Are request slips offered instead of money as donations in Kerala temples?
Claim
We will not offer money but request slips into the temple hundis from now on! They have started in Kerala. When will we?
Rating
Explanation
A few including BJP, Jaggi Vasudev have taken initiative to free temples under Hindu Religious and Charitable Department. Social media posts relating to this can be seen often.
In this scenario, a set of photos claiming that Kerala people have stopped offering money as donations to temples and instead of money, request slips alone are offered to God, are viral on social media.
What is the Truth?
No news on Kerala people deciding to stop offering donations is seen. When the description of the viral photos is searched it can be seen that the posts were viral since 2020.
There were protests when the government tried implementing the supreme court’s verdict on women entering the Sabarimala temple, Kerala in 2018.
A call not to offer money to temples was taken during the protest. Indian Express article dated 22nd October 2018 reports, “Request slips mentioning as Swami Saranam written on it were offered into the temple Hundi instead of money”.
When searching for the viral photos, an October 3 dated article on My Nation website reports, “Many activists claimed that they would no longer donate to the Sabarimala shrine. Instead, they have chosen to deposit paper slips into the hundi”, along with the pictures of the protest.
Puthiya Thalaimurai News on 19th November 2019 reports, “Rs.3 crore was collected from Sabarimala temple hundi on the very first day of temple reopening. People and Hindu associations protested when the government tried to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict last year. This reduced the arrival of devotees which in turn reduced the donations. Only 28 lakh rupee was collected from the temple hundi on the first day of temple reopening last year”.
Conclusion
In 2018, people protested against the verdict of allowing women inside the Sabarimala temple by offering request slips instead of money.
However, after the protest, people proceed to offer money as donations into the temple hundi. It can be calculated that in 2018 due to the protests the donations received were reduced and later in the next year the donations have increased.
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