Tension has emerged in Thummanayakkanpatti village in Peraiyur taluk of Madurai district after Muslims from the area opposed renovation work at a 300-year-old Vinayagar and Karuppannasamy temple that is under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.
The Arulmigu Vinayagar Temple and Arulmigu Karuppannasamy Temple are located on about 2 acres and 40 cents of land in the village. According to temple authorities, the temples are around 300 years old and are administered by a hereditary trustee and temple management under the HR&CE Department.
Permission to carry out renovation work at the temple had been obtained from the state and district expert committees, as reported in Dinamalar. The Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) also granted approval for the renovation work.
However, a man identified as Sagul Hameed filed a case last year before the Madurai Bench seeking to prevent the renovation. In January, the court dismissed the objections and permitted the temple renovation to proceed.
Subsequently, another petition was filed before the Madurai Bench seeking continuous police protection during the renovation work. On February 18, the court directed that police protection be provided.
Following the court orders, the temple’s hereditary trustee Maheswaran and residents of the village submitted a petition to the Madurai Superintendent of Police requesting security until the renovation work is completed and the kumbabhishekam ceremony is conducted.
Villagers said that a mosque had been built near the temple about 100 years ago. According to them, when local residents recently attempted to begin the renovation work based on the court’s order, Muslims from the area entered the temple premises and staged a protest, insisting that the temple should not be renovated and should instead be relocated to another place.
Police officials intervened and persuaded the protesters to disperse. However, due to the opposition, renovation work at the temple has not yet begun.
Local residents also stated that Hindus are a minority in the village and argued that Muslims blocking the renovation despite a court order was unfair and amounted to contempt of court. They urged the Tamil Nadu government to intervene and resolve the issue.
Reacting to the development, Ram Ravikumar, leader of Hindu Tamilar Katchi, said it was shocking that Muslims had entered the temple premises and staged a protest against the renovation of the centuries-old Vinayagar and Karuppannasamy temple.
He alleged that whenever Hindus in the area attempted to take steps for the welfare of the temple, Muslims were obstructing the efforts, claiming that the temple should not be renovated because a mosque existed nearby. He further stated that since Muslims were numerically larger in the locality, it was not fair to hurt the sentiments of Hindus.
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