HC upholds GO on poojas, archanas in Tamil

Chennai, Mar 20 (UNI) The Madras High Court today upheld a Government Order allowing performing of poojas and archanas in Tamil in Temples.

Dismissing writ petitions filed by two temple archakas, a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Mr Justice K Chandru said ''If the court sets aside the government order allowing poojas in Tamil, it will only result in the Hinduism becoming a mere museum of beliefs.'' The Judges said it was very difficult to define Hindu Religion.

''Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet. It does not worship any one god and it does not subscribe to any one dogma.'' ''It neither believed in one philosophic concept nor follow any one set of religious rites or peformance. In fact it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed.

It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more,'' the Judges observed.

The writ petitions were filed by Hindu Temple Protection Committee President V S Sivakumar and the Hereditary archaka of the Uthirakosamangai temple in Ramnathapuram District Pitchai Battar.

In their petitions they contended that order of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment to perform archanas in Tamil in the Temples at the request of the devotees in addition to the existing practice of reciting archanas in Sanskrit, would offend the right to profess Hindu religion as guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The petitioners also sought a direction to the state government, preventing it from interfering in the daily performance of poojas in the Temples in sanskrit.

UNI XR MSJ DB2001