THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala's apex temple body, Travancore Devaswom Board, has landed in trouble over a notice it issued with regard to a programme related to the 87th anniversary of the historic temple entry proclamation.
Intense criticism cropped up from social media and other quarters alleging that the notice was a eulogy of the aristocracy and one which ignored the struggles held to make the entry of lower caste people possible in temples into the erstwhile princely state of Travancore.
The notice was issued by B Madhusoodanan Nair, director of the Cultural and Archaeological Affairs under the TDB.
Critics alleged that the notice gave an impression that the temple entry proclamation was a mercy of the then king.
They also criticised the mentioning of women members of the Travancore royal family as "queens" in the Malayalam notice.
State Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan also came out criticising the controversial notice.
"It was not easy to wipe out the castism that got deep-rooted in the minds of certain people", he told reporters here on Saturday when his reaction was sought.
Meanwhile, official sources said the TDB management gave directions to withdraw the controversial notice and to probe the alleged lapses in its preparation.
The Temple Entry Proclamation was a royal decree by the Travancore King Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma in 1936 that opened temples in the kingdom to so-called lower caste Hindus.