Malabar Devaswom Board takes over Mattannur temple amid protest

Protestors said the board took over the temple without any consultation with stakeholders and said they will move the court

Amid protest by a section of devotees, the Malabar Devaswom Board on Thursday took control of the famous Mattannur Mahadeva temple in Kannur district in north Kerala.

In Kerala, all Hindu shrines come under different boards controlled by the government. (File photo)

Fearing the takeover, the temple’s current board locked the main gate and office but Devaswom board officials took the help of the police to break open the gate. Some of the devotees poured petrol and threatened to set themselves on fire but were prevented from taking the extreme step. Over the last decade, the board has been trying to take over the temple but devotees and the temple trust have foiled their attempts.

Protestors said the board took over the temple without any consultation with stakeholders, but the Board said it has done so with the blessings of the Kerala high court. But the president of the temple committee, CH Mohandas, said the case was pending in the Supreme Court. “The takeover was quite arbitrary and we will inform the apex court about this,” he said. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Hindu Aikya Vedi have protested the takeover and said they will organise a week-long protest outside the temple.

In Kerala, all Hindu shrines come under different boards controlled by the government. The Travancore, Cochin, Guruvayur and Malabar Devaswom boards are prominent among them and usually, those allied with the ruling party become chairmen of these boards. Many Hindu groups have been opposing government control of temples and argued that mosques and churches are controlled by independent bodies. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s petition questioning the government control over Hindu shrines is also pending before the Supreme Court.