The Travancore Devaswom Board of Kerala withdrew its temple-entry anniversary notice after a controversy broke out, regarding its content. Devaswom Board president, Advocate K Ananthagopan, said that the Board was not aware of the notice and they will enquire about the problematic content in it.
The notice was an invitation to a programme conducted by the Devaswom Board and Cultural and Archaeological Affairs on the occasion of the 87th anniversary of the Travancore temple entry proclamation that falls on November 12. It was signed by B Madhusoodanan Nair, director of the Cultural and Archaeological Affairs, which falls under the Travancore Devaswom Board. The controversy rose after the language, glorifying the royal family, received a lot of criticism.
The notice praised the Travancore royal family for the temple-entry proclamation of 1936 and ignored the history of the temple-entry movement and the thousands of Dalits and other oppressed caste persons who fought for it. It also addressed two erstwhile royal family members as ‘Her Highness’ and queens of Travancore.
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In his response about the notice, Kerala Minister for Devaswoms and Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, K Radhakrishnan, stated that the casteist mindset of people would not easily disappear. “We launched Chandrayaan to the moon, but our minds are far behind. We need change, not controversy”, he added.
Read: Kerala Minister shares experience of caste discrimination from temple priests
The 87th anniversary of the temple-entry proclamation will be held at the headquarters of the Travancore Devaswom Board, Nanthancode, Thiruvananthapuram on November 13. Advocate K Ananthagopan will inaugurate the function and members of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, Gowri Parvathi Bayi and Gowri Lakshmi Bayi will light the lamps.