Inspection of Kerala temple treasures to resume

By Ashraf Padanna /Thiruvananthapuram

A panel of experts appointed by India’s apex court is set to resume inspection of priceless treasures unearthed from the secret underground vaults of a south Indian temple recently. The search at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in the Kerala state capital was halted last month as the inspectors could not open the last vault after huge collection of precious stones, gold and silver believed to be worth billions of dollars were discovered from five other vaults.This time the experts have to undertake the huge task of assessing their values besides cataloguing them which was not done earlier. The new committee also comprises experts from the Reserve Bank of India, India’s central bank, and Archaeological Survey of India. The committee will hold its first meeting today morning to chart out a detailed plan. The Supreme Court is yet to reach a decision on the last and most secured vault, which is expected to throw up more surprises as it was last opened 136 years ago. “We will discuss all aspects of the process and go ahead with a well designed plan as directed by the court. We will work in close coordination with the coordination panel,” said CV Ananda Bose, the director general of National Museum who heads the panel. MV Nair, archaeological conservation head of the National Museum Institute, VK Harikumar, executive director of the temple, besides the RBI and ASI representatives, are the members of the panel of experts. A three-member panel headed by former Kerala High Court judge MN Krishnan with representatives of the state government and the Travancore royalty, the present custodian of the temple, will oversee the proceedings. All the three were also part of the earlier panel that started inventorying. The court had also ordered filming of the riches and the entire proceedings. The devotees have already voiced against the filming as they are considered to be the offerings by the erstwhile maharajas to the presiding deity, Lord Padmanabha.The sprawling temple known for its architectural elegance is managed by a trust under the royal family, which ruled South Kerala until India’s independence, while all other temples are under the state control. The Kerala High Court ordered takeover of the temple early this year after lawyer T P Sundara Rajan, who died earlier this month, questioned the transparency and accountability of the royal trust. Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the heir to the throne of the erstwhile kingdom that entered into a covenant with the state in 1948 to retain the temple, went in appeal against this in the apex court which opened the stocktaking process. The maharajas had pledged their kingdom to the presiding deity in 18th century and were ruling the country as Padmanabha-dasas or servants of Lord Padmanabha. Though India abolished right to hereditary titles and privileges of the erstwhile rulers in 1971, the family continued to control the temple’s administration and people were generally satisfied with their role as selfless custodians.The court had directed the expert committee to reveal details of their findings only to it and asked the media not to speculate on the worth of the treasures. No unauthorised person will be allowed into the vaults.The panel will sort the finds into three categories — those with heritage value, those which can be used for regular worship in the temple and those having no monetary value. There is also an increasing demand for keeping the precious things in a museum for everyone to see and cash in on its tourism potential.The earlier panel which prepared an initial inventory of the artefacts found in five vaults managed to open the outer doors of the sixth vault but found an iron wall inside it. They stopped there saying they need expertise and got back to the court. Sharp divisions have surfaced over who should benefit from the riches. Hindu groups say they belong to the temple, a position that the state government has also accepted, while others, including former Supreme Court judge V R Krishna Iyer and opposition legislator Jameela Prakasham, argue the money belongs to the people and should be utilised for the public good.

Security stepped upPolice have stepped up security at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple here after inspections revealed treasures worth billions of rupees kept in its secret chambers more than a century ago.The findings include jewels, precious stones, gold and silver and vessels, coins and metal lamps of rare heritage and antique values believed to be kept as reserves by the erstwhile Maharajahs of Travancore. Officials and historians find it extremely difficult to value their price. According to unofficial estimates, the treasures discovered during five days of inspections alone can be valued at more than Rs500bn. One more highly secured chamber is yet to be opened and the temple authorities say inspections will continue at least for another week.“We have been taking a serious view of the development. The security is already strong there but I have instructed the police chief to reinforce security further following the findings and it would be there permanently,” said Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy.The Kingdom of Travacore whose ruler was accorded 19-gun salute by the British Empire, was merged with the princely state of Cochin after India’s independence from the British in 1947 and the Travancore-Kochi state merged with the Malabar district to form the present day Kerala in 1956 when the states were reorganized on the basis of language. The newly formed state also retained the city as its capital.Legend has it that the Travancore kings had transferred loads of wealth, meant for use during famines or scarcity, to these secret chambers and sealed them with huge stone walls to protect them from the British. The temple in the present form was built by the royalty in 16th century.According to the present head of the royalty, the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act 1950 (TC Act) was enacted by incorporating a covenant that vested the management of the temple with the erstwhile ruler of Travancore which was done as the king wanted to retain control of the temple after the agreement of accession was signed with the Indian union.