Open Forum                                        

New Delhi, 27 December 2018

Idol Thefts

Crime Against Deities

By Dr. S. Saraswathi

(Former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)

A Special Division Bench of the Madras High Court issued a warning while hearing a series of idol theft cases that as custodian of all temples and their properties, it would keep a close watch on theft of temple properties.  One of the judges said, “Everybody should understand that nobody should have the guts to touch the properties of this land…This court will monitor every activity in the temple.  We are very conscious about protecting the treasures of this land.  They cannot be taken away just like that”.

These strong words became necessary as Idol-Wing CID was not able to locate two businessmen from whose premises a number of idols stolen from temples were recovered three months back.

About a week ago,  a top official of HR&CE Department in Tamil Nadu  was arrested  in connection with several cases.  Particularly shocking is the disappearance or replacement of a number of idols in a renowned temple in Mylapore in Chennai visited by  thousands of devotees every day. The original  peacock  idol  in the temple, symbolizing  the form taken by Goddess Parvati  to worship Shiva in this place  ( from which the locality derives its name Mayil meaning peacock in Tamil), and thus the holiest article in the temple  was  swapped for a duplicate.  

 Indeed, belief in the legendary origin  of temples recorded in manuscripts and stones  or faith and sincerity in worship, not to speak of pride in our arts and architecture  have become subservient to greed for money.  Temples  have   become  important  targets  of  looters.  Even  regular visitors to the temple were not able to distinguish the real and fake idols immediately. 

What is astonishing in this environment of loss of genuine  devotion and attachment to our heritage represented in temples  is  the  growth in the number of temples -  roadside as well as within compound .   May be, management of temples has become a commercial activity.

Temple  theft   seems to be a  well  organized crime requiring   several  levels  of  operations  involving   local, national, and   international  conduits  and  carriers.  It has    become a big challenge to law enforcing authorities.  The  incidents reflect  deterioration in the sanctity attached to objects of worship including the idols of  deities and their symbols to the extent material interests have grown. 

The latest in the series of idol theft from places of worship is the seizure of an  old panchaloha (five metal) Murugan idol weighing 3.5 kg,  said to have been stolen from a temple  near Arakonam close to Chennai  in Tamil Nadu.  It was found in a workshop in Chennai getting ready for sale by smugglers.  Reports suggest that it could fetch  around  Rs. one  crore.

Tamil Nadu is on top in temple theft, but other States are not free from this crime against deities.   In October this year, idols of Ram, Lakshman, and Janaki were reported to have been stolen from a temple in Lakhnur area in Mau, UP making a mockery of the Mandir movement for Lord Ram.  The idols are made of ashtadatu (seven metals).  In Bihar, around the same time, idols of Ram and Janaki were reported to be missing in Vaishali.  Indeed similar  thefts   are reported from all States.   In a Krishna Temple in Thane, Mumbai, ornaments valued at Rs.35 lakh were missing.

Apart from idol thefts,   temples  are subjected to various  other   crimes.  Temple lands are misappropriated,  sold and resold and converted to non-religious use.  In the  name of renovation and repair,  funds are diverted in some temples for  additional constructions for non-religious and commercial  activities.  Unique  qualities attributed to particular deities are flagrantly violated.  Temple administration urgently needs a shake up to remove the ever expanding arms of corruption.

There are 19 “high security”  icon centres  in some  famous temples in  Tamil Nadu  where hundreds of idols made for worship are lying.  They are taken out only  for festivals and kept in the  centres  after the  festival  for safe-keeping.   But,  strong rooms are not strong  enough to protect   temple treasures. 

According to a UNESCO Report of  2011, 50,000 idols and artefacts  had been stolen out of India till 1989.  The number is  said to be increasing even two  to three times since then.     It was estimated that India had at that time more than 70 lakh antiques of which only 13 lakh were documented.  On an average, about 10,000 to 20,000 idols worth Rs.20,000 crore were stolen  per  decade  since 1950.  According to a study, not less  than 1,200 idols were stolen from Tamil Nadu between 1992 and 2007.

The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 aims to protect antiquities which include among other items sculptures in stone, shrines, terracotta, metals, jewelry, ivory, paintings on paper, wood, cloth ,skin, and manuscripts over 100 years old. The Act restricts trade in these articles within the country which instead of  ensuring their safety  leads to illegal exports through illegal channels.  Not all articles  recognized  as “antique” are  registered  with  the   Archaeological Survey of India as required under the Act.

The Hindu Religious Endowments Act was first adopted in Tamil Nadu in the late 1920s.  The HRE Act of 1951 passed by the  Parliament  allows State Governments to take over thousands of Hindu temples  and exercise complete control over them – a provision not known in other democracies.    Renowned temples at Tirupati, Varanasi, Amarnath, Badrinath, Kedarnath,  Rameshwaram , Guruvayur and many other places are controlled by concerned State governments.   

Under Temple Empowerment Act of Andhra Pradesh, about 43,000 temples in the State came under the control of the government.  Government of Maharashtra has more than 30,000 temples under its control.   State governments are   responsible  to ensure  the  safety of temple properties.  Instead, there  are  stories of fence  eating  the crops.  Five cases of idol theft were reported from  Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Odisha in 2015; and six cases in Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan in 2016 indicating how flourishing is the trade that depends heavily on thefts and how weak is our efforts in  protecting our antiquities. Attempt to steal emerald idol from Mangalanathaswamy near Ramanathapuram,  two panchaloha idols and four kalasams on the tower , and gold mangalsutra  at the  old shiva temple at Tiruvannamalai  were  reported recently.

Idol theft is an international crime as buyers are mostly big businessmen abroad, and the articles in many cases land up in some world famous museum.  It takes years of negotiations to recover even a single piece.

Egypt is known for maintaining its cultural patrimony.  Theft of antiquities is treated as a theft of honour and history of Egypt.  Its law on protection of antiquities prohibits trade, sale, commerce or disposal of any antiquity or transfer outside the country.  It is fighting to get back the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum  – a 2,000 year old relic of Egyptian identity -  and a coveted acquisition of Napoleon.  In Italy, a specialized police  wing  prevents art-related crimes.

What is missing in India seems to be pride in our cultural heritage and a sense of duty and loyalty among common people  to protect our antiquities.  Hence, we have to depend on law and law enforcing machinery to  guard our temples.---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)