'Obnoxious' practice of VVIP, preferential treatment in temples to privileged people

By NS Venkataraman*
In the earlier days, there was restriction for entry in the place of worship for people based on caste and creed. This practice prevailed in several religions. Though such practice has now been largely given up due to proactive campaign, the practice is still prevalent in some places. Hopefully, this practice would go away completely soon.
While the above practice is under debate for several years now, the most obnoxious practice seen today is the practice of providing preferential entry in the place of worship for those who pay entry fee, as against those who do not pay or who cannot afford to pay entry fee and opt for free darshan.
Such people not paying entry fee often wait in the queue for long time (sometime several hours), even as they see the people paying fee getting quick entry and the so called VIPs , who could be ministers or celebrities such as sports persons, cinema actors or rich business persons or top officials of the government , straightaway being taken for darshan without waiting.
It is even more obnoxious to see the condition, where the darshan for devotees are completely stopped when a person like President, Governor or ministers visit the place of worship.
Unfortunately ,there is no discussion or protest about such undesirable practice of giving preferential entry in the place of worship for some people and denying it to others.

How can devotees be treated differently?

The question here is as to how any difference can be observed between the people, even in the place of worship.
Obviously, it is the belief that God would not distinguish between the devotees based on money power or the position held in the society. In other words, in the place of worship, all people should be treated equally and this is the basic dictum in all religions from time immemorial.
It is famously said that death is a great equalizer. Should not the devotees getting preferential entry , be conscious about this fact that death event make no difference between the rich and the poor people? What is applicable to the death event should be equally applicable to the life event also, particularly in the place of worship.

Who is responsible?

There are two players responsible for such obnoxious practice of having preferential entry to some so called “privileged people” and denying it to others.
One is the administrators of the place of worship who seem to view the administration of the place of worship largely as commercial activity and think that collecting entry fee is nothing wrong. These administrators are guilty of introducing undesirable “VIP culture" in place of worship for whatever reasons.
The other guilty people are those who pay entry fee to get quick entry and the so called VIPs who get free and ready entry , unmindful of the feelings of frustration of those who cannot afford to pay or who do not want to pay as a matter of principle. These people fail to realise that those who do not pay entry fee and forced to wait in the queue for long time are as genuine devotees, as those who gain entry at the cost of others by using their money power or position in the society.
The entry fee paying devotees to get quick entry and the so called VIPs getting free and ready entry are self centred people , who try to get advantage for themselves over others. They are also responsible for creating sort of “class difference” in the place of worship , which is absolutely unacceptable.

What would saints say?

Several mythological stories reveal as to how God bless poor and sincere devotees, more than those who visit place of worship using money power and sometimes with pomp and show .
Mahatma Gandhi said, “I hate privilege and monopoly. Whatever cannot be shared with the masses is taboo to me.” ('Harijan', 2nd November 1934)
Certainly, great Indian saints like Kanchi Paramacharya and Bhgawan Sri Ramana Maharshi would have disapproved the money power playing a role in providing entry to the place of worship.
What is urgently required is that all genuine devotees, whatever may be their wealth or position in the society , should decide that they would not seek any special privilege for them in getting quick or ready entry.
If some Governors or ministers cannot wait in the queue with other devotees due to security or other reasons, let them not visit the place of worship or let them visit after shedding their so called special status.
---
*Trustee, Nandini Voice For The Deprived, Chennai

Comments

The silencing of conscience: Ideological attacks on India’s judiciary and free thought

By Sunil Kumar* “Volunteers will pick up sticks to remove every obstacle that comes in the way of Sanatan and saints’ work.” — RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat (November 6, 2024, Chitrakoot) Eleven months later, on October 6, 2025, a man who threw a shoe inside the Supreme Court shouted, “India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan.” This incident was not an isolated act but a continuation of a pattern seen over the past decade—attacks on intellectuals, writers, activists, and journalists, sometimes in the name of institutions, sometimes by individual actors or organizations.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Citizens’ group to recall Justice Chagla’s alarm as India faces ‘undeclared' Emergency

By A Representative In a move likely to raise eyebrows among the powers-that-be, a voluntary organisation founded during the “dark days” of the Indira Gandhi -imposed Emergency has announced that it will hold a public conference in Ahmedabad to highlight what its office-bearers call today’s “undeclared Emergency.”

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

World Bank arm accused of hiding crucial report on Gujarat’s Tata Mundra power project

By A Representative The Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has accused the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the accountability arm of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), of concealing crucial evidence related to the Tata Mundra coal power project in Gujarat during the period when the case was being heard in U.S. courts. In a press statement released on October 10, 2025, CFA said that the CAO’s final monitoring report, which was completed in 2019 but released only in September 2025, revealed that IFC had failed to take remedial action for years, even as environmental and livelihood harms to local communities worsened.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Search This Blog