Trying to drive home sense among people in a country where large quantities of milk is freely poured on idols and cut-outs of cinema icons, the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) on Tuesday suggested that the commodity could instead be offered to the poor.
Nonetheless, the court directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to consider the representation of a petitioner who sought permission to perform milk ‘abhishegam’ at a village temple in Tiruchy.
The petitioner K Muthurathnam of Musuri Taluk in Tiruchy had filed a petition stating that a “famous temple” in Bharathi Nagar in his village called Bhagawathi Amman Marriamman and Ilayandi Amman temple, administered by the HR&CE Department, was inaccessible to Scheduled Caste people, who were not allowed to worship even during car festivals. However, every year during the Tamil month of Aadi and on April 27 a milk ‘abhishegam’ is conducted in the temple when the villagers are allowed to go inside the temple and offer milk.
In December last year, the petitioner had submitted a representation to the HR&CE Department to grant permission for the milk ‘abhishegam’ on April 27, 2014 but there was no response. Hence he moved the court.
When the petition came up before a division bench comprising Justices R Sudhakar and V S Velumani, the former observed that in many parts of our country people were suffering without food, shelter and even milk for young children. Therefore, he said, the petitioner should be aware that such a commodity should be used for the benefit of children, poor, orphans, widows and destitute.