“BJP Is Ready To Build Bharat Mata Temple To Fulfill Subramanya Siva’s Dream,” Says TNBJP Chief Annamalai

During his recent visit to Dharmapuri as part of the ‘En Mann En Makkal Yatra’ on Sunday, 7 January 2024, Tamil Nadu state BJP President, Annamalai declared the party’s readiness to build a Bharat Mata temple at Papparapatti. This commitment is in line with the wishes expressed by freedom fighter Subramanya Siva. As part of the visit, he paid homage to the Bharat Mata statue at freedom fighter Subramanya Siva’s memorial in Papparapatti.

Speaking with reporters on Subramanya Siva, Annamalai highlighted that “Bharat Mata photo was first drawn by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1870. It was a picture of a goddess clad in a saffron saree without any decorations, and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee said Bharat Mata integrates the entire India against the British. In 1905, Abanindranath Tagore drew another version of Bharat Mata – the one that you see today with a lion. He was the nephew of Rabindranath Tagore. The picture was the common symbol which brought together all Hindu and Muslims to fight against the British in Bengal. At the same period, Subramanya Siva here dreamt of building a temple for Bharat Mata after seeing the uprising across the country. Subramanya Siva was suffering from leprosy then, he was not allowed to travel in trains and the British did not allow any kind of treatment for him because they wanted him dead. People with leprosy were not allowed on public transport there was no medicine for leprosy. Subramanya Siva walked all the way from Salem to here to meet Chinnamuthu Mudaliar and got this land registered. Beyond politics, we ought to fulfill his dream of building a temple for Bharat Mata on this 6-acre land. There is a temple here now, but it has been named as memorial. It has been clearly mentioned in this land document that the land must be used for the purpose of ideologies constituted upon Bharat Mata. Subramanya Siva’s dream has not been fulfilled yet, this is beyond all politics, A temple has to be built here to fulfill Subramanya Siva’s dream. BJP is ready to build a temple here, we are ready to build the temple and hand over it to the government, we do not want to take credit for the same. Let the government administer it as a public property”.

Since its inauguration in 2021, the Bharat Mata Ninaivalayam in Papparapatti, Dharmapuri district, the residents have been demanding that it be renamed from Bharat Mata Ninaivalayam to Bharat Mata temple and aspiring for public access, allowing individuals to pay respects and garland the idol in line with the late freedom fighter Subramanya Siva’s vision. It is on the verge of realisation nearly a century after its conceptualisation by CR Das in 1923.

In 2022, the BJP sought permission from the police to garland and conduct a pooja for the Bharat Mata idol around Independence Day. Unfortunately, permission was abruptly revoked at the eleventh hour except for granting access to the freedom fighter’s memorial to pay respects.

Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.