Kerala temple treasure poses security risk for city: legislator

By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram

A prominent opposition legislator has demanded that the treasures found in the vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, believed to be worth more than Rs1,250bn, be auctioned and utilised for building public infrastructure and helping the poor.

Former banker Jameela Prakasam believes this is vital to ensure security of the people living in the city.

“Now that the entire world knows that such a huge amount of valuables are lying beneath the temple it puts the population of the city at risk of an attack,” Prakasam claimed.

Prakasam is a member of former prime minister Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) - part of the Communist-led opposition in Kerala where the temple is located.

“The wealth belongs to the lower-caste people who had to pay tax for everything,” she pointed out. “The gold and ornaments should be auctioned and funds utilised to help the downtrodden,” Prakasam said.

Besides gold idols, crowns and ornaments, there are huge piles of gold coins.

In June 2011, inspectors opened some of the vaults for the first time in many years and a detailed digital inventory of the riches to assess the value of the deposits is still going on by a court-appointed panel with the help of archeologists and other officials.

The most secure of the six vaults will be opened only after the inventory of tonnes of gold, diamonds, emeralds and other artefacts is completed.

With the process entering its final stages, a public debate is raging on how to use the temple treasure.

The wealth is more than sufficient to wipe out the state’s entire public debt accumulated over the years.

While the Congress party-led state government and the majority of Hindu organisations insist that the wealth belongs to the temple and should remain with it, the Communists want to monetise “whatever possible” for public good.

“The rulers of Travancore protected the wealth for centuries and I see it as a symbol of their honesty and strong belief,” said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who belongs to the Congress party. “We are doing everything to protect the temple and we have spent Rs360mn for its security”.

The opposition charges the government of colluding with the royalty. The Supreme Court, through an interim order last month had removed the royalty as custodians of the temple and its riches after a judicial official suspected foul play and pilferage.

“The wealth belongs to the people. Once the inventory is over, we should think about a comprehensive plan to monetise the valuables of no religious or ritualistic importance. These can be used for building public infrastructure, hospitals and educational institutions,” said Pannyan Raveendran, secretary, Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala.

The breakaway Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which is the single largest political party in Kerala leading the opposition, is also of the view that whatever possible should be utilised for the public good. Writing in a regional newspaper, Dr Thomas Isaac, the party’s central committee member and a former finance minister of the state, also suggested that the rare artefacts should be kept in a museum.

There are gold coins of the British era, ornaments and crowns worn by royals and items of historic and artistic values among the collection.