The historic Sri Vedaranyeswarar Temple in Vedaranyam, Nagapattinam district, is at the centre of a renewed push to recover temple lands said to be under long-standing encroachment. The 1,300-year-old shrine is noted for inscriptions and references in the Saiva canon.
According to devotees, the temple has 88 inscriptions recorded by the Archaeology Department, dating to Chola rulers including Aditya Chola, Rajaraja Chola I, Rajendra Chola I and Kulothunga Chola. These inscriptions mention grants and endowments made to the temple over centuries.
Devotees say many such lands are now occupied, and that the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has only recently begun steps to retrieve them. They allege that, from the outset, a few individuals have started a social media campaign portraying the recovery drive as an action that harms ordinary families.
T.R. Ramesh, president of a devotees’ association, urged HR&CE to take firm action against what he described as an “anti-temple” group and to proceed with reclaiming the properties. In his statement, he alleged that a person named Jehbar Sherif has misrepresented the issue as affecting the livelihood of 120 families, while, he claimed, the families had encroached on temple land for years and built permanent houses.
Ramesh further called for the government to carry out evictions through legal procedures and to act against those who, he alleged, are attempting to obstruct official action. He also alleged that the campaign seeks to mobilise people to block the recovery process and demanded strict action against unlawful resistance.
