A dispute over lighting a Deepam at Thiruparankundram spirals into legal and political trouble.
The raging controversy stirred by a demand for lighting Karthigai Deepam at a stone pillar on the sacred Thiruparankundram Hill and the subsequent actions taken by the state government to avert what it perceived as a potential law and order problem have together only disrupted tranquility. Since the episode has now led to the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court summoning state chief secretary and additional general of police (law and order) to appear before it on December 17, it looks that the government has tied itself up in knots.
Though the DMK managed to mobilise over 100 Opposition MPs to give a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for moving an impeachment motion against Justice G.R. Swaminathan, the judge who passed an order for lighting a lamp at the stone pillar, located some 15 metres away from the Hazrat Sultan Sikkandar Badhshah dargah on the hill, it could be a long way to go for a resolution. The petition alleged that the judge’s conduct raised questions over the impartiality, transparency and secular functioning of the judiciary, but impeachments are not an everyday occurrence.
Arguing against the demand by Hindu outfits like Hindu Makkal Katchi and the Hindu Munnani, the DMK has contended that the annual lighting of Karthigai Deepam was performed at the traditional spot in the Uchipilliar temple on the sacred hill, which is the first abode of Lord Murugan. When the Hindu outfits wanted the Deepam to be lit at the stone pillar this year, experts and historians said that it was not the spot meant for it, and archaeologists said the pillar was put up as part of a survey.
Members of the Madurai Federation for Religious Harmony quoted the ASI to prove that the pillar was a two-century-old survey stone with historic significance. However, the state government’s failure to clearly dispel the myths surrounding Karthigai Deepam and the failure to implement a court order only aggravated the situation, giving room for Hindutva elements to play communal politics just as the state is gearing up for the 2026 Assembly elections.
