NE NEWS SERVICE
COIMBATORE, APR 5
Over 3 crore people have supported the #FreeTNTemples campaign both online and on-ground.
#PeopleHaveSpoken along with #FreeTNTemples, the hashtags that have attracted global following, were trending at the top nationwide on Twitter.
Sadhguru also released a video on Sunday- one among several he has released in the month- calling on the state to free the temples which he referred to as “Dravidian Pride”. He called on people to support the movement and added, “My vote is for those who will reinstate my constitutional right and #FreeTNTemples.”
https://twitter.com/SadhguruJV/status/1378585097050333187
Beginning March, Sadhguru launched a campaign calling on the Tamil Nadu administration to free temples under state control and hand them back to devotees. The campaign is in response to the state’s Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department’s shocking submissions to the Madras HC last year on the conditions of temples in state care.
Timing the campaign before the TN State Assembly elections, Sadhguru wrote open letters to Chief Minister E. Palaniswami and Opposition Leader M.K. Stalin requesting them to declare their intent on freeing temples from state control, in their election manifestos. Recently, he wrote to both political leaders once again to apprise them of community sentiment and the massive support for the campaign from all quarters.
Over a month, citizens have flooded Twitter with videos of temples in various states of ruin all over the state. Many are centuries old, some millennia old. With overgrown weeds, crumbling walls and roofs, broken idols and sculptures and garbage strewn around them, the Temples tell a heartrending tale of apathy and neglect.
Celebrities, industry leaders, media representatives and political leaders have joined the growing number of citizens calling on government to end the discriminatory practice of managing Hindu spaces of worship. Popular actor Kajal Agarwal tweeted in support of the campaign today. “It is heart breaking and I hope we will preserve our architecture, tradition and culture,” she wrote.
This is heart breaking. Hoping we can conserve our beautiful architecture, heritage, traditions and culture 🙏🏻 https://t.co/mC7zAj6cDM
— Kajal Aggarwal (@MsKajalAggarwal) April 4, 2021
