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Passionate displays of worship were missing from the Batu Caves Hindu temple during Thaipusam yesterday due to movement brakes, but that did not keep spear throwers away.
Their target: Human Resources Minister M Saravanan, who, according to them, committed an egregious violation of lockdown rules by showing up at the temple.
Based on a widely circulated video clip, angry devotees, who had to stay home to celebrate the occasion, accused Saravanan of being a privileged devotee.
It didn’t help that a Saravanan without a mask was adorned upon arrival by the temple president, R Nadarajah, who had his mask on his chin.
It all got a bit ridiculous when a group of people went for a walk with Saravanan, accompanied by trumpeters.
A furor erupted. The now familiar question of the supposed privileges of the elite raged.
Such anger is understandably raised when the mood of Lord Murugan’s devotees, deprived of their annual rituals, is fragile amid a health crisis.
But what if such anger at Saravanan’s “preferential treatment” was fueled by wild speculation?
Here’s the thing: while we may have ministers who don’t give a direct and honest answer to a straightforward question, we shouldn’t act on our worst instincts.
On that basis, this column approached Saravanan to clarify his presence in the temple and we will leave him to judge if what he did was nothing, a minor transgression or something serious.
Excerpts from the interview:
The rules were clear and applied to everyone, so why were you in the temple?
Sri Mahamariamman Devasthanam, who oversees the Murugan Temple of Batu Caves, invited me to visit the Thaipusam Temple.
This was because I was involved in attending the temple over the past week on various matters to ensure that Thaipusam would be celebrated without the crowd.
I am also the Hindu Endowment representative in the Cabinet.
As a person in a position of power, did you follow the rules?
The police gave me permission to be present at the temple.
Those who attended the occasion observed strict Covid-19 standard operating procedures and were limited in number, as applied by the temple committee in accordance with the guidelines. The procedures were also monitored by the authorities.
As a precaution, I didn’t even ask my officers to accompany me to the temple because I didn’t want overcrowding there.
Why didn’t you wear a mask when you arrived and when they put garlands on you?
I took off my mask for just a second to make way for the garland as a show of respect. I had my mask on the entire time after that.
Do you agree that the trumpeters who followed you painted a different picture?
Yes. It was not under my control because the music playback was already there before my arrival.
Did you have the privilege of offering prayers in the temple?
Anyone will pray while there, but it is not the usual type of prayer.
It is well known that I am an avid devotee of Lord Murugan and have never missed celebrating the festival by wearing a kavadi with my family annually.
However, I was saddened to be in the temple without my family, as their presence would have been against SOPs.
To be sure, this column agrees that there are some politicians who do not care about the people whose lives have been cut short by the health crisis, and that their hopes have run into an omnipotent roadblock.
The people have great influence and are right to hold those in power to account. But that comes with an equally huge responsibility to play fair.
So, don’t look for that “off” switch.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
