Kerala’s communal History
I came across @anjaliGorg in
Twitter as a person who spoke her mind, unshackled by upbringing, a sign of
inquisitive mind that conquers inherent and instilled prejudices of milieu one
is born in. I am always fascinated by people who express views that are
individualistic and a result of arriving at a conclusion after internal debate
as against those who only repeat intelligent sounding words heard somewhere. If
one trains the ears and mind, surely one can hear the distance between the
spoken words and the ideas that spur them. The larger the distance between them,
the faker the person is.
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| Mattummal Bala Aalayam |
In
one of her tweets she had mentioned about Malaparaba Mattummal Narasimhamoorthy
temple and its gory history. Her tweets suggested that the destruction of the
temple was only symbolic, the real one being the intrinsic tolerant values that
are commonplace in India.
As a
frequent visitor to Kerala, that too, to the abode of my chosen deity that is situated
within an hour’s drive of this temple, I determined to visit Malaparamba Mattummal
temple.
The
desire to visit the temple is culmination of multiple wants in me. Here I try
to sum it up here as a historical narrative of the temple.
This
is a temple that bears multiple scars of destruction carried out by Islamic
groups of various hues from different timeline. The modernity and the era of
the Islamists notwithstanding, the result has been consistently the same.
During
the onslaught of Tipu Sultan, this temple, it is said, was destroyed for the
first time. The depravity of Tipu Sultan, that he considered a desirable
Islamic quality, is well documented well through history. It is another matter
that post-independence secular politics in India put a wrap on that. “Tipu
Sultan – The tyrant of Mysore” by Sandeep Balakrishnan details the atrocities
committed by Tipu in Kerala. The current Muslim folks of Kerala, most of them, are
descendants of forefathers who were forced to convert by Tipu. As a result of the wanton destruction of the
temple, the temple fell to disuse and ruins.
The
temple also was targeted during the Maplah riot in which Islamic ideology committed
a modest genocide in Kerala.
During
1947 one Unees Sahib took over the land of Mattummal temple on lease and used
the wooden columns of the ruins of the temple to build latrine in his bungalow.
Uneen Sahib suffered innumerable problems including health that drove him to
consult the Hindu wisdom. It is also said he had a vision of Goddess Durga in
his dream and Uneen Sahib turned a new leaf in his life.
Uneen
Sahib turned vegetarian, subsequently converted to Hinduism at Calicut Arya Samaj
presided over by a Punjabi, Buddha Singh. To the chagrin of modern day secularists,
he was also made a Brahmin, marrying him to a Namboori woman. The local RSS
leader Shri Shankar Sastri ji was instrumental for the conversion as well as
the protection.
Uneen
Sahib, who became Ramasimha said that he was a Muslim by accident; as a result
of his grandmother’s decision to convert. His brother, wife and children too
converted, children taking Sikh names.
The
Muslim community rattled by this conversion did not take it lightly. It is not
out of place to recall that Islam seeks to punish apostasy by death. They did
just that. Killed Ramasimhan, his pregnant wife, his brother and cook.
The
case was investigated and the Palghat sessions court sentenced four people to
death. However, it is said, with the help of Sri Kozhipurathu Madhava Menon, a
lawyer, evidences were destroyed and High court of Madras acquitted all for
want of evidence.
It
is also mentioned by many that the estranged Father-in-law of Uneen Sahib (who
was married to a Muslim woman before committing apostasy) Kalladi Unnikkammu
Sahib as well as the lawyer Madhava Menon turned mad.
After
years of fighting, the Hindus have got back a princely 67 cents, about 0.1% of
the original 600 Acres that belongs to the temple where a Balaalayam (temporary
abode) has been erected by the patrons. In what should be the temple land,
domes of Islamic character adorn.
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| With Islamic backdrop |
The
usual suspects galore in this story. Violent Islamists, sword wielding
invaders, iconoclasts, Marxist politicians who turn a blind eye to Hindu
interest, Newspapers who take pain to see that the news does not reach public, apathetic
Judicial system, corrupt justice etc etc.
In
all this, what we can do is, donate generously to the temple, make those lonely
fighters financially strong and help the local Hindus regain some respect
deserving a human being.I was told in the temple that Yeddurappa ji donated INR 1,000,000/-
For
those who want to donate kindly see details here
Thanks
to these sources:
@anjaiGorg
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/hkpage.aspx?PageID=9193
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