Incidentally, and so far only The Telegraph (January 14) has carried the story, the Income-Tax Department is pushing for a physical assessment of offerings by Jayalalithaa, including a diamond-studded gold crown, to the Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple in June 2001 “in the face of opposition from the temple authorities and the Kerala government”. The crown is reportedly worth Rs 6.5 crore. How come Jayalalithaa could afford to spend Rs 6.5 crore for an offering? There are several cases against her and it is time the government took a closer look at them. Jayalalithaa is quoted by The Telegraph as saying that whatever she gifted to the temple was given to her by her supporters and devotees of Guruvayoorappan. Some explanation, that.
For far too long a time has this country put up with politicians' shenanigans. It is time the government took some action against those who have been exercising power indiscriminately, without being accountable to anyone, let alone the general public. The rubbishing of the people should be called a halt to. There has been enough of it.
Showing posts with label Vendetta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vendetta. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Jayalalithaa's outrage on Kanchi mutt
Angry Hindus demand dismissal
By R. Balashankar
With the catholicity of a crusader, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has unleashed a witch-hunt against the sacred Hindu abode, the Kanchi mutt. It is an all out war on the mutt, manipulated and orchestrated through rumour mongering and hired electronic channels going beyond the simple investigations of a murder charge. Every day a new canard of calumny is put out only to let it die after a few days for want of substance.
Nobody other than the vested interests today suspect the innocence of the Kanchi Acharya, His Holiness Jayendra Saraswati.
She has even appointed a new DGP, A.X. Alexander, and a new Home Commissioner, Syed Muneer Hoda, to carry on with the dubious job, transferring all the officials who were so far investigating the Shankararaman murder case.
There is no sin on this earth that Jayalalithaa has not committed. Like the Ravana, nay Shoorpanakha, her ultimate sin is the heinous attack on the holy men, the holy shrine, the Kanchi mutt, with a tradition of 2,500 years, which is hallowed as the last blessed abode of Adi Shankara. Jayalalithaa is corrupt, lawless, unprincipled, without scruples, tyrannical and despotic suffering from avarice of power and wealth. Her talking of law taking its natural course is like a demon reciting the scripture; she ought to have said that vendetta has taken a full course.
Her selection of officials with a peculiar minority tag is devious. For, the country has a tradition of officials acting impartially during their discharge of duty. But it smacks of her vicious motive, the desire to send out a message louder than the deed. For whom is she stooping so low?
Technically speaking, this is no occasion to go into the legal merits of the charges. In Supreme Court the allegation fell apart like a pack of pebbles; she now has to reconstruct it all over again.
Jaya's selection of officials with a peculiar minority tag is devious. For, the country has a tradition of officials acting impartially during their discharge of duty. But it smacks of her vicious motive: the desire to send out a message louder than the deed.
The scene is worse than that of embittered Shoorpanakha in the court of Ravana. The release of the Acharya on bail has petrified her so much that she doesn’t want him to stay in Chennai. She wants him to be transported to north India with court direction—look at the contradiction!
For two months the argument was that the Acharya was running away to some foreign land—away from Tamil Nadu to Nepal, that his following is very limited—only 3 per cent of the population in Tamil Nadu, that too a divided set of Brahmins all of whom are anyway not his devotees; and now, that his presence in Tamil Nadu will influence the witnesses and the prosecution. How fantastic? An autocrat Chief Minister like Jayalalithaa, who has all the resources at her command, saying this.
Kanchi Acharya’s authority is his moral strength. It is not his possessions, position or power. It is the moral strength of a saintly person that troubles the tyrant ruler. We have seen more powerful persons, Chief Ministers, former Prime Ministers, accused of criminal charges—but not a demand like the one Jayalalithaa has made ever been expressed— that the presence of the accused in the state will derail the prosecution. Is it the immorality of the accusations that have frightened her of the very existence of the Acharya? Or is it the agony of a Lady Macbeth, whose sins all the waters of the ocean cannot wash?
Jaya is hopping mad at the Supreme Court slap
She has managed to do what the Muslim invaders and the British could not do for centuries. She has broken a 2,500-year old worship ritual ‘trikal puja’ in the Kanchipuram mutt.
The air was thick near the Kanchi mutt with the smell of crackers bursted and incense offered at the news of the release of the mutt’s senior Acharya, His Holiness Shri Jayendra Saraswati by the order of the Supreme Court on January 10. The Tamil Nadu police muzzled in, forcing their way into the mutt to arrest the surprised younger Acharya of the mutt, His Holiness Shri Vijayendra Saraswati. The people who had gathered were at a loss to understand as to why the police was arresting him on the same charges in which the elder Acharya had just been released on bail. Worse, the mutt would now be truly headless with both the Acharyas forced out.
Seriously, the crime that the Tamil Nadu government has committed is beyond pardon. It is not an individual or two she has sinned against. She has sinned against the conscience of a people for whom the mutt and its Acharyas are venerable. The Chief Minister, who paraded herself as a believing, practicing Hindu a few months ago, sacrificed the faith of millions at the altar of political expediency. What benefits other than the vote bank would she get is best answered by her. Even the most ardent of her supporters are unable to explain the ultimate high-handedness of the Tamil Nadu police in arresting Shri Vijayendra Saraswati within a few hours of the release on bail of the senior Acharya. Particularly after the apex court passed serious strictures against the state government and its police.
Her ultimate sin is the heinous attack on the holy men, the holy shrine, the Kanchi mutt, with a tradition of 2,500 years, which is hallowed as the last blessed abode of Adi Shankara. Jayalalithaa is corrupt, lawless, unprincipled, without scruples, tyrannical and despotic suffering from avarice of power and wealth. Her talking of law taking its natural course is like a demon reciting the scripture.
For the first time since the bizarre charge and the arrest of the senior Acharya, the law spoke in favour of the Acharya. Till now, it had been a one-sided story with both the local and the Chennai High Court repeating the prosecution’s case and concurring. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Justice G.P. Mathur, and Justice P. P. Naolekar (January 10, 2005) concurred with the petitioner’s (the Acharya) counsel, F.S. Nariman. In the ruling on the bail application, the court said, “No worthwhile prima facie evidence apart from the alleged confessions have been brought to our notice to show that the petitioner along with the two accused was party to a conspiracy…it does not appeal to reason that he suddenly decided to have had Sankararaman murdered and entered into a conspiracy for the said purpose.”
The Supreme Court also found the prosecution’s witnesses, who were outsiders and not mutt officials, unacceptable. It is unlikely, it said, that the Acharya would speak about the commissioning of murder at such a time and place where his talks could be heard by total strangers.
Obviously the Jayalalithaa government and her police did not proceed on the case on any legal merit. They wanted the case to be fought in the media and decided by the anti-Hindu writings and cheap whispers. In that they had nearly succeeded. The print and electronic media in Tamil competed with each other in running down the Acharya and the mutt. If one were to begin listing cases of ‘maligning reputation’, it would involve almost all the print and electronic media in Tamil. Leading the list would be the lady's own Jaya TV and Karunanidhi’s Sun TV.
The prosecution’s case first said they had traced withdrawal of money from ICICI Bank to carry out the murder. The bank record showed nothing. Then it said of a land sale to finance the crime. Again records said the money had indeed been deposited within a week of the land sale. The police had initially waved some account number in ICICI Bank, which it later withdrew. Then the police came up with the attempt to murder charge against the Acharya in two other cases. The original case was left hanging. Just like spinning a Tamil movie formula, a woman element was introduced in the form of one Usha, with whom the Acharya was supposed to have been close. The police declared her as absconding. The woman herself went to the police and said she had received monetary help from the mutt for her cancer treatment.
That’s when the well-known Tamil writer came out with her ‘shocking’ story of ‘misconduct’ by the Acharya. Anuradha Raman, considered by some as progressive, bold and outspoken, claimed that she was keeping the incident a secret. One would have expected a woman like her to speak out if any offence had been committed against her. The Kanchi mutt, by now deeply anguished by such third-rate cooked up scandals, released photographs of Anuradha Raman at a function at the mutt as recent as last year, which indicated that she was not ‘suffering’ as she claimed.
The Kanchi mutt enjoys a status in the Hindu society, which few other such institutions can claim. The mutt is involved in activities that are spiritual, religious and social. The amount of social work the mutt sponsors is rather huge. And whenever social issues challenging the Hindu society have come up, the Acharyas have responded to them, both religiously and spiritually. At a time when most Hindu organisations were shocked into inaction over the mass conversions in Meenakshipuram, the Kanchi mutt initiated a travelling temple programme, in which consecrated images of gods and goddesses were sent to Harijan bastis. If they cannot come to the temple, the temples should go to them, was the philosophy.
Paramacharya, the revered Chandrashekharendra Saraswati, not directly getting involved in the freedom movement—it being a political issue—had rendered support to the cause. He began wearing khadi material, which sent a definite signal to the Hindu society, which looked upon him as an incarnation. During Emergency, when Indira Gandhi went to meet him, the Paramacharya was in maunavrata (observing silence), indicating his reaction to the oppressive regime.
It is as part of a calculated slander campaign that a section of the media is describing the mutt as having limited appeal to the Brahmins, who constitute only 3 per cent of the voting population in Tamil Nadu. The Kanchi mutt exercises far more religious and spiritual influence among the Hindus there. It is this fear of the mutt’s influence that is behind the conspiracy to defame it. We need not go into the motives of Jayalalithaa in playing this dangerous, dirty game.
That there is a calculated conspiracy behind the cases is beyond argument. Shankararaman was not the only man murdered in Tamil Nadu in 2004, nor was he a man of such social standing that his murder should attract such attention. The Chief Minister paid Rs 5 lakh to the widow of Shankararaman. Did she offer such largesse to all the widows of Tamil Nadu whose husbands were murdered? In fact in the last month, two high-profile murders, that of Aladi Aruna and an AIADMK MLA, did not move Jayalalithaa. Not a single arrest so far has taken place in these murders. So much for the efficiency of the police in Tamil Nadu! So why did the government constitute a huge team of policemen to investigate this Kanchi murder? Then the series of police leaks in the press, beginning as a whisper campaign against the mutt, culminating in the DMK taking a hard political position over it. The same DMK today is unwilling to support the state government’s action, because it has realised that the case was only a straw figure for scaring away the crows, keen on sharing the vote bank.
By R. Balashankar
With the catholicity of a crusader, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has unleashed a witch-hunt against the sacred Hindu abode, the Kanchi mutt. It is an all out war on the mutt, manipulated and orchestrated through rumour mongering and hired electronic channels going beyond the simple investigations of a murder charge. Every day a new canard of calumny is put out only to let it die after a few days for want of substance.
Nobody other than the vested interests today suspect the innocence of the Kanchi Acharya, His Holiness Jayendra Saraswati.
She has even appointed a new DGP, A.X. Alexander, and a new Home Commissioner, Syed Muneer Hoda, to carry on with the dubious job, transferring all the officials who were so far investigating the Shankararaman murder case.
There is no sin on this earth that Jayalalithaa has not committed. Like the Ravana, nay Shoorpanakha, her ultimate sin is the heinous attack on the holy men, the holy shrine, the Kanchi mutt, with a tradition of 2,500 years, which is hallowed as the last blessed abode of Adi Shankara. Jayalalithaa is corrupt, lawless, unprincipled, without scruples, tyrannical and despotic suffering from avarice of power and wealth. Her talking of law taking its natural course is like a demon reciting the scripture; she ought to have said that vendetta has taken a full course.
Her selection of officials with a peculiar minority tag is devious. For, the country has a tradition of officials acting impartially during their discharge of duty. But it smacks of her vicious motive, the desire to send out a message louder than the deed. For whom is she stooping so low?
Technically speaking, this is no occasion to go into the legal merits of the charges. In Supreme Court the allegation fell apart like a pack of pebbles; she now has to reconstruct it all over again.
Jaya's selection of officials with a peculiar minority tag is devious. For, the country has a tradition of officials acting impartially during their discharge of duty. But it smacks of her vicious motive: the desire to send out a message louder than the deed.
The scene is worse than that of embittered Shoorpanakha in the court of Ravana. The release of the Acharya on bail has petrified her so much that she doesn’t want him to stay in Chennai. She wants him to be transported to north India with court direction—look at the contradiction!
For two months the argument was that the Acharya was running away to some foreign land—away from Tamil Nadu to Nepal, that his following is very limited—only 3 per cent of the population in Tamil Nadu, that too a divided set of Brahmins all of whom are anyway not his devotees; and now, that his presence in Tamil Nadu will influence the witnesses and the prosecution. How fantastic? An autocrat Chief Minister like Jayalalithaa, who has all the resources at her command, saying this.
Kanchi Acharya’s authority is his moral strength. It is not his possessions, position or power. It is the moral strength of a saintly person that troubles the tyrant ruler. We have seen more powerful persons, Chief Ministers, former Prime Ministers, accused of criminal charges—but not a demand like the one Jayalalithaa has made ever been expressed— that the presence of the accused in the state will derail the prosecution. Is it the immorality of the accusations that have frightened her of the very existence of the Acharya? Or is it the agony of a Lady Macbeth, whose sins all the waters of the ocean cannot wash?
Jaya is hopping mad at the Supreme Court slap
She has managed to do what the Muslim invaders and the British could not do for centuries. She has broken a 2,500-year old worship ritual ‘trikal puja’ in the Kanchipuram mutt.
The air was thick near the Kanchi mutt with the smell of crackers bursted and incense offered at the news of the release of the mutt’s senior Acharya, His Holiness Shri Jayendra Saraswati by the order of the Supreme Court on January 10. The Tamil Nadu police muzzled in, forcing their way into the mutt to arrest the surprised younger Acharya of the mutt, His Holiness Shri Vijayendra Saraswati. The people who had gathered were at a loss to understand as to why the police was arresting him on the same charges in which the elder Acharya had just been released on bail. Worse, the mutt would now be truly headless with both the Acharyas forced out.
Seriously, the crime that the Tamil Nadu government has committed is beyond pardon. It is not an individual or two she has sinned against. She has sinned against the conscience of a people for whom the mutt and its Acharyas are venerable. The Chief Minister, who paraded herself as a believing, practicing Hindu a few months ago, sacrificed the faith of millions at the altar of political expediency. What benefits other than the vote bank would she get is best answered by her. Even the most ardent of her supporters are unable to explain the ultimate high-handedness of the Tamil Nadu police in arresting Shri Vijayendra Saraswati within a few hours of the release on bail of the senior Acharya. Particularly after the apex court passed serious strictures against the state government and its police.
Her ultimate sin is the heinous attack on the holy men, the holy shrine, the Kanchi mutt, with a tradition of 2,500 years, which is hallowed as the last blessed abode of Adi Shankara. Jayalalithaa is corrupt, lawless, unprincipled, without scruples, tyrannical and despotic suffering from avarice of power and wealth. Her talking of law taking its natural course is like a demon reciting the scripture.
For the first time since the bizarre charge and the arrest of the senior Acharya, the law spoke in favour of the Acharya. Till now, it had been a one-sided story with both the local and the Chennai High Court repeating the prosecution’s case and concurring. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Justice G.P. Mathur, and Justice P. P. Naolekar (January 10, 2005) concurred with the petitioner’s (the Acharya) counsel, F.S. Nariman. In the ruling on the bail application, the court said, “No worthwhile prima facie evidence apart from the alleged confessions have been brought to our notice to show that the petitioner along with the two accused was party to a conspiracy…it does not appeal to reason that he suddenly decided to have had Sankararaman murdered and entered into a conspiracy for the said purpose.”
The Supreme Court also found the prosecution’s witnesses, who were outsiders and not mutt officials, unacceptable. It is unlikely, it said, that the Acharya would speak about the commissioning of murder at such a time and place where his talks could be heard by total strangers.
Obviously the Jayalalithaa government and her police did not proceed on the case on any legal merit. They wanted the case to be fought in the media and decided by the anti-Hindu writings and cheap whispers. In that they had nearly succeeded. The print and electronic media in Tamil competed with each other in running down the Acharya and the mutt. If one were to begin listing cases of ‘maligning reputation’, it would involve almost all the print and electronic media in Tamil. Leading the list would be the lady's own Jaya TV and Karunanidhi’s Sun TV.
The prosecution’s case first said they had traced withdrawal of money from ICICI Bank to carry out the murder. The bank record showed nothing. Then it said of a land sale to finance the crime. Again records said the money had indeed been deposited within a week of the land sale. The police had initially waved some account number in ICICI Bank, which it later withdrew. Then the police came up with the attempt to murder charge against the Acharya in two other cases. The original case was left hanging. Just like spinning a Tamil movie formula, a woman element was introduced in the form of one Usha, with whom the Acharya was supposed to have been close. The police declared her as absconding. The woman herself went to the police and said she had received monetary help from the mutt for her cancer treatment.
That’s when the well-known Tamil writer came out with her ‘shocking’ story of ‘misconduct’ by the Acharya. Anuradha Raman, considered by some as progressive, bold and outspoken, claimed that she was keeping the incident a secret. One would have expected a woman like her to speak out if any offence had been committed against her. The Kanchi mutt, by now deeply anguished by such third-rate cooked up scandals, released photographs of Anuradha Raman at a function at the mutt as recent as last year, which indicated that she was not ‘suffering’ as she claimed.
The Kanchi mutt enjoys a status in the Hindu society, which few other such institutions can claim. The mutt is involved in activities that are spiritual, religious and social. The amount of social work the mutt sponsors is rather huge. And whenever social issues challenging the Hindu society have come up, the Acharyas have responded to them, both religiously and spiritually. At a time when most Hindu organisations were shocked into inaction over the mass conversions in Meenakshipuram, the Kanchi mutt initiated a travelling temple programme, in which consecrated images of gods and goddesses were sent to Harijan bastis. If they cannot come to the temple, the temples should go to them, was the philosophy.
Paramacharya, the revered Chandrashekharendra Saraswati, not directly getting involved in the freedom movement—it being a political issue—had rendered support to the cause. He began wearing khadi material, which sent a definite signal to the Hindu society, which looked upon him as an incarnation. During Emergency, when Indira Gandhi went to meet him, the Paramacharya was in maunavrata (observing silence), indicating his reaction to the oppressive regime.
It is as part of a calculated slander campaign that a section of the media is describing the mutt as having limited appeal to the Brahmins, who constitute only 3 per cent of the voting population in Tamil Nadu. The Kanchi mutt exercises far more religious and spiritual influence among the Hindus there. It is this fear of the mutt’s influence that is behind the conspiracy to defame it. We need not go into the motives of Jayalalithaa in playing this dangerous, dirty game.
That there is a calculated conspiracy behind the cases is beyond argument. Shankararaman was not the only man murdered in Tamil Nadu in 2004, nor was he a man of such social standing that his murder should attract such attention. The Chief Minister paid Rs 5 lakh to the widow of Shankararaman. Did she offer such largesse to all the widows of Tamil Nadu whose husbands were murdered? In fact in the last month, two high-profile murders, that of Aladi Aruna and an AIADMK MLA, did not move Jayalalithaa. Not a single arrest so far has taken place in these murders. So much for the efficiency of the police in Tamil Nadu! So why did the government constitute a huge team of policemen to investigate this Kanchi murder? Then the series of police leaks in the press, beginning as a whisper campaign against the mutt, culminating in the DMK taking a hard political position over it. The same DMK today is unwilling to support the state government’s action, because it has realised that the case was only a straw figure for scaring away the crows, keen on sharing the vote bank.
Jaya's Bias and Act of Vendetta
(Tit bits from the public opinion, as reflected in the Newspapers)
This refers to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa’s detailed response to criticism of her handling of the Sankararaman murder case. While the statement is logical and staunchly defends the police, it offers no explanation on how a videotape containing the conversation of the Kanchi Acharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, in police custody, was leaked. Is not the airing of the tape in a television channel a major investigation lapse?
That the Government wants the media to be honest in their reports is fair enough. But why was it silent when sections of the media themselves loose on Sri Jayendra? Surely, a similar statement urging restraint could have been release two months ago? Also, just as the police can arrest persons involved in the crime as it unfolds, the accused too has the right to seek legal redress by filing petitions for bail. How can this amount to “stalling the investigation?” As for the upholding the majesty of law, is it not the Government’s duty to ensure secrecy until a charge sheet is filed? How did the video tape find its way to the studios of a television channel?
The majesty of law will prevail on its own. It does not require the support or sympathy of anyone.
We have been observing the ceaseless media coverage of the murder case that has been attracting extraordinary attention from the Tamil Nadu Government and related agencies. What is puzzling is the fact that a revered Hindu religious leader is being chased with charge after charge and a hoary institution has been brought practically to a standstill, yet the devotees of the Kanchi math are watching helplessly.
This refers to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa’s detailed response to criticism of her handling of the Sankararaman murder case. While the statement is logical and staunchly defends the police, it offers no explanation on how a videotape containing the conversation of the Kanchi Acharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, in police custody, was leaked. Is not the airing of the tape in a television channel a major investigation lapse?
* * *
That the Government wants the media to be honest in their reports is fair enough. But why was it silent when sections of the media themselves loose on Sri Jayendra? Surely, a similar statement urging restraint could have been release two months ago? Also, just as the police can arrest persons involved in the crime as it unfolds, the accused too has the right to seek legal redress by filing petitions for bail. How can this amount to “stalling the investigation?” As for the upholding the majesty of law, is it not the Government’s duty to ensure secrecy until a charge sheet is filed? How did the video tape find its way to the studios of a television channel?
* * *
The majesty of law will prevail on its own. It does not require the support or sympathy of anyone.
* * *
We have been observing the ceaseless media coverage of the murder case that has been attracting extraordinary attention from the Tamil Nadu Government and related agencies. What is puzzling is the fact that a revered Hindu religious leader is being chased with charge after charge and a hoary institution has been brought practically to a standstill, yet the devotees of the Kanchi math are watching helplessly.
Her Kanchi-Vendetta Takes Revenge At Kumbakonam
(Paraphrased and compiled from various sources including “The New Indian Express, Jan. 19, 05.)
She forcibly takes over Veera Saiva Math at Kumbakonan.
Jayalalithaa’s Kanchi-vendetta has at last played havoc at Kumbakonan. The Veera Saiva Periya Math at Kumbakonan, situated on the banks of Mahamaham tank, with a wide following of Veera Saivas and Lingayats, was suddenly taken over by the Jayalalithaa’s Government. This has posed a real challenge to the ‘Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha’, the apex Hindu Body consisting of all the Mathadhipathis and Peethadhipathis, convened by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, three years ago. The reaction of this apex Hindu Body, which is against the Government interference in the affairs of the Hindu religious institutions, including temples, is not immediately known.
The Kumbakonan Math was taken over as per the orders of the Commissioner of the HR and CE Dept. So, after the Kanchi Math, it is now the turn of the Veera Saiva Math of Kumbakonan--one of the oldest Saivaite Maths in the country which traces a direct linkage to Adi Shankara. The exit of the incumbent Mathadhipathi from the premises after the HR and CE Dept took over the Math has Hindu organization of the warpath.
The present Mathadhipathi Neelakanda Saranga Desikendra Maha Swamigal and his followers were asked to leave the Math premises immediately. According to the Swamigal, he was forcefully evicted. Now, the entry of devotees into the Math has been restricted and a sign board at the entrance says the Math has been taken over by the HR and CE. Deputy Commissioner of the Swamimalai temple N. Dhanapal has been appointed the Thakka r of the Math.
“The HR & CE officials have done this arbitrarily. There are six ‘jeeva samathis’ inside the Math which require poojas thrice a day. Now who will do that?” the distressed Mathadhipathi asked. The Swamigal, who is now staying at a guest house, says he will be leaving for Bangalore soon. The Math supporters have termed the take-over bid as unilateral. M. Swaminathan, State deputy president of VHP, said: “The matter is sub-judice as a Kumbakonan court will hear the case on Jan. 19. The HR & CE officials have forcibly taken control of the Math.”
The Math supporters are now eagerly waiting for the action taken in this regard by the members of the ‘Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha’, its convener, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, or the Secretary, R. Venkatanarayanan, IAS (Retd.), New Delhi.
In a press statement, Sri C. P. Radhakrishnan, State President, BJP, has strongly condemned the unilateral action of Jayalalithaa: ‘Her Government must explain’, he said in a statement, ‘whether it has compulsions to take over the Hindu Maths one by one, because of a strong pressure from the Central Government or political pressure from her bete noir, M. Karunanidhi, the chief of DMK. We strongly condemn the forcible and unilateral take over of the Kumbakonan Math in Tamil Nadu, which is crass interference in the Hindu religious activities and the freedom to practice ones religion, guaranteed under the Constitution.’
It is also worth noting what Sri Subramaniam Swamy has stated elsewhere (“Dina Malar”, Jan. 19, 2005): ‘During the British period, they were adopting ‘divide and rule’ method to suppress us. Now the Italian lady--Sonia Gandhi, is using the same method to destroy the Hindu Dharma and the Hindu Society. By using Swami Swaroopananda, the Head of ‘Jyotir Math’ at the Himalayas, who adores Sonia as the Divine Mother Durga, Sonia Gandhi wants to destroy Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham and Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal. Through him Sonia is dictating Jayalalithaa to do anything to destroy Kanchi Math.’
In this context the following news is very important to every Hindu:
In Karnataka, an organization by name “Kanaka Yuvaka Sangh” has demanded the Government take over of all the temples managed by the Hindu Maths in Karnataka. The president of the said organization, Mahesh Wadiyar, quoting some judgment, has also demanded that Sri Krishna Temple, presently managed by the eight Udupi Maths, as also all the temples managed by the Hindu Maths in Karnataka, should be taken over by the Government. Sri Vishwesha Thirtha Swamiji, head of Pejawar Math (which is one of the eight Maths at Udupi), has strongly condemned this anti-Hindu demand for taking over Sri Krishna Math, managed by periodic rotation for ages by the eight Maths of Udupi.
Perhaps, the cumulative result of all these rabidly anti-Hindu activities of the ‘secular’ politicians and other anti-Hindu renegades, merrily going on unchecked for decades now, will ultimately pave the way for a ‘Hindu revolution’ in India. God bless India!
Her secret action of freezing the Math account foiled by the High Court
The Madras High Court today permitted the Kanchi Math to operate two of its 183 bank accounts which were frozen on instructions from Jayalalithaa’s police probing the case. The High Court, granted permission for the Math to operate a current account and a savings bank account with the Salai Street brach of Indian Bank at Kanchipuram. The High Court said the Math had to be allowed to function. “There cannot be any objection to permitting the Math to operate at least two or three accounts.” When the matter came up for hearing this morning, senior counsel for the Math submitted that the accounts were frozen blindly and without application of mind. Describing it as a mala fide action, he said that when it was not the prosecution’s case that ill-gotten money was deposited in banks, the probe team ought hot have directed them to freeze the accounts. It was one method of bringing the Math’s activities to a standstill, lending credibility to media reports that the Government was trying to take over the Math, he said. The petition sought to restrain the Home Secretary, HR & CE Secretary and the Additional Superintendent of Police, Special Investigation Team (SIT), Vishnu Kanchi Police Station, from interfering with the operation of the Math’s 183 accounts in five Kancheepuram banks.
High Court stops her Police summoning VHP’s Vedantam
The Madras High Court has directed Jayalalithaa’s Police to stop the summon proceedings against VHP international Vice-President S. Vedantam. Justice M. Chockalingam passed the interim order while admitting a criminal original petition from Vedantam seeking to quash the summons sated Jan. 13, 20005. According to Vedantam, summons, issued under Section 160 of CrPC was served on him at 7.30 am on Jan. 12by a constable attached to the SIT directing him to appear before it at 11 a.m. the same day. As Vedantam did not appear, the Police issued another summons the very next day under Sec. 161 CrPC. Advocate A. Natarajan argued that the summons was not in accordance with Sec. 160 of the CrPC.
Her political vendetta and personal reasons are pronounced
During his recent meeting with the Senior Acharya at Kalavai, near Vellore, K. S. Sudarshan, the chief of RSS, informed the Acharya that every doubt about the Kanchi Math had been set at rest by the detailed explanation published on behalf of the Math and that political vendetta and personal reasons seemed pronounced in the episode
Her ‘fate’ is now catching up
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Jayalalithaa seeking review of its order transferring the trial in the Rs. 65 corers disproportionate assets case against her from Chennai to Bangalore. She wanted the SC to allow her trial to be conducted in Chennai itself.
Her Police takes signature for 15 times on blank papers.
After being produced before the Kanchipuram Judicial Magistrate-1 court on Tuesday evening after police custody period, Kanchi Shankara Math manager Sunderesa Iyer informed the court that the police took his signature for 15 times on blank papers. After getting the court’s consent, Mr. Iyer said he was asked to affix his signature for 15 times on a white paper by the Chief Investigation Officer, S. P. Sakthivelu, as soon as he (Mr. Iyer) was brought to the special investigation bungalow last evening. While it was denoted as “specimen signatures” on the top of the white sheet, the CIO affixed his signature on the bottom portion, he said.
Her police intend to stall the bail proceedings of the Junior Acharya
The Kanchipuram Judicial Magistrate-1 today ordered police custody for the Junior Acharya, for 24 hours. Police were allowed to interrogate him from 5 pm on Jan. 18 to 5 pm on Jan. 19. When the Magistrate asked him to respond to the petition, the Junior Acharya said he was already summoned and he replied to the police questions during interrogation. There was not an iota of truth in the ‘conspiracy’ theory as claimed by the police. The police implicated him in this case at the behest of others, he said. Appearing for the Junior Acharya, Advocate D. Lakshmana Reddiyar questioned the timings of the police custody petition. Pointing out that the Junior Acharya’s bail application was coming up for hearing in a Chengalpattu court tomorrow, he said the prosecution’s intention was just to stall the proceedings. His client was summoned and interrogated on Dec. 26 and again on Dec. 28 last. Another summons was served on Jan. 3 and was subsequently withdrawn. By which time they would have known all facts about this case.
Her Charge sheet against the Acharyas getting ready
Charge sheet against the Acharyas is likely to be filed before Jan. 25 SIT source said it was almost complete and even the compilation had started.
She forcibly takes over Veera Saiva Math at Kumbakonan.
Jayalalithaa’s Kanchi-vendetta has at last played havoc at Kumbakonan. The Veera Saiva Periya Math at Kumbakonan, situated on the banks of Mahamaham tank, with a wide following of Veera Saivas and Lingayats, was suddenly taken over by the Jayalalithaa’s Government. This has posed a real challenge to the ‘Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha’, the apex Hindu Body consisting of all the Mathadhipathis and Peethadhipathis, convened by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, three years ago. The reaction of this apex Hindu Body, which is against the Government interference in the affairs of the Hindu religious institutions, including temples, is not immediately known.
The Kumbakonan Math was taken over as per the orders of the Commissioner of the HR and CE Dept. So, after the Kanchi Math, it is now the turn of the Veera Saiva Math of Kumbakonan--one of the oldest Saivaite Maths in the country which traces a direct linkage to Adi Shankara. The exit of the incumbent Mathadhipathi from the premises after the HR and CE Dept took over the Math has Hindu organization of the warpath.
The present Mathadhipathi Neelakanda Saranga Desikendra Maha Swamigal and his followers were asked to leave the Math premises immediately. According to the Swamigal, he was forcefully evicted. Now, the entry of devotees into the Math has been restricted and a sign board at the entrance says the Math has been taken over by the HR and CE. Deputy Commissioner of the Swamimalai temple N. Dhanapal has been appointed the Thakka r of the Math.
“The HR & CE officials have done this arbitrarily. There are six ‘jeeva samathis’ inside the Math which require poojas thrice a day. Now who will do that?” the distressed Mathadhipathi asked. The Swamigal, who is now staying at a guest house, says he will be leaving for Bangalore soon. The Math supporters have termed the take-over bid as unilateral. M. Swaminathan, State deputy president of VHP, said: “The matter is sub-judice as a Kumbakonan court will hear the case on Jan. 19. The HR & CE officials have forcibly taken control of the Math.”
The Math supporters are now eagerly waiting for the action taken in this regard by the members of the ‘Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha’, its convener, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, or the Secretary, R. Venkatanarayanan, IAS (Retd.), New Delhi.
In a press statement, Sri C. P. Radhakrishnan, State President, BJP, has strongly condemned the unilateral action of Jayalalithaa: ‘Her Government must explain’, he said in a statement, ‘whether it has compulsions to take over the Hindu Maths one by one, because of a strong pressure from the Central Government or political pressure from her bete noir, M. Karunanidhi, the chief of DMK. We strongly condemn the forcible and unilateral take over of the Kumbakonan Math in Tamil Nadu, which is crass interference in the Hindu religious activities and the freedom to practice ones religion, guaranteed under the Constitution.’
It is also worth noting what Sri Subramaniam Swamy has stated elsewhere (“Dina Malar”, Jan. 19, 2005): ‘During the British period, they were adopting ‘divide and rule’ method to suppress us. Now the Italian lady--Sonia Gandhi, is using the same method to destroy the Hindu Dharma and the Hindu Society. By using Swami Swaroopananda, the Head of ‘Jyotir Math’ at the Himalayas, who adores Sonia as the Divine Mother Durga, Sonia Gandhi wants to destroy Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham and Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal. Through him Sonia is dictating Jayalalithaa to do anything to destroy Kanchi Math.’
In this context the following news is very important to every Hindu:
In Karnataka, an organization by name “Kanaka Yuvaka Sangh” has demanded the Government take over of all the temples managed by the Hindu Maths in Karnataka. The president of the said organization, Mahesh Wadiyar, quoting some judgment, has also demanded that Sri Krishna Temple, presently managed by the eight Udupi Maths, as also all the temples managed by the Hindu Maths in Karnataka, should be taken over by the Government. Sri Vishwesha Thirtha Swamiji, head of Pejawar Math (which is one of the eight Maths at Udupi), has strongly condemned this anti-Hindu demand for taking over Sri Krishna Math, managed by periodic rotation for ages by the eight Maths of Udupi.
Perhaps, the cumulative result of all these rabidly anti-Hindu activities of the ‘secular’ politicians and other anti-Hindu renegades, merrily going on unchecked for decades now, will ultimately pave the way for a ‘Hindu revolution’ in India. God bless India!
Her secret action of freezing the Math account foiled by the High Court
The Madras High Court today permitted the Kanchi Math to operate two of its 183 bank accounts which were frozen on instructions from Jayalalithaa’s police probing the case. The High Court, granted permission for the Math to operate a current account and a savings bank account with the Salai Street brach of Indian Bank at Kanchipuram. The High Court said the Math had to be allowed to function. “There cannot be any objection to permitting the Math to operate at least two or three accounts.” When the matter came up for hearing this morning, senior counsel for the Math submitted that the accounts were frozen blindly and without application of mind. Describing it as a mala fide action, he said that when it was not the prosecution’s case that ill-gotten money was deposited in banks, the probe team ought hot have directed them to freeze the accounts. It was one method of bringing the Math’s activities to a standstill, lending credibility to media reports that the Government was trying to take over the Math, he said. The petition sought to restrain the Home Secretary, HR & CE Secretary and the Additional Superintendent of Police, Special Investigation Team (SIT), Vishnu Kanchi Police Station, from interfering with the operation of the Math’s 183 accounts in five Kancheepuram banks.
High Court stops her Police summoning VHP’s Vedantam
The Madras High Court has directed Jayalalithaa’s Police to stop the summon proceedings against VHP international Vice-President S. Vedantam. Justice M. Chockalingam passed the interim order while admitting a criminal original petition from Vedantam seeking to quash the summons sated Jan. 13, 20005. According to Vedantam, summons, issued under Section 160 of CrPC was served on him at 7.30 am on Jan. 12by a constable attached to the SIT directing him to appear before it at 11 a.m. the same day. As Vedantam did not appear, the Police issued another summons the very next day under Sec. 161 CrPC. Advocate A. Natarajan argued that the summons was not in accordance with Sec. 160 of the CrPC.
Her political vendetta and personal reasons are pronounced
During his recent meeting with the Senior Acharya at Kalavai, near Vellore, K. S. Sudarshan, the chief of RSS, informed the Acharya that every doubt about the Kanchi Math had been set at rest by the detailed explanation published on behalf of the Math and that political vendetta and personal reasons seemed pronounced in the episode
Her ‘fate’ is now catching up
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Jayalalithaa seeking review of its order transferring the trial in the Rs. 65 corers disproportionate assets case against her from Chennai to Bangalore. She wanted the SC to allow her trial to be conducted in Chennai itself.
Her Police takes signature for 15 times on blank papers.
After being produced before the Kanchipuram Judicial Magistrate-1 court on Tuesday evening after police custody period, Kanchi Shankara Math manager Sunderesa Iyer informed the court that the police took his signature for 15 times on blank papers. After getting the court’s consent, Mr. Iyer said he was asked to affix his signature for 15 times on a white paper by the Chief Investigation Officer, S. P. Sakthivelu, as soon as he (Mr. Iyer) was brought to the special investigation bungalow last evening. While it was denoted as “specimen signatures” on the top of the white sheet, the CIO affixed his signature on the bottom portion, he said.
Her police intend to stall the bail proceedings of the Junior Acharya
The Kanchipuram Judicial Magistrate-1 today ordered police custody for the Junior Acharya, for 24 hours. Police were allowed to interrogate him from 5 pm on Jan. 18 to 5 pm on Jan. 19. When the Magistrate asked him to respond to the petition, the Junior Acharya said he was already summoned and he replied to the police questions during interrogation. There was not an iota of truth in the ‘conspiracy’ theory as claimed by the police. The police implicated him in this case at the behest of others, he said. Appearing for the Junior Acharya, Advocate D. Lakshmana Reddiyar questioned the timings of the police custody petition. Pointing out that the Junior Acharya’s bail application was coming up for hearing in a Chengalpattu court tomorrow, he said the prosecution’s intention was just to stall the proceedings. His client was summoned and interrogated on Dec. 26 and again on Dec. 28 last. Another summons was served on Jan. 3 and was subsequently withdrawn. By which time they would have known all facts about this case.
Her Charge sheet against the Acharyas getting ready
Charge sheet against the Acharyas is likely to be filed before Jan. 25 SIT source said it was almost complete and even the compilation had started.
Justice denied to Swami Jayendra Saraswati
-- Acharya Giriraj Kishore
Senior VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore sees a conspiracy behind the arrest of the two Shankaracharyas of Kanchi Mutt. He says that Hindus are relieved at the release of Swami Jayendra Saraswati, but are equally concerned at the arrest of Vijayendra Saraswati and at sudden interruption of rituals in this ancient Mutt for the first time. In an exclusive interview to Organiser correspondent, Deepak Kumar Rath, the Acharya declared that a deep conspiracy was afoot to destroy the image of Hindu dharmacharyas as they have been successfully curbing conversions of Hindus.
What is your reaction on Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati’s release after the Supreme Court granted him bail?
On January 10, 2005, when the Supreme Court granted bail to Swami Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, the Hindus heaved a sigh of relief. Actually speaking, according to law, justice delayed is justice denied. After long 60 days he has been granted bail. In normal cases no court should take such a long period. It was the state police that opposed his bail every time. The Supreme Court has admitted that this was a strong case for grant of bail. The prosecution could not produce enough evidence. But, I am surprised at two orders of the Supreme Court as imposed by the police—first, he will not be allowed to stay in the Mutt so that he cannot meet the witness and second, he will surrender his passport to the court. These are not good conditions to be imposed on a dignitary of the stature of Swami Jayendra Saraswati. I feel the Court could have passed a stricture against the state government of Tamil Nadu for keeping the Shankaracharya confined in jail over an irrelevant issue.
Now what would happen to the ancient Mutt as none of the two Shankaracharyas is there to conduct the prayers?
That is a problem. For 2,500 years the Chandramauleswar puja has been consistently conducted in the Mutt. Now, for the first time, there has been an interruption. Actually this will be a loss of the age-old tradition and custom. It would also be tampering with the Hindu Dharma rituals. The government is definitely guilty on this record, and it should have allowed the junior Shankaracharya, Swami Vijayendra Saraswati, to conduct the prayers in the Mutt. I know that the arrest of the junior seer, Vijayendra Saraswati, is a vindictive act of Jayalalithaa borne out of her anger at the bail granted by the Supreme Court. And therefore, Shankaracharya Swami Vijayendra Saraswati has been kept in prison for 15 days without any valid reason.
How is the VHP planning to take up the issue?
We will organise agitations throughout the country to voice our protest against this injustice to the Hindu Dharma and its respected leaders. From January 14, 2005, the Bajrang Dal activists will recite the Hanuman Chalisa for one week.
What is your demand from the Central Government?
We demand that the puja in the Mutt should continue uninterruptedly. Secondly, Swami Vijayendra Saraswati should not be imprisoned and senior Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati should be allowed to conduct the prayers in the Mutt. In my opinion, according to the judgement of the bail, the Jayalalithaa government should release Shankaracharya unconditionally and tender an apology for her misdeeds.
Do you feel that the Centre had a role in this episode?
I feel the Central Government has been acting indifferently. The ‘super’ Prime Minister has not reacted at all. Had it been a case of some Christian or other, she would have reacted promptly.
Do you see any conspiracy behind the arrest of Shankara-charya?
It is said that this is a conspiracy hatched by the Christians, as the conversion of Hindus has been halted much against the hopes of the Pope who had declared, “The 21st century would be the Christian century for Asia.” On enquiring into the matter, we have learnt that the dharma-charyas are taking up several social works, due to which conversions are not taking place any longer. Among the dharma-charyas, the Kanchi Kamakoti Shankaracharya is their main target. They have prepared a list of 40 saints who are their target. I see this as a clear case of conspiracy. They want to show to the world that Hindu dharmacharyas are not proper saints.
Who are the other leaders in their list?
They are Satya Sai Baba, Mata Amritanandamayee, Shri Shri Ravi Shanker Maharaj and all the Hindu leaders.
This is a state matter pertaining to Tamil Nadu. How can you say that the ‘super’ Prime Minister has a role in it?
Frankly speaking, a senior leader, who is a Union Minister, was sent to Chennai and he told Jayalalithaa, ‘Madam knows about your misdeeds. Are you prepared to go to jail or will you arrange to send the Shankara-charya to the jail?’
Who is this Cabinet Minister?
I cannot reveal his name.
Senior VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore sees a conspiracy behind the arrest of the two Shankaracharyas of Kanchi Mutt. He says that Hindus are relieved at the release of Swami Jayendra Saraswati, but are equally concerned at the arrest of Vijayendra Saraswati and at sudden interruption of rituals in this ancient Mutt for the first time. In an exclusive interview to Organiser correspondent, Deepak Kumar Rath, the Acharya declared that a deep conspiracy was afoot to destroy the image of Hindu dharmacharyas as they have been successfully curbing conversions of Hindus.
What is your reaction on Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati’s release after the Supreme Court granted him bail?
On January 10, 2005, when the Supreme Court granted bail to Swami Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, the Hindus heaved a sigh of relief. Actually speaking, according to law, justice delayed is justice denied. After long 60 days he has been granted bail. In normal cases no court should take such a long period. It was the state police that opposed his bail every time. The Supreme Court has admitted that this was a strong case for grant of bail. The prosecution could not produce enough evidence. But, I am surprised at two orders of the Supreme Court as imposed by the police—first, he will not be allowed to stay in the Mutt so that he cannot meet the witness and second, he will surrender his passport to the court. These are not good conditions to be imposed on a dignitary of the stature of Swami Jayendra Saraswati. I feel the Court could have passed a stricture against the state government of Tamil Nadu for keeping the Shankaracharya confined in jail over an irrelevant issue.
Now what would happen to the ancient Mutt as none of the two Shankaracharyas is there to conduct the prayers?
That is a problem. For 2,500 years the Chandramauleswar puja has been consistently conducted in the Mutt. Now, for the first time, there has been an interruption. Actually this will be a loss of the age-old tradition and custom. It would also be tampering with the Hindu Dharma rituals. The government is definitely guilty on this record, and it should have allowed the junior Shankaracharya, Swami Vijayendra Saraswati, to conduct the prayers in the Mutt. I know that the arrest of the junior seer, Vijayendra Saraswati, is a vindictive act of Jayalalithaa borne out of her anger at the bail granted by the Supreme Court. And therefore, Shankaracharya Swami Vijayendra Saraswati has been kept in prison for 15 days without any valid reason.
How is the VHP planning to take up the issue?
We will organise agitations throughout the country to voice our protest against this injustice to the Hindu Dharma and its respected leaders. From January 14, 2005, the Bajrang Dal activists will recite the Hanuman Chalisa for one week.
What is your demand from the Central Government?
We demand that the puja in the Mutt should continue uninterruptedly. Secondly, Swami Vijayendra Saraswati should not be imprisoned and senior Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati should be allowed to conduct the prayers in the Mutt. In my opinion, according to the judgement of the bail, the Jayalalithaa government should release Shankaracharya unconditionally and tender an apology for her misdeeds.
Do you feel that the Centre had a role in this episode?
I feel the Central Government has been acting indifferently. The ‘super’ Prime Minister has not reacted at all. Had it been a case of some Christian or other, she would have reacted promptly.
Do you see any conspiracy behind the arrest of Shankara-charya?
It is said that this is a conspiracy hatched by the Christians, as the conversion of Hindus has been halted much against the hopes of the Pope who had declared, “The 21st century would be the Christian century for Asia.” On enquiring into the matter, we have learnt that the dharma-charyas are taking up several social works, due to which conversions are not taking place any longer. Among the dharma-charyas, the Kanchi Kamakoti Shankaracharya is their main target. They have prepared a list of 40 saints who are their target. I see this as a clear case of conspiracy. They want to show to the world that Hindu dharmacharyas are not proper saints.
Who are the other leaders in their list?
They are Satya Sai Baba, Mata Amritanandamayee, Shri Shri Ravi Shanker Maharaj and all the Hindu leaders.
This is a state matter pertaining to Tamil Nadu. How can you say that the ‘super’ Prime Minister has a role in it?
Frankly speaking, a senior leader, who is a Union Minister, was sent to Chennai and he told Jayalalithaa, ‘Madam knows about your misdeeds. Are you prepared to go to jail or will you arrange to send the Shankara-charya to the jail?’
Who is this Cabinet Minister?
I cannot reveal his name.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Jayalalithaa acting against seer at the behest of Sonia: VHP
2005-01-18 Published by NDTV Gathered by Press Trust of India
INDORE,JANUARY 18:VHP on Tuesday alleged that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was acting against Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi at the behest of Congress president Sonia Gandhi as part of a high-level conspiracy. "Jayalalithaa acted against Sankaracharya as she was directed to do so by Sonia Gandhi to check the growing influence of Jayendra Saraswathi among the Brahmins and non-Brahmins in the state," VHP leader Ashok Singhal alleged while talking to reporters on the sidelines of VHP's Hindu Swabhimaan Jagran Mahayagna. He said it was also necessary in view of the huge grant that the Christian missionaries were getting in the area and with the rising popularity of Sankarachrya, the same would be in danger. The VHP leader also claimed that he has information that recently Union Minister for Personnel and Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachouri met Jayalalithaa and told her about her foreign bank accounts to pressurise her to act against Sankarachrya and later against the junior seer, Vijendra Saraswathi. Singhal informed that VHP has offered Sankarachrya to tour the country on the issue, but he has not taken any decision about it. He also demanded for conducting the trial of the case outside Tamil Nadu. Referring to reports of appointment of new Sankaracharya, the VHP leader said it was not possible as it involves a long religious process.
INDORE,JANUARY 18:VHP on Tuesday alleged that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was acting against Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi at the behest of Congress president Sonia Gandhi as part of a high-level conspiracy. "Jayalalithaa acted against Sankaracharya as she was directed to do so by Sonia Gandhi to check the growing influence of Jayendra Saraswathi among the Brahmins and non-Brahmins in the state," VHP leader Ashok Singhal alleged while talking to reporters on the sidelines of VHP's Hindu Swabhimaan Jagran Mahayagna. He said it was also necessary in view of the huge grant that the Christian missionaries were getting in the area and with the rising popularity of Sankarachrya, the same would be in danger. The VHP leader also claimed that he has information that recently Union Minister for Personnel and Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachouri met Jayalalithaa and told her about her foreign bank accounts to pressurise her to act against Sankarachrya and later against the junior seer, Vijendra Saraswathi. Singhal informed that VHP has offered Sankarachrya to tour the country on the issue, but he has not taken any decision about it. He also demanded for conducting the trial of the case outside Tamil Nadu. Referring to reports of appointment of new Sankaracharya, the VHP leader said it was not possible as it involves a long religious process.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Friends no more: Jaya turns into seer's bitter foe
Uma Sudhir and T S Sudhir
Sunday, January 16, 2005 (Chennai):
While the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa hits out against those accusing her of influencing the Kanchi Shankaracharya case, speculation continues on why her equation with Jayendra Saraswati went wrong.
Is there any truth in reports that it is a state sponsored witch-hunt inspired by individual political compulsions? Or is it just a regular murder investigation?
On January 11, Jayendra Saraswati left Vellore Central Prison after spending two months there as the state police launched investigations into the murder of a Kanchi Mutt accountant.
During this period, no well-known public figure in Tamil Nadu has dared to openly come out in his support.
Most members of the high profile list of the Kanchi Mutt's Brahmin devotees are off the radar.
"The government is picking up almost everybody who talks in favour of the Mutt or who talks against the tactics adopted by the state police. In such a case, nobody wants to venture out with any opinion," said Cho Ramaswamy, a political analyst.
Natural allies
No one knows for sure why Jayalalithaa decided to go after the Kanchi Shankaracharya.
The two were natural allies. She is a Brahmin chief minister who brought in the anti-conversion bill and was an ally of the BJP.
For his part, the seer had made an effort to help the previous NDA government resolve the Ayodhya dispute.
"People have spun all kinds of conspiracy theories. The police and the prosecution must have told the Chief Minister that they have a very strong case. You must make a distinction between how the police acts in any situation because a lot of things are attributed to political leaders," said N Ram, editor-in-chief of the Hindu.
Falling out
Some say differences over financial dealings caused the fallout between Jayalalithaa and Jayendra Saraswati.
Others point to a personality clash. And possibly, Jayalalithaa's disapproval of the senior seer's interest in politics.
"We believe that all is not quite well with the Sankara Mutt. There are murky dealings between Jayalalithaa and the Sankara Mutt. Both may be responsible for this. But law should take its own course," said K Nageshwar, a political analyst.
The dramatic midnight arrest of DMK chief Karunanidhi in 2001 clearly showed that Jayalalithaa does not forgive her foes.
Political observers say while the guilt of the Acharya is a matter for the courts to decide, the government's handling of the case makes one suspect its real intentions.
Dangerous precedent
"Jayalalithaa has a history of very dangerous precedent. Karunanidhi, Vaiko, handling of government employees strike. Usually Jayalalithaa is identified with politics of vendetta and settling scores with adversaries," said Nageshwar.
After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections in which the AIADMK fared miserably, things were looking downhill for Jayalalithaa.
With the killing of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, there was an apparent turnaround in public perception.
Political analysts say that with just a year left for the assembly elections, Jayalalithaa would hope the image of a tough chief minister would improve her political fortunes.
"Because she took on the famous Shankaracharya and took a bold step to arrest him, it would not be a surprise that there may be a public feeling in her favour. But whether that will translate into votes is a different question," said Kalipoongundran, general secretary, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Events of the past couple of months have shown that the state government believes that the top officials of the Mutt are not above suspicion.
Mutt above individuals
With both Shankaracharyas forced to stay away and all bank accounts frozen, the 2,500-year-old institution is passing through a difficult time.
Jayendra Saraswati will spend the next few days and perhaps weeks at Kalavai, 40 km from his seat at Kanchipuram.
He maybe forced to ponder over the reasons that caused ignominy to the Kanchi Mutt, an institution whose name and glory was built over so many years.
Individuals may or may not be guilty but those concerned about the Muttsay it is bigger than any individual.
"The evidence is there that people like Ravi Subramaniam and Appu had gone to the Mutt. This kind of interaction with people of a dubious background never existed in the past. So there must be some kind of cleansing," said T V S Hari, a political analyst.
When Sri Vijayendra Saraswati returned to Kanchipuram after his guru's arrest, he asked everyone to pray for Sri Jayendra Saraswati.
Not just the almighty, it seems powers closer home also need to be kept in good humour.
Sunday, January 16, 2005 (Chennai):
While the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa hits out against those accusing her of influencing the Kanchi Shankaracharya case, speculation continues on why her equation with Jayendra Saraswati went wrong.
Is there any truth in reports that it is a state sponsored witch-hunt inspired by individual political compulsions? Or is it just a regular murder investigation?
On January 11, Jayendra Saraswati left Vellore Central Prison after spending two months there as the state police launched investigations into the murder of a Kanchi Mutt accountant.
During this period, no well-known public figure in Tamil Nadu has dared to openly come out in his support.
Most members of the high profile list of the Kanchi Mutt's Brahmin devotees are off the radar.
"The government is picking up almost everybody who talks in favour of the Mutt or who talks against the tactics adopted by the state police. In such a case, nobody wants to venture out with any opinion," said Cho Ramaswamy, a political analyst.
Natural allies
No one knows for sure why Jayalalithaa decided to go after the Kanchi Shankaracharya.
The two were natural allies. She is a Brahmin chief minister who brought in the anti-conversion bill and was an ally of the BJP.
For his part, the seer had made an effort to help the previous NDA government resolve the Ayodhya dispute.
"People have spun all kinds of conspiracy theories. The police and the prosecution must have told the Chief Minister that they have a very strong case. You must make a distinction between how the police acts in any situation because a lot of things are attributed to political leaders," said N Ram, editor-in-chief of the Hindu.
Falling out
Some say differences over financial dealings caused the fallout between Jayalalithaa and Jayendra Saraswati.
Others point to a personality clash. And possibly, Jayalalithaa's disapproval of the senior seer's interest in politics.
"We believe that all is not quite well with the Sankara Mutt. There are murky dealings between Jayalalithaa and the Sankara Mutt. Both may be responsible for this. But law should take its own course," said K Nageshwar, a political analyst.
The dramatic midnight arrest of DMK chief Karunanidhi in 2001 clearly showed that Jayalalithaa does not forgive her foes.
Political observers say while the guilt of the Acharya is a matter for the courts to decide, the government's handling of the case makes one suspect its real intentions.
Dangerous precedent
"Jayalalithaa has a history of very dangerous precedent. Karunanidhi, Vaiko, handling of government employees strike. Usually Jayalalithaa is identified with politics of vendetta and settling scores with adversaries," said Nageshwar.
After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections in which the AIADMK fared miserably, things were looking downhill for Jayalalithaa.
With the killing of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, there was an apparent turnaround in public perception.
Political analysts say that with just a year left for the assembly elections, Jayalalithaa would hope the image of a tough chief minister would improve her political fortunes.
"Because she took on the famous Shankaracharya and took a bold step to arrest him, it would not be a surprise that there may be a public feeling in her favour. But whether that will translate into votes is a different question," said Kalipoongundran, general secretary, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Events of the past couple of months have shown that the state government believes that the top officials of the Mutt are not above suspicion.
Mutt above individuals
With both Shankaracharyas forced to stay away and all bank accounts frozen, the 2,500-year-old institution is passing through a difficult time.
Jayendra Saraswati will spend the next few days and perhaps weeks at Kalavai, 40 km from his seat at Kanchipuram.
He maybe forced to ponder over the reasons that caused ignominy to the Kanchi Mutt, an institution whose name and glory was built over so many years.
Individuals may or may not be guilty but those concerned about the Muttsay it is bigger than any individual.
"The evidence is there that people like Ravi Subramaniam and Appu had gone to the Mutt. This kind of interaction with people of a dubious background never existed in the past. So there must be some kind of cleansing," said T V S Hari, a political analyst.
When Sri Vijayendra Saraswati returned to Kanchipuram after his guru's arrest, he asked everyone to pray for Sri Jayendra Saraswati.
Not just the almighty, it seems powers closer home also need to be kept in good humour.
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