In yet another instance of secularising Hindu identities, symbols of Christianity and Islam were added to the carvings of Mounasamy Mutt in Kumbakonam.

Mounasamy Mutt also called the Mounasamy Madam is a Hindu Mutt dedicated to “Mounasamy”. It is located in the town of Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu. Mounasamy was a monk in Kumbakonam in the late 1800s.

He was given the name because he never spoke to anyone. He was also known as “Mouna Paradesi” among the locals. He never said anything to anyone and had nowhere to go. He was, nevertheless, always welcomed everywhere he went. If they got what they desired, people would pray and break coconuts in front of him.

It has been reported that even Swami Vivekananda and Annie Besant had paid a visit to the monk once. His has been praised by Kanchi Mutt’s Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal. 

Mounasamy’s disciples established a mutt at his samadhi. A Shiva Linga has been installed at his samadhi and special pujas are being held here every day.

On 20 October 2022, the BJP Thanjavur North district from its Twitter handle had poster images of Mutt’s brass engravings with the Christian Holy Cross and the Islamic crescent moon and star symbols.

Later, the handle mentioned that based on the efforts of Thanjavur North district BJP President Mr. Sakkotai N Sathish Kumar, the carvings with Christian and Islamic identities were removed.

However, a stockist identified as a member of the DMK legal wing and the Kurichi IT wing stated that the removal of Christian and Islamic symbols from Hindu Mutt carvings is an attack on the country’s pluralism and called it the BJP’s act of religious bigotry which should be nipped in bud.

“Diversity is not about showcasing a person who lived according to the Hindu way of life with other religious identities. Is it anti-national to resist identity theft? This will no longer be tolerated.” the TN North Thanjavur BJP said to the stockist.

References:

thecommunemag.com