Even as the DMK government in Tamil Nadu continues to oppose the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam at the Deepathoon atop Thirupparankundram hill, the district administration has permitted the annual Sikandar Badusha Dargah Sandhanakoodu festival and related ceremonial procession on the same hill, subject to conditions.
According to official sources, the Sandhanakoodu festival of the Sikandar Badusha Dargah at Thirupparankundram hill is scheduled to be held on 6 January 2026. As part of the festival, a ceremonial procession for hoisting a wooden flag on the hill is planned on 21 December 2025.
Ahead of the event, a peace committee meeting was convened at the Thirumangalam Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) office, chaired by RDO Sivajothi. Officials present at the meeting included Thirupparankundram temple Assistant Commissioner Sasi Priya, Tahsildar Kavitha, and representatives of the dargah administration.
During the meeting, it was decided that the same conditions imposed in previous years would continue to apply for both the Sandhanakoodu festival on 6 January 2026, and the flag-hoisting ceremony on 21 December 2025. The dargah administration was instructed to ensure that the festival and procession were conducted strictly through customary routes, without giving rise to any law-and-order issues.
The administration also decided that no new practices should be introduced during the festival and that firecrackers should not be burst in a manner that could inconvenience the general public. Dargah representatives were specifically told that they would be held fully responsible if any law-and-order problems arose during the procession or festival.
The administrative clearance for the dargah festival comes in the backdrop of an ongoing and contentious dispute over the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam at the Deepathoon, a traditional stone lamp pillar on the Thirupparankundram hill. Despite orders of the Madras High Court permitting the lighting of the lamp, the DMK-led State government and local authorities have consistently cited law and order concerns to prevent the ritual from being carried out.
Hindu groups and devotees have repeatedly questioned the State’s approach, pointing out that while religious processions and ceremonies associated with the Sikandar Badusha Dargah are being allowed on the hill with conditions, the traditional lighting of the Deepam by Hindu devotees continues to be blocked.
The contrasting administrative decisions have further intensified the debate over selective enforcement of law-and-order considerations at Thirupparankundram, a hill revered by Hindus as the abode of Lord Murugan and also home to the Sikandar Badusha Dargah.
Source: Dinamalar
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