Protest over govt's move to take over Ayodhya Mandapam -

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Protest over Govt's move to take over Ayodhya Mandapam, Chennai

Members of organisations like Tamil Nadu Hindu Mahasabha protested outside Ayodhya Mandapam today against the taking over of the historic place by the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Board.

As a result, Arya Gowda Road, which houses the Ayodhya Mandapam, witnessed some tense scenes today.

News that the Hindu Religious and Chartitable Endowment (HR & CE) Department was planning to take over the age-old Aswameda Ayodhya Mandapam at West Mambalam sparked tension among devotees and Hindu organisations today.

Organisations such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Hindu Maha Sabha staged a protest and raised slogans against the reported takeover of the institution which is being managed by Sri Ram Samaj, run by a board of trustees.

http://www.sriramsamaj.org/
- See more at: Protest over govt's move to take over Ayodhya Mandapam

 

[P.J.]

Residents of West Mambalam join the protest in front of the Ayodhya Aswamedha Maha Mandapam asking the HR & CE department to drop the move to take over the mandapam.

Residents of West Mambalam join the protest in front of the Ayodhya Aswamedha Maha Mandapam asking the HR & CE department to drop the move to take over the mandapam. — DC




Chennai: An attempt by the state Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department to bring under its ambit the Ayodhya Aswamedha Maha Mandapam, established for conducting Rama Navami celebrations/religious discourses at West Mambalam, here, stirred a hornet’s nest.


Residents vehemently protested the takeover move, even as the HR&CE department has appointed a thakkar (fit person) to administer the mandapam and also enquire into allegations of misappropriation.


Admitting that the executive officer of the Sri Balasubrahmanya Swamy temple, Teyna­mpet, here, has been posted as thakkar for Ayodhya Mandapam, recently, following complaints of irregularities, a senior official of the HR&CE department said the officials have not taken the mandapam under their control yet.



But sensing apparent threat and to thwart the department’s attempts, the Sri Ram Samaj, administering the mandapam, has gone on an appeal before the Madras high court seeking to stay the HR&CE move.

The magnificent structure on Arya Gowda Road had a humble beginning when K. Subramania Iyer, a resident of West Mambalam, and others rai­sed `242 and conducted the first Sri Rama Navami celebrations under a makeshift, thatched shed in 1954.

Brahmasri Somadeva Sarma gave the organisation its name: Sri Ram Samaj - which was registered as a society in 1958. Sukhabrahmam Brahmasri Ramaswamy Sastrigal delivered the first discourse on Valmiki Ramayanam.

Besides the Ayodhya Aswamedha Maha Mandapam, the Sri Ram Samaj has under its umbrella Mithilapuri Kalyana Mandapam, Sri Sitaram Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School and Gnanavapi (for performing last rites for departed souls).

According to P.K. Suresh Kumar, advocate and member of Sri Ram Samaj, the office-bearers of the samaj were rendering honorary service to society and the accounts were duly audited.
“It is not a temple… the decision (to take over) is arbitrary.”


“Besides discourses, Vishnu Sahasranamam is chanted regularly here,” says Viswanathan, a resident of West Mambalam, who is a regular visitor. A tense situation prevailed at the mandapam during the day when the residents and members of the Hindu Maha Sabha and VHP staged an agitation.


Residents protest mandapam takeover | Deccan Chronicle

 

[Iyyarooraan]

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