Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s spiritual guru Chinna Jeeyar has been caught in a controversy after an old video of him mocking tribal goddesses Sammakka-Sarakka went viral on Wednesday, March 16. In the video, Chinna Jeeyar is seen questioning the origin and relevance of Sammakka and Sarakka as they did not descend from heaven unlike other Brahminical gods. Chinna Jeeyar was recently in the news for installing a 216-feet statue of Ramanujacharya dubbed the ‘Statue of Equality’, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the video Chinna Jeeyar is heard saying, “Actually, who are Sarakka and Sammakka? Are they gods who descended from Brahma Lokam (heaven)? What is their history? They are merely forest and village deities. Let the people who live there worship them. But now, educated people and big industrialists (are worshipping them). They have even named banks after them. This has become a business.”
Condemning his remarks, Mulugu legislator Danasari Anasuya, popularly known as Seethakka, demanded an unconditional apology from Chinna Jeeyar. Seethakka also belongs to the Adivasi community. “You Andhra Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, why have you made such objectionable and arrogant remarks against Sammakka and Sarakka who symbolise the statehood struggle of Telangana? I demand you to issue an unconditional apology to the Telangana society and the Adivasi community. You should take back your words, which have hurt the sentiments of Adivasis. Our deities are gods of nature. We worship trees and mounds,” she said.
ఆంధ్ర చిన్న జీయర్ స్వామి మా తెలంగాణ ఆత్మగౌరవ పోరాట ప్రతీకలైన సమ్మక్క సారలమ్మ మీద ఎందుకు ఈ అహంకారపూరితమైన మాటలు మా తల్లులది వ్యాపారమా? మా దేవతల దర్శనానికి ఒక్క రూపాయి కూడా టికెట్ లేదు కానీ మీరు పెట్టిన 120 కిలోల బంగారం గల సమతా మూర్తి విగ్రహం చూస్తానికి మాత్రం 150 రూపాయలు pic.twitter.com/SB3O06HUg3
— Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) (@seethakkaMLA) March 16, 2022
Taking a dig at the Ramanujacharya statue installed by Jeeyar, she added, “In the name of the Statue of Equality, you have been doing business and collecting a fee of Rs 150 from the visitors to serve your own interests. There is no fee to enter the temple of Sammakka and Sarakka.”
The MLA also urged K Chandrasekhar Rao and the Telangana government to clarify their stance on the issue.
చిన జీయర్ గారూ, మీరు హద్దులు మీరి మాట్లాడుతున్నారు. సమతామూర్తి ఇలాగే కించపరుస్తూ మాట్లాడమని చెప్పిండ్రా? బహుజన ఆదివాసి వీర వనితలను, దేవతలను, మా ఆహారపు అలవాట్లను అడుగడుగునా అవమానిస్తున్నారు. మీరు ఒక్కసారి ముచ్చింతల్ వదలి మేడారంకు రండి మా సమ్మక్క-సారక్కల ప్రాశస్త్యం తెలుస్తది. pic.twitter.com/95u3gzzrBn
— Dr. RS Praveen Kumar (@RSPraveenSwaero) March 16, 2022
Bahujan Samaj Party’s Telangana state coordinator RS Praveen Kumar also slammed Jeeyar. “Chinna Jeeyar, you have been crossing the line. Did Ramanujacharya teach you to speak in such a derogatory manner? You have been constantly making disparaging remarks against Bahujan-Adivasi gods and food habits.” Praveen Kumar was referring to an old speech of Jeeyar, in which he had ridiculed people who eat meat. Jeeyar had said that people who eat pork would think like pigs, and people who eat mutton would follow the herd. Praveen Kumar further asked Jeeyar to leave Munchintal – where the Statue of Equality has been installed – and visit Medaram, so that he can learn about the popularity of Sammakka and Sarakka.
The Sammakka-Sarakka jatara, which is a four-day fair held in the month of February, marks Asia’s largest congregation of Adivasis. The event is celebrated as Telangana’s state festival.