Chief priest of Chilkur Balaji temple, CS Rangarajan, met with Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to discuss issues faced by traditional archakas in temples like Bhadradri, Vemulawada, and Basara. The temple protection movement aims to preserve traditional rituals performed by hereditary archakas in ancient temples.
Rangarajan highlighted that the Supreme Court had acknowledged the importance of hereditary archakas in maintaining the rituals of traditional and rural temples. He pointed out that while Andhra Pradesh had taken steps to support archaka families through GO Ms 439 in 2019, Telangana had not implemented a similar legislation passed in 2007 by the YS Rajasekhara Reddy government.
The recent attempt by Endowments administration officials in Telangana to transfer hereditary archakas was seen as a consequence of the lack of implementation of the 2007 legislation. Rangarajan emphasized that simply increasing pay scales for archakas would not solve the underlying issues faced by these families.
Despite numerous representations made to past Chief Ministers, Endowments Ministers, and officials over the past decade, the amended legislation supporting hereditary archakas has not been enforced in Telangana. Rangarajan gifted his LLM Thesis on ‘Government Rules on Hindu Temples’ to Bhatti Vikramarka, urging him to take action on this matter. The Deputy Chief Minister assured Rangarajan of his support and assistance in addressing the concerns raised.
