When A News Channel Spreads Lies — Exposing KTV
Kalaignar TV has put forth some absolute BS about Sadhguru’s posting regarding temples, using a supposed ‘expert’ who is merely good at speaking lies left, right and centre.
Though the video is taken down now by KTV, it is spreading in other medium. This post will throw some light on these lies and expose the people like Thirumavelan who is chosen for spreading this propaganda.
#1: He starts by saying that saints should not do campaigns.
I do not know why he remained silent when open campaigns were done for DMK in churches and mosques.
Perhaps because it suited their agenda? And how is this talking about temples even a political campaign, if he meant that?
#2: Thirumavelan goes on to try & re-emphasize the same old lie about Isha occupying forest lands.
Though he chose to not mention it, rebuttals have long been given along with the survey numbers also to show that they have not touched any forest land.
https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/blog/article/truth-isha-forest-lands
Lies repeated even 1000 times will still not become the truth.
#3: Then there is a dumb comparison of temple vs hospital. What if somebody asks for freeing hospitals, will you do it?
What kind of nonsense is this?
First of all, temples were not started by government but some hospitals were. So, temples are technically NOT the property of Govt.
Coming to temples being built by kings, they also used public money. So, temples WERE NOT property of the kings either, to transfer it to the government after independence.
By the way, you never say ‘Govt property’ but always refer to it as ‘Public property’. That’s because there is nothing called as Government property as per law.
A Government is just a body representing the public for governance. Anything the Government builds comes out of public money.Nowhere in law does it say temples belong to Govt. These folks are really smoking something to blabber like this.
#4: Thirumavelan attributes some of these statements to PTR palanivel rajan.
How convenient to choose someone from their own party & picking what is suitable for their narrative from his speeches? We do not even know if late Mr PTR did say all these. Even that could be a lie.
#5: Another dumb argument is that HRCE act was formed by Brahmin lawyers to stop looting of temples at that time.
We do not know if that is true and why it is relevant today. But weren’t the British looting it at that time and what was the context of forming this act?
Anyway right now, temples are being looted by Govt departments under the Dravidian parties. So, should everyone just keep watching this loot? Media records are clear about how temple property is being abused and lands are being usurped. Just some samples ..
So, where was this Thirumavelan & gang all this time when Hindu temples are being abused?
#6: Thiruvalen claims Panagal king put forth the HRCE act.
Truth is that in 1840, East India Company passed a directive to return the temples to their trustees, because Christian missionaries, in India and abroad, did not like the idea of Christians managing Hindu temples. So, temple management was slowly, handed over to trustees and in case of prominent temples to Mutts by 1845.
Next came The Religious Endowments Act 1863, which handed over temple administration to the trustees from the British government. Only in 1925 was The Madras Religious and Charitable Endowments Act introduced by the British. It drew large protests from Muslims and Christians.
It was redrafted to exclude them, made applicable to Hindus only and renamed as the Madras Hindu Religious and Endowments Act 1927. In 1925, Gurdwaras were legally brought under the control of an elected body of Sikhs.
Post-Independence, the Tamil Nadu government took control of temples and their funds by an act passed in 1951 called the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951. The act’s provisions were challenged in Madras High Court and subsequently in Supreme Court in Shirur Math case. Many provisions of the 1951 act were struck down by both courts.
With some changes, The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act was passed in 1959.
All this is recorded history. Guys like Thirumavelan are trying to set their own narrative and twist even documented history of the temples management laws.
#7: Next comes another lie that money of a temple cannot be used by anyone else but the government and that govt doesn’t use it for other religions.
Anyone who knows how Haj subsidy started and how it was withdrawn will understand what the truth is.
Thirumavelan’s statement is a blatant lie and not a phenomenon unique to Tamilnadu alone. Many state governments are caught openly diverting funds from temples for other purposes. Andhra Pradesh is still bearing the brunt of it and was in news recently for that.
Why are people like Thirumavelan silent on this? Is it because it does not suit his agenda?
#8: The biggest and most laughable lie of them all is that when the HRCE was formed, only 6000 temples were there and now 36,000 temples are there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_temples_in_Tamil_Nadu
As per documented records, in Tamilnadu alone, there are over 33,000 ancient temples, many at least 800 to 5000 years old.
This is publicly available data and has been published by the TN Hindu Endowments Board itself. Now, he is trying to hijack that and say most of these temples have been built by the Dravidian parties.
There are people who believe such blatant lies being propagated by Thirumavelan and gang. I pity them and can only ask them to be rational & look for facts instead of going with sensational news.