Muslims in the Thummanayakkanpatti village of Peraiyur taluk in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu are staging protests against the renovation of a 300-year-old Hindu temple. The Vinayagar and Karuppannasamy temple, located on about 2 acres and 40 cents of land in the village, is administered by hereditary trustees and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.
As per reports, the temple authorities have obtained permission from the state and district expert committees to carry out renovation work at the temple. Notably, the person named Sakul Hameed had filed a petition last year before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court opposing the renovation of the temple. In January this year, the High Court granted permission to carry out the renovation work at the temple. Another petition was filed before the High Court, subsequently, seeking police protection throughout the duration of the renovation of the temple. The High Court directed the police to provide security
After the High Court orders, the temple’s hereditary trustee, Maheswaran and the residents of the village submitted a petition before the Madurai Superintendent of Police. In the petition, they requested the SP to provide police protection till the completion of the renovation work of the temple and the kumbabhishekam ceremony.
The villagers said that near the temple, a mosque was built about 100 years ago. They said that when they attempted to start the renovation of the temple, the local Muslims barged into the temple premises and held protests. The Muslims demanded that the temple not be renovated and should be relocated to a different place.
Police tried to convince the Muslims not to oppose the court-backed renovation of the temple, but they did not budge. The village has a majority population of Hindus, and yet the Muslims are able to prevent them from renovating the temple and violate the order of the High Court.
