I wrote this yesterday, the 11th of December, in memory of Ahilyabai Holkar.
RELEASE OF A STAMP
Earlier this year, on the 31st of May, Ahilyabhai Holkar’s 300th birth anniversary was commemorated by the release of a stamp. Two hundred and fifty-eight years ago, after she had lost her husband, her son, and her father-in-law on the 11th of December, she was crowned queen in 1767.
HER ENDURING LEGACY
Her most enduring legacy lies in what she did for our temples. During her rule, Ahilyabai Holkar funded the rebuilding or renovation of several temples including the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the Somnath Temple, and the Vishnupad Temple. She also supported the creation of ghats, dharamshalas, wells, and other infrastructure for pilgrims. Her work stretched across the country from Rameswaram, Ujjain, and Srisailam to Haridwar.
HOW CAN WE TRULY PAY A HOMAGE TO HER ?
I believe we must do much more to honour her life and her extraordinary contributions during her three decades as the Queen of Indore than by simply issuing a stamp. If we genuinely want to commemorate her, we need to at least do the following two things.
1. Bring Women into the Governance of Temples:
Let’s look at the current governance of a few prominent temples.
A. Ayodhya Temple is managed by a trust of 15 members, of whom 12 are nominated and 3 are ex officio (whose names are yet to appear on the website). _All the 12 nominated members are men._ (https://srjbtkshetra.org/trust-members/ )
B. Kashi Vishwanath Temple: The English option on the website does not seem to work, but from what I can see, apart from the Sringeri Acharya, _the other three nominated members are men._
(https://shrikashivishwanath.org/trust/member)
C. Somnath Temple: _There are 7 trustees, and all of them are men.( https://somnath.org/trustee )
This is just a sample, I could look up the websites of other major temples, but it is safe to assume that the story will be largely the same: either no representation or very marginal representation through ex officio roles.
2. Use MPLADS for Building Associated Infrastructure for Pilgrims:
Another issue with temples in India is that the associated infrastructure outside the temple complex falls short on several counts, be it hygiene or the ability to smoothly handle the flow of pilgrims, or simply providing basic amenities such as toilets and accomodation. Across the country it is the same story, with degrees of variation on some parameters. There are of course the rare exceptions like Tirumala.
Yes, we face the limitation of temples being controlled by the State governments and their willingness/ability to spend freely, but we need to think creatively and come up with alternate solutions. We need to show greater compassion to pilgrims and at the very least provide basic amenities. How about we consider directing a certain percentage of MPLADS funds to this cause ? As per the guidelines, the only restriction is that this money cannot be used for infrastructure _within_the temples; however, any public infrastructure just outside the complex is fully permissible. This is one practical way and ready made way to care for the pilgrims, much like Holkar did in her time. More importantly, this will greatly boost religious tourism, in turn leading to the creation of employment and entrepreneurship.
We cannot keep celebrating our heroes with stamps and speeches while the infrastructure they once built is poorly maintained. If we genuinely wish to honour Ahilyabai, we must first relook at the way temples are governed by bringing women into the governance structure while simultaneously develop innovative mechanisms to build or upgrade the associated infrastructure.
Hari’s Curries
A Buffet of Reflections