God works in mysterious ways, but those entrusted with guarding His property in Kerala appear to be working with alarming clarity of purpose. Consider yesterday’s revelation from the Kerala Devaswom Board, where two temporary employees—hired for the exalted task of counting offerings—were caught red-handed with foreign currency. Their method was refreshingly old-school: when foreign notes surfaced, they promptly hid them in their mouths and other secret compartments the human body, mercifully, still provides. The amount involved was modest, but the moral ingenuity was not.
The accused offered a defence worthy of theological debate: Lord Ayyappa, they reasoned, needs only Indian currency. Foreign exchange, they felt, would only burden the deity with the hassle of conversion. In short, this was not theft; it was divine efficiency. Given the limited storage capacity of the human body, one must also admire the restraint shown.
Bigger sharks, bigger nets
Unfortunately for them, such ingenuity is available only to small fry. Bigger sharks operate with far more space—physical, political and institutional. Just a day earlier, the Special Investigation Team probing the theft of a large quantity of gold from Sabarimala arrested Sankar Das, a former member of the Devaswom Board. The police might have preferred to look the other way, but the High Court took a dim view of their reluctance.
Das, too, had an alibi, the standard one in Indian corruption cases: he was hospitalised in “serious condition”. The arrest was duly recorded at his bedside. Das’ is the eleventh arrest in the gold heist. A. Padmakumar, who was president of the board when the theft occurred, is already in jail. In fact, all the board members of that period are now behind bars. At this rate, the erstwhile Devaswom Board could convene a full meeting in the prison common room, saving on travel and security expenses.
Hospitals and accountability
The plot thickened further with the second arrest of the Sabarimala Tantri, Kandararu Rajeevaru, following vigilance court approval. This time, the allegations involve irregularities in temple documents and handling of gold. Once again, the arrest was formally recorded in a hospital, reinforcing the impression that Kerala’s healthcare system doubles as a waiting room for accountability.
Faith, politics and punishment
There is, of course, a political footnote. Das belonged to the CPI, and all the board members implicated were nominees of parties in the ruling Left Democratic Front. Ideology, it seems, dissolves quickly when confronted with gold and money.
What makes the episode tragic is not merely corruption, which Kerala has seen before, but symbolism. When even God’s gold is unsafe in God’s Own Country, it suggests that faith may endure, but fiduciary responsibility does not. Lord Ayyappa may forgive. The devotees—and the law—should not, for they deserve exemplary punishment.
