The Hindu : Kerala News : Minister cannot alter customs: NSS

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Monday, Dec 10, 2007
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Kerala

Minister cannot alter customs: NSS

Staff Reporter

‘Under Statute, he should protect them’

Anguish over shortage of ‘aravana’
To oppose change in recruitment method of aided institutions

KASARAGOD: The Devaswoms Minister has no right to take initiatives to reform customs and traditions of temples, as he is Constitutionally-bound to protect these, P.K. Narayana Panicker, general secretary, Nair Service Society (NSS), said here on Sunday.

Inaugurating the society’s Kasaragod regional meeting, Mr. Panicker said when temple assets were taken over by the erstwhile Travancore State, a Devaswom Department was formed to protect these places of worship and their customs. Later, when Travancore became a part of India, the Constitution incorporated provisions to protect the customs. Since the Minister had taken oath of allegiance to the Constitution, he had to protect the customs.

Aravana shortage

Expressing anguish over the shortage of “aravana” at Sabarimala, Mr. Panicker said the Travancore Devaswom Board had entered into an agreement with a firm for supplying it without properly checking its credentials, and now, there was an unprecedented situation. There were complaints about the quality of aravana being supplied, and the NSS was anguished over the situation.

School appointments

He said the NSS would strongly oppose moves to entrust the Kerala Public Service Commission with appointing teachers in aided schools and colleges. It would resist the move jointly with the Churches.

Mr. Panicker noted that private managements had invested huge sums in constructing and maintaining schools and colleges and those who demanded that they be handed over to the government did not take into consideration those issues.

Mr. Panicker said the forward communities in the State were being denied social justice, and judgments of courts on reservation were often neglected. The Constitution had ensured special rights to minorities in running educational institutions and there was a judgment of the apex court that any community that made up less than half the population of the State was a minority.

But the State governments were not prepared to conduct a caste-wise census to determine minorities, he said.

The NSS was the first organisation in the country to fight against the Mandal commission report, and implementation of creamy layer in caste-based reservations was the result of a legal fight carried out by it.

Criticising political parties, Mr. Panicker said they seemed to forget the existence of forward communities when issues regarding reservation were discussed in the Assembly.

The MLAs belonging to the Nair community did not raise their voice for the community on such occasions, he added.

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