Mayiladuthurai maternity hospital, established in 1951 (Left), Sri Masilamani Desiga Gnanasambanda Swamigal (Right)
The decision of the Mayiladuthurai municipality to raze down and make into a garbage segregation yard in the hospital owned by one of the oldest Saivite Mutt, has triggered controversy. Devotees and Hindus accused the present Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)’s Dravida model Government of yet another anti-Hindu move.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Telangana only a few days back said, “In South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, the State Government is claiming ownership of temples. The State Government has grabbed these temples. The wealth of the temples is being swindled through conspiracy. The temples are being looted. The temples are being captured. But they do not lay their hands on places of worship of minorities. They won’t bring them under the policies of the Government”. A war of words between Chief Minister M K Stalin and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai has been going on.
During the last three years of DMK rule, more than 250 Hindu temples have been targeted for demolition. The Mayiladuthurai district administration stoked controversy in 2022 by issuing a ban on the pattina pravesam (where the main pontiff is carried on a palanquin by devotees) event. Stating the century-old practice as a ‘violation of human rights’ and regressive, the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) of Mayiladuthurai prohibited the Pattina Pravesam event. Following protests by BJP and other Sangh Parivar saying it is an interference in the traditions of the Mutt, the Tamil Nadu Government allowed the event with restrictions. This year, its allies like Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Dravidar Kazhagam, Dravida Viduthalai Kazhagam and other such groups staged a protest.
Now, yet another incident of DMK’s anti-Hindu stand has surfaced. Mayiladuthurai Municipality has decided to pull down the memorial hospital the Mutt owns. Mayiladuthurai has a free maternity hospital on 2 acres of land owned by Hindu Saivite Mutt Dharmapuram Adheenam Mayuranathar Temple North Street. According to reports, this hospital was built in 1951 by the 24th pontiff of Dharmapuram Adheenam, Shanmukha Desika Paramacharya Swamigal, in memory of his mother, who died in childbirth. The then British Governor Arthur Oswald James Hope participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony. After eight years of construction, the then Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, Kumaraswamy Raja, inaugurated the hospital in 1951”.
The hospital spread over 2 acres of land of Dharmapuram Adheenam in the heart of the city, catered to the surrounding rural population. Over the years, the Saivite Hindu Mutt Hospital has provided numerous individuals with free medical treatment. However, it was later handed over to the municipal administration. The hospital, operating smoothly until five years ago, has deteriorated into a dumping ground for trash due to the Municipality’s callous attitude in maintaining the same in good conditions. Locals say in October 2019, the municipal administration established a micro-composting centre to sort the garbage despite heavy opposition from the public. Currently, the micro-composting centre is also non-functional, and the area has turned filthy due to the accumulation of garbage. It now faces the risk of being turned into a full-fledged dump yard.
On hearing the pathetic plight of the hospital, the present and the 27th pontiff of Dharmapuram Adheenam, Sri Masilamani Desiga Gnanasambanda Swamigal, wrote a letter to the municipal administration and the Tamil Nadu government requesting that the land of the free hospital be handed over in Dharmapuram Adheenam. Instead of replying to his communication, the municipal administration plans to expand the garbage sorting area nearby, demolish the free hospital, and turn it into a garbage dump yard.
Enraged by the move of the Government, Dharmapuram Adheenam pontiff released a statement on social media in which he declared that he would go on a fast unto death if the hospital was razed down to convert into a dumping yard. He said he had no other option to protect the hospital built in memory of the earlier Mutt seer’s parents except to undertake the fast-unto-death protest.
A statement from the mutt claims, The free maternity hospital was constructed in memory of his mother by the 24th pontiff of Dharumai Adheenam, which the then Governor launched. It was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Kumaraswamy Raja during the 25th pontiff of the Dharumai Adheenam period. A German doctor had treated many people for free for many years. When we wrote to the Municipality for it to be maintained by the Adheenam, it came to be known that it would be demolished. If such an event occurs, we will begin a fast unto death to protect the hospital set up by our forefathers.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, in a tweet in Tamil, said, “Due to inefficient and lackadaisical attitude of the Tamil Nadu Government has turned the memorial hospital into a dumping yard. It is morally correct to hand over the premises back to the Mutt to run the same. Tamil Nadu Government should stop its aggressive atrocious spree of encroaching Hindu temple lands and start to renovate and refurbish the same in good conditions. I urge the Tamil Nadu Government to give back the hospital premises to the Mutt. It should forthwith demolish the temple and make it into a dumping yard. Otherwise we will launch massive protests in support of the Dharmapuram Adheenam mutt”.
It is pertinent to note that the PM had invited all the Mutt heads to Delhi during the Sengol (Sceptre) installation in May this year at the New Parliament complex. He honoured them and praised their service in conserving and protecting the Hindu Dharma.
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