#memory
#history
Soundararajan IPS.
Sounderrajan is a name which should be remembered for ever by all those who believe in democracy and probity in public life.
Soundararajan, a retired IPS officer earned eternal fame as the man who started the fight to end the corruption of the former royal family of Travancore, in the administration of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram.
Padmanabhaswamy temple is now world famous as the repository of
the largest treasure in the country, perhaps the world, in its vaults.
The treasures had accumulated over the centuries as the temple was also the treasury of the royal kingdom of Travancore from the days of its formation 475 years ago by King Marthanda Varma.
Sundararajan, a Tamil Brahmin, grew up in the Brahmin enclave in the precincts of the temple and was an ardent and ascetic devotee. After retirement, he spent his whole life from morning to evening in the temple subsisting only on the offerings.
He began to notice that after the demise of the last King of Travancore, Sree Chithira Tirunal, his younger brother Marthanda Varma, who had taken over the administration, was pilfering the treasures with the aid of the temple staff.
Upset with the loot and more the desecration, he was forced to approach the High Court of Kerala, alleging that the former royal family was smuggling treasures from the Padmanabha Swamy temple. The petition demanded that the treasures in the vaults be verified, and that the administration of the temple be handed over to the state government.
The covenant signed after independence regarding the integration of the kingdom of Travancore with the Indian Union had stipulated that the privileges of the Maharaja would end with his death, and the ownership of the temple will revert to the State which had replaced the kingdom. The administration of the temple would rest with the former ruler as per tradition.
Sundarajan, as IPS officer, had worked in the Intelligence Bureau, and was one of the most trusted officials of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After retirement he became a lawyer in the Supreme Court. Later he stopped practicing law and began to spend all his time in the Padmanabhaswamy temple.
The case reached the Supreme Court and the audit team instituted by the SC, found that there is substance in the allegations raised by Sounderrajan. Marthanda Varma had died in the meantime.
However the SC agreed with the contention of the erstwhile royal family that their rights as ‘Ooralans’ of the temple continued. Hence the successors would continue to have representation in the administrative committee set up by the court.
The SC also determined that the temple is a Public Temple and hence the ownership rests with the deity, and not the erstwhile royal family. The SC also ordered a comprehensive audit of the accounts and assets of the temple of the last 25 years.
It has now been determined that the treasures contained in the underground vaults of the temple was the largest in the country valued at thousands of crores .
Though the final judgement and results of the audit are yet to come, the fight of Soundararajan to end the corruption in the administration of the Sree Padmanabha Temple has not been in vain.
What the country needs is more such crusaders like Sounderrajan.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
