No caste discrimination in Archakas’ appointments: Dr MA Venkatakrishnan

Excerpts from the DC interview:

Dr Venkatakrishnan: The apex court has made clear that the appointment of ‘Archakas’ should be made only in accordance with the ‘Agamas’, namely, the respective ‘Agamas’ of the respective temples. In Vaishnavism, there are two ‘Agamas’- Vaikanasa and Paancharaatra. So, you just can’t appoint ‘Archakas’ as you appoint government servants through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC). Traditionally, the ‘Archakas’ have belonged to specific denominations and don’t pigeonhole them as belonging to one community (Brahmins). I happen to be a Brahmin, but not all Brahmins are eligible for performing ‘Pujas’ in temples, only persons who are born in the lineage of ‘Archakas’ are eligible to perform ‘Pujas’.

Secondly, any rigorous training for it will take at least seven years, whereas the training the State government says they have given to 206 people was for a period of one-to-two years… It is like putting college professors in an IAS training academy for a while and then saying appoint such persons to the IAS; will that be proper? We welcome the judgment, which has basically reiterated what has been laid down in earlier ‘Seshammal case’ by a Constitutional bench.

The Apex Court has only added that such appointments are subject to “their due identification” as well as conformity with the Constitutional mandate. The judgment itself makes clear issues under Article 17 will not be attracted in this case, if the ‘Archakas’ are appointed from their respective denominations, while throwing open of temple worship to all castes is of a general nature. The exclusion here is not on the basis of any caste, birth or pedigree.

For example, the ancient Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam follows the ‘Parameshwara Samhita’ of ‘Paancharaatra Agama’, while the Sri Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram follows the ‘Jayakya Samhita’ of the same ‘Paancharaatra Agama’. So, an ‘Archaka’ performing ‘puja’ in the Kancheepuram temple cannot do ‘Puja’ or enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Srirangam temple and vice-versa. Such subtle and nuanced differences are there even with respect to the Shaiva Agamas, governing worship in Shiva temples, which are 28 in number. The court has also drawn attention to Article 16(5) and as long as appointment of ‘Archakas’ is also part of the religious belief, then I understand that it is part of the Constitutional mandate.

Dr Venkatakrishnan: If the G.O. has not been explicitly suspended or struck down by the Supreme Court, it means it has been implicitly suspended. I guess there was a reason for it when the court said that the validity of the impugned G.O. should be tested in each and every case of appointment, whenever the issue is raised. As the challenge against this G.O was clubbed along with another G.O. on the specific appointment of the 206 trained persons in temples, it may have been the reason why the apex court had left matters at that. In other parts of the order, they (Judges) have given reason why the G.O. is not totally acceptable, and in no place they have validated the G.O.

Dr Venkatakrishnan: Yes, Ramanuja’s ‘Kovil Ozhugu’ was progressive in including all classes of people. But that pertained only to the external management and administration of the temple. Ramanuja never interfered or meddled with the religious rituals or ‘pujas’ in the temple’s sanctum. In fact, Ramanuja appointed a ‘Paancharaatra Archaka’ to do the ‘puja’ in the Srirangam temple and a ‘Vaikanasa archaka’ to do the ‘puja’ in the Tirupati (Lord Venkateshwara) temple. The original idea of the State HR & CE department was also only that, only to manage the temples without interfering in their religious affairs.

Dr Venkatakrishnan: My suggestion is that out of the about 36,000 temples in Tamil Nadu under the HR and CE department, only about 2000-odd temples are governed by one Agama or the other. The 206 people trained by the State government (during the previous DMK regime) can be appointed in the non-Agamic temples. That seems to be the best possible solution to resolve this issue.