Residents of Thirupparankundram village have announced that they will hold a peaceful hunger strike on 13 December 2025, demanding permission to light the lamp on the Deepathoon at the hilltop, citing a High Court order obtained after their request was rejected by the local administration.
Explaining the background, a representative of the villagers said, “We had submitted a petition in Thirupparankundram village, urging the government to allow the lighting of the lamp on top of the Thirupparankundram hill peak, and to observe a peaceful hunger strike for that demand. Based on the rejection of that petition, we approached the High Court and obtained an order.”
He said the fast would be undertaken on behalf of village families and would involve the general public without any caste, religious, or political affiliation. “Tomorrow, on the 13th, on behalf of the Thirupparankundram families, without any caste or religious discrimination and without party affiliation, the general public of the village have decided to hold a hunger strike,” he said, appealing to residents of Thirupparankundram town to participate.
On participation, he said, “It is the village people, the general public. They have said that all the villages around Thirupparankundram will come fully.” He added that the protest would strictly adhere to judicial directions, stating, “The High Court has also given us certain conditions, and we have decided to organise a gathering in a way that does not violate, or goes only up to the limit of, those conditions.”
He said women would play a leading role in the protest. “Women will definitely participate in this, and in fact women are the first,” he said.
Stating the core demand, he said, “The main demand is that the lamp must be lit in the Deepathoon at the top of the hill. That is our primary demand.”
The villagers also alleged that a misleading narrative had been circulated on social media. “Until now, on social media, a wrong narrative has been spread. They claim that at the Uchi Pillaiyar temple, the lamp has been lit for more than 100 years. As far as we know, it is not even 20 years,” he said.
He further alleged that lighting the lamp at the Uchchi Pillaiyar temple was introduced to divert attention from a long-standing agitation. “Some movements have been continuously protesting for nearly 60 years that the lamp should be lit in the deepa pillar on top of the hill. To divert that struggle, only for that diversionary purpose, the practice of lighting the lamp at the Uchi Pillaiyar temple was started,” he claimed.
Questioning the practice, he said, “This Uchi Pillaiyar temple is actually a place meant for lighting the moksha deepam. In our custom, if there has been a death in a house, during the Karthigai month we do not light lamps in that house. In such a situation, how is it right that in a place where the moksha lamp is lit daily, we go and light a Karthigai Deepam?”
Responding to why the issue had gained momentum now, he said, “Until now, they only violated tradition, and we remained silent. Movements were fighting; we, the general public, stayed quiet. Now they have violated the law as well. When they violate the law and sovereignty, we are compelled to question it.”
He added that there will be someone or the other lighting a moksha deepam at that spot almost every other day.
Reiterating the villagers’ position, he said, “Lighting the Karthigai Deepam on top of the Uchchi Pillaiyar Temple is a recent practice. Not for a hundred years. What has been lit there is the Moksha Deepam alone.”
Concluding, he said that the protest would proceed in view of what they described as non-compliance with the law. “Even though this struggle has been going on for many days, now due to the refusal to respect the law itself, tomorrow, without caste or religious distinctions and without political affiliations, the people of Thirupparankundram will undertake a fast for lighting the lamp on the deepathoon at the hilltop,” he said.
“உச்சிப்பிள்ளையார் கோவிலின் மேல் கார்த்திகை தீபம் ஏற்றுவது அண்மையில் ஏற்பட்ட வழக்கம். நூறு வருடங்களாக அல்ல. அங்கே ஏற்றப்பட்டு வந்தது மோட்சதீபம் தான்”- இதைச் சொன்னா !
இந்தப் போராட்டம் நீண்ட நாட்களாக நடந்துவந்தாலும் இப்போது சட்டத்தையே மதிக்காததால், மலை உச்சியில் தீபத்தூணில்… pic.twitter.com/EqCdk8RYyW
— 𑀓𑀺𑀭𑀼𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀷𑁆 🇮🇳 (@tskrishnan) December 12, 2025
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