Author: Dr. Jagan Kaul and Krishan Bhatnagar
Publication:
Date: October 20, 2006
Subject: Shankaracharya's arrest is the result
of outright vindictiveness, vendetta, abuse of power and contempt for Hindu
India. This case should be withdrawn and His Holiness exonerated;
Hon'ble Chief Minister Karunanidhi,
This urgent representation is being submitted
to seek your immediate action in the case of HH Swami Jayendra Shankaracharya's
arrest on 11/11 (November 11, 2004) on concocted murder charges, on the holiest
night of Diwali. The ultra-legal action by the state authorities as has been
confirmed universally was the result of political vendetta, abuse of power
and contempt for the Hindu India. Accordingly, it has grievously hurt the
religious sentiments, pride and feelings of the Hindus community worldwide.
This shameful act by the authorities constitutes a frontal attack by anti-
Hindu, anti- India forces against the traditionally tolerant Hindus who were
instrumental in maintaining national unity and keeping the country together
through centuries of treacherous foreign rule, partitions and now murderous
Islamic terrorism. To Hindus, HH Shankaracharya is an icon, an institution
and the top most Hindu seer - like the Pope for Catholics, who is accorded
public and state honors worldwide.
The fact that this case had to be transferred
out of the state in search of a fair trial and justice speaks volumes about
the prevalent political vindictiveness in the state. In the collective wisdom
of the Hindu intelligentsia the control of Hindu temples and endowments violating
a secular Constitution and the arrest of the supreme Hindu leader are obvious
moves to contain, disrupt and demolish Hinduism, while the Islamic and Christian
religious remain free from the suffocating Govt. tentacles.
Ms. J Jayalalithaa, the former CM, told the
Tamil Nadu assembly on November 17, 2004 - that "the Tamil Nadu police
have shocking but solid information on the links of Kanchi Shankaracharya
Jayendra Saraswathi with the murderers of Sankararaman". She broke her
silence on the seer's arrest by making a suo motu statement. It is almost
two years since, but the TN Govt. has miserably failed to provide any credible
evidence to prove the charges against the Hindu leader. The officials have
shown little or no respect for the fact that "justice delayed is justice
denied."
The following grounds establish without a
doubt that in this imbroglio the central underlying motive was a religio-political
conspiracy. His Holiness has been i) a thorn in the flesh of evangelists,
and he was furious on Jayalalitha's withdrawal of the anti-conversion law
following her rout in the Lok Sabha elections. Days before his arrest, he
had also ii) railed against the Endowments Act whereby government gained control
over temples. iii) He supported the demand for removal of non-believers from
temple managements and wanted iv) use of temple finances for purely Hindu
religious causes (i.e., funds from Hindu temples should not subsidize the
Haj and Church construction and maintenance). The fulfillment of these demands
would have spun the official erroneous policy out of the orbit and down the
drain.
Former President R Venkataraman sought a probe
into the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya. He said that the inquiry should
unearth if 'private grievance' was the motive for the treatment meted out
to the seer; and if there was any 'ulterior motive' behind the Hindu leader's
arrest. It may be recalled that the HH happened to be the 69th head of Kanchi
Kamakoti Peetha, which has at least 2000 years of shining and untarnished
history.
The Kanchi Shankaracharya is the foremost
spiritual leader of the Hindu faith. Among the four mutts set up by Adi Shankaracharya,
who is credited with reviving the Hindu religion in medieval India, the Kanchi
Peeth is the most revered. Others include the Dwarka, Badrinath and Puri Peeth.
The Shankaracharya was also in the news as his devotees include the who's
who among the politicians and industrialists. President APJ Abdul Kalam was
among the distinguished crowd.
His Holiness's arrest is suppression of Hindus
Human Rights of religious freedom: It is a case of premeditated arrest to
hurt an institution and trying to find supportive evidence and witnesses after
the fact. The practice of detailing innocent people without grounds is conceivable
only in totalitarian states and not in free and democratic polities. Clearly
the TN establishment seems to have removed that distinction between the two.
On the other hand the elected Muslim officials & their supporters and
even the J&K Chief Minister in their nationwide campaign warn of serious
repercussions should a noted criminal like Afzal, the convicted terrorist,
not be granted clemency. Doesn't it convey a clear message to Hindus that
until and unless they become Jihadists by extension as Maoists or Naxalites
their culture and religion could not be saved.
Kanchi Shankaracharya and Kanchi Mutt are
Hindu icons. He is like an Emperor in the religious domain and living an ascetic
life he could do no wrong. He has the same status in the Hindu society as
the Holy Pope amongst Catholics.
"A Shankaracharya is not made in a day.
From the day of initiation during the early childhood, it takes at least two
decades of rigorous training in philosophy and other branches of religion
to make an Acharya of a mutt like Kanchi. "The present HH is a revolutionary
saint who intensely worked among the people, in the Dalit bastis. He pronounced
against castes, declaring that chaturvarna had no Vedic sanction. He trained
Dalit youth in temple duties, rituals and declared them archakas giving them
the sacred thread." He is pious and unassuming so much so that when in
jail, he advised everyone to pray, and while in court asked the judge if he
could sit down.
The real intention behind the HH's arrest
was to humiliate the most visible, revered, and respectable Hindu religious
leader in the country and administer a devastating blow to Hinduism: Whatever
the reasons for the unbecoming official misbehavior, the govt. could have
handled this case with a little more sensitivity and finesse. There was no
reason to humiliate this highly spiritual person. Blinded by the spirit of
animosity and vindictiveness while abusing the official power and authority,
two additional yet frivolous cases were registered against him to deny his
release on bail.
Historically the Sankaracharyas live totally
spartan lives and have no need for money or material possessions. Then why
on earth would the Sankaracharya order the murder of an accountant? Such an
assumption completely defies logic. The fact that the Swami was kept locked
up in the harshest of conditions is clear indication of a political conspiracy
at work. So much so that he was denied even courtesy and facilities of a political
prisoner.
Sir, It must also be noted that the Supreme
Court agreed to transfer the trial to Pondicherry a year ago (attachment A)
saying that: a) there was "reasonable apprehension" that the accused
will not get justice in Tamil Nadu; b) found that the Tamil Nadu Government
was showing "interest in securing the conviction of the Seer and halting
the religious activities of the Mutt." ; and c) that affidavits and the
documents placed on record conclusively establish that a serious attempt had
been made by the State machinery to implicate lawyers even remotely connected
with the defense of the accused.
The court further commented that "It
leads to an inference that the State machinery is not only interested in securing
conviction of the petitioner (Seer) and other co-accused but also bringing
to a complete halt the entire religious and other activities of the various
trusts and endowments and the performance of pooja and other rituals in the
temples and religious places in accordance with the customs and traditions
and thereby create a fear psychosis in the minds of the people", (Attachment
A). It is a year since the above comments and strictures by the SC but the
TN Govt. has not been able to conclusively prove its case against the defendant.
The colossal inability of the Govt. to prove its case against the Hindu leader
must be considered an important ground either to dismiss and/or withdraw this
case which in the first place was born out of concocted and manufactured accusations.
Hon'ble Chief Minister Karunanidhi, based
on the facts, arguments and reasoning stated above we hereby request you to
please use your authority as the head of the TN Govt. and throw the charges
against the HH into the gutter, where they realistically belong, withdraw
the case against HH and set him free. After two years of waiting and trying
the patience of the entire Hindu Samaj, that is the only way to meet the ends
of justice. The continued incarceration of the Hindu leader without a cause
exposes the hollowness of freedom, democracy and rule of law in TN. Your intervention,
even at this late stage, could surely help in salvaging the reputation of
the Govt. and its sense of justice.
Thank you Mr. Chief Minister and we are looking
forward to your prompt action with a notification to this office.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr. Jagan Kaul
Krishan Bhatnagar
Hindu Jagran Forum ( USA)
email: krishan.kb@verizon.net
October 19, 2006
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Attachmanet A
SC slams TN Govt, shifts Seer case to Pondicherry
Legal Correspondent / New Delhi
Pioneer, Oct 27, 2005
Passing severe strictures against the Jayalalithaa
Government for its handling of the Shankararaman murder case involving the
Kanchi Shankaracharya, the Supreme Court on Wednesday shifted the trial to
Pondicherry saying that there was "reasonable apprehension" that
the accused will not get justice in Tamil Nadu.
Just short of a year after Shankaracharya
Jayendra Saraswati's arrest on Diwali night in Andhra Pradesh, a Bench comprising
Chief Justice RC Lahoti and Justice GP Mathur found that the Tamil Nadu Government
was showing "interest in securing the conviction of the Seer and halting
the religious activities of the Mutt."
The trial will now be shifted from the Principal
Sessions Judge, Chinglepet, to Principal Sessions Judge, Pondicherry, a Union
Territory where Tamil is the language of court proceedings.
In a virtual balancing act, the court conceded
the Seer's plea for transfer of the case outside Tamil Nadu, but also yielded
to the State's request that if at all it should be shifted, the trial should
be held in Pondicherry.
The Seer had sought a transfer of the case
to Chittoor or nearby areas in Andhra Pradesh.
Delivering the judgement on behalf of the
Bench, Justice Mathur said that taking into consideration the entire facts
and circumstances of the case both of them had no hesitation in holding that
the seer and other co-accused petitioners had a reasonable apprehension that
they would not get justice in the State of Tamil Nadu.
The court, however, clarified that "we
are casting no reflection on the district judiciary in the State of Tamil
Nadu. But it is the actions of the prosecuting agency and the State machinery,
which are responsible for creating a reasonable apprehension in the mind of
the petitioner and other co-accused that they will not get justice if the
trial is held in any place inside the State of Tamil Nadu. We are, therefore,
of the opinion that the interest of justice requires that the trial may be
transferred to a place outside the State of Tamil Nadu."
The court said that the material placed on
record had satisfied it that various hurdles have been created by the State
machinery against the accused persons and criticised the prosecuting agencies
for targeting the counsel, including senior advocates, who stood to defend
the Sankaracharyas.
"We have discussed above many facets
of the case which do show that the State machinery in Tamil Nadu is not only
taking an undue interest but is going to any extent in securing the conviction
of the accused by any means and to stifle even publication of any article
or expression of dissent in media or Press, interview by journalists or persons
who have held high positions in public life and are wholly unconnected with
the criminal case," the court said.
Raising a further question mark on the handling
of the case by the Tamil Nadu Government, the court said that affidavits and
the documents placed on record conclusively establish that a serious attempt
had been made by the State machinery to implicate lawyers even remotely connected
with the defence of the accused.
"The Superintendent of Police, SIT and
police inspector connected with the investigation even went to the extent
of prompting approver Ravi Subramaniam to make insinuation against a very
senior counsel who has been practicing for over 43 years and is appearing
as counsel for the petitioner," the court said.
"Launching of prosecution against prominent
persons who have held high political offices and prominent jour nalists merely
because they expressed some dissent against the arrest of the petitioner shows
the attitude of the State that it cannot tolerate any kind of dissent which
is the most cherished right in a democracy guaranteed by Article 19 of the
Constitution," the court said.
The Court criticised the prosecuting agencies
for showing "extra interest" in the case only on the ground that
Sankaracharya, who has been chargesheeted in the case for allegedly entering
into conspiracy to murder, is the head of the Mutt.
"It leads to an inference that the State
machinery is not only interested in securing conviction of the petitioner
(Seer) and other co-accused but also bringing to a complete halt the entire
religious and other activities of the various trusts and endowments and the
performance of pooja and other rituals in the temples and religious places
in accordance with the customs and traditions and thereby create a fear psychosis
in the minds of the people," the court said.
The Court said the action of freezing the
accounts of the Mutt demonstrated the extent to which the State machinery
could go while prosecuting the Seer in the Sankararaman murder case.