The discovery of adulteration of ghee with pig & beef fat and fish oil which was found in the laddus
offered as Prasadam at the revered Tirumala Tirupati Temple is indeed shocking for the faith of
billions of Hindus the world over. Having visited the sanctum sanctorum of the devout Hindus a
number of times in the past, I was deeply concerned at the ease with which such acts of umbrage to
the religious beliefs of Hindus are taken for granted in our country. While thinking of the alleged
adulteration, I was reminded of the First War of Independence of 1857, also called the Sepoy
Mutiny.
By 1850, most of India was under the British East India Company (EIC) and the company had become
a cash cow for the British Empire. The company had achieved great success in expanding its footprint
through a strong military numbering about 2,60,000 soldiers armed with modern weaponry.
Officered and commanded by the British, the soldiers were native Indians who were paid good salary
to remain loyal to the company. These Indian soldiers were from the peasant class with not much
education and thus could easily be indoctrinated to be obedient soldiers who were mandated to
follow of the orders of their British superior.
Mangal Pandey had joined 34 th Bengal Native Infantry in 1849 at the age of 22 years. He belonged to
a Bhumihar Brahmin family from Awadh region and the region had about 75,000 soldiers serving in
the ECI in different parts of India. Mangal Pandey was posted at Barrackpore, a military garrison near
Kolkata. This unit was issued newly introduced Enfield Rifle which required the soldier to bite the
ends of greased cartridges in order to load the weapon. From the beginning of the March 1857,
there were inputs that the cartridges of Enfield Rifle were greased with animal fat. Mangal Pandey, a
devout Hindu refused to use the cartridge and mutinied against his British Superiors on 29 March
1857. He was overpowered, arrested and tried for treason against the EIC and hanged on 8 April
1857. His trial, conviction and execution of death sentence took just 10 days.
But the act of conviction in own faith by Mangal Pandey and direct assault on the religious beliefs of
Hindus ignited the rebellion by the Indian troops and led to what is called India’s First War of
Independence. The valour and sacrifice of Jhansi Ki Rani, Nana Saheb, Tantiya Tope and so many
unknown soldiers carried forward the struggle for freedom. While the British were able to quell the
rebellion, the legacy of Mangal Pandey’s action is remarkable in shaping the course for the
Independence of India in due course, both through violent and non-violent means. The current
incident of adulteration of Prasadam in a most revered Hindu temple is no less an assault on our
religious beliefs.
I keep wondering why and how could such incident take place in India, a country with almost 100
crore Hindu population. The Hindu population of the world is estimated to be approximately 1.2
billion or 120 crores, which is roughly 15 per cent of the world population. This makes Hinduism the third
largest religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. India’s Hindu population is estimated to be
more than 1 billion or more than 100 crore people, which is roughly 78% of country’s population.
With such large population base, India is home to 94% of world’s Hindu population. Hinduism is
easily the most liberal religion. It has embraced so many religions over the centuries. But the liberal
attitude of Hindus has been construed as weakness and Hindus have been taken for granted by the
others. Our epics are full of martial leaders but Hindus are peace loving in day-to-day life. Yet a
religion should be able to protect its interests and Hindu believers should feel safe in practising this
religion, anywhere in the world.
It also saddens me more that such an incident could happen in Tirumala Tirupati Temple which is
one of the richest religious places in India and even in world, as per its net worth. Therefore, it was
strange to hear that adulteration happened as the official rate for pure ghee was less to get the pure
ingredient for the prasadam. In that case why use ghee with animal fat, why not use vegetable oils.
While a SIT has been formed by the Andhra Government to investigate the matter, it is disturbing to
note that the temple administration did not have adequate checks & balances to ensure that
prasadam was pure vegetarian in conformity with the Hindu faith.
I am not interested in the political noises being made about the adulteration issue but I was
wondering if the assault on Hindu faith can unite the Hindus world over as one entity to reckon with.
I think Hindus are so divided over caste, creed and language issues that they are taken for granted in
their motherland. I am not suggesting any rebellion but a conscience call to arouse the spirit of
Hinduism amongst 120 crore people. Hindus must remain peace loving but their sheer numbers
united in their strong beliefs should deter any thought of playing with our religious sentiments. It
can be done once we as Hindus overcome our weaknesses and work in the true spirit of Sanatan
Dharma. All the governments, be it national, regional, state level, district level down to Panchayats
have to be cognizant and concerned. All the Hindu religious bodies have to overcome their
differences and unite for the cause of Hinduism. We may have to launch a peaceful movement to
reclaim the glory of Hindutva with our wisdom and sense of conviction.
I may be hurt but I am a proud Hindu. My religion has inspired me to do good. All the religions in
India are dear to me. I respect the other religions and I expect others to equally respect Hinduism.
My faith is paramount as is the case for any other person with non- Hindu faith. I most sincerely urge
everyone to respect each other’s faith and not tolerate any infringement of respective religious
beliefs. A united Bharat is key to regain our status as Vishv Guru.
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