Corruption in the name of the God

Paruchuri Krishna Former Member, AP Pollution Control Board

The recent controversy regarding the offerings to Lord Venkateswara Swamy at Tirumala came as a rude shock to the public in general and the devotees in particular. After preparing the food, the first offering is made to the Lord himself and the same is distributed among the devotees as ‘Prasadam’ – in this case Laddu a form of sweet prepared with cow ghee, cashew and other ingredients. Over a period of time, the Laddu distributed among devotees as ‘prasadam’ gained immense popularity due to its taste, long shelf life and the thought of Lord’s prasadam. It is sad that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board had turned a blind eye to several irregularities introduced during the previous regime. One such irregularity is the removal of Nandini ghee, supplied by Nandini dairy run by Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).

The Board in the reverse tendering had barred Nandini ghee and introduced a new supplier to supply ghee. It is rather not surprising regarding the quality of the Laddu, as several devotees have been consistently and continuously complaining about the deteriorating quality and lack of taste in the laddu. The recent lab reports released by the TTD clearly point out to mixing of beef tallow and pork lard in the ghee used to prepare laddus. The mixing of animal fat in the ghee in this case is not just a simple case food adulteration, but is a case of hurting the religious sentiments, breaching the public trust and therefore the conspiracy behind this episode has to be investigated and unearthed. Lord Balaji stands as a symbol of the Hindu-Muslim unity in the Rayalaseema region. The legend goes that one Muslim princess named Bibi Nancharamma became a staunch devotee of the Lord and the Lord satisfied with her devotion married her.

This legendary story goes back to 14th Century. Thus, it is not uncommon to have Muslim devotees standing in the queue at Tirumala to get a glimpse of the Lord. One incident that highlights Hindu-Muslim unity in general and Muslims’ devote to the Lord took place in early 1980s during the tenure of PVRK Prasad as the Executive Officer (EO) which he narrated in his book, ‘Naa Hum Karthe, Hari Karthe’. Sheikh Mastan from Guntur district, in spite of their low income, had donated 108 golden lotus flowers with each flower weighing 23 grams, after accumulating gold for three generations. The same golden lotus flowers are used even today during the worshipping of the Lord. It is appalling to note the manner in which corrupt elements have intruded in to the temple administration with such huge unified tradition surrounding it. It may be worth noting that the immediate cause for the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Indian Independence in 1857 was due to the mixing of beef tallow and pork lard in the weapons used by Hindu and Muslim soldiers.

The ammunition for the new Enfield Pattern 1853 rifled musket that fired Minié balls, had a tighter fit than the earlier muskets, and used paper cartridges that came pre-greased. In order to load the rifle, soldiers had to bite the cartridge open to release the powder. The grease used on these cartridges was rumoured to include beef tallow, which was offensive to Hindus, and pork lard which would be offensive to Muslims. Hurting religious sentiments had ignited the spark to overthrow the colonial Government, now the previous YSRCP-led regime had once again hurt the religious sentiments similar to that of the colonial masters. The onus lies on the TTD Board to come out clean and explain to the general public and devotees in particular about the steps that the Board has taken to clean up the mess.

Simultaneously, the Board should use this opportunity to promote transparency in the temple administration so as to ensure that the sentiments of the devotees are not hurt in the future. Further, a comprehensive inquiry shall be undertaken and ensure that the culprits are punished in order to deter any such corrupt activities in the future.