The Venkateshwara Swami Temple in Tirupati is among the holiest places in the world for Hindus. Millions of people throng the temple every year to get the darshan of Lord Vishnu in the form of Balaji. It is said that the deity in the temple is no idol built by an architect but is the Lord himself who became a stone idol to bless people in the Kali Yuga.

It is not a surprise that the temple is among the wealthiest in the world, with assets worth thousands of crores. In such a scenario, it is natural to expect that the best foods are offered to the Lord and given as prasada to devotees. The news that the world-famous Tirupathi Laddu was contaminated with beef and lard has come as a terrible shock for Hindus.

The deterioration of the Laddu

The laddu is the famous GI-tagged prasada at the Tirupathi temple and has been known for years for its taste. Three lakh laddus are distributed every day, and ghee from cow's milk is the prime ingredient for making the laddu. The pure ghee and dry fruits are the reason for the laddu's heavenly taste.

For some years now, bhaktas have been commenting about the change in taste of the laddu. People felt that the laddu no longer tasted as good as it was. We now know that the taste deterioration has been due to the poor quality ghee. Earlier, the ghee was supplied by Karnataka Milk Federation (Nandini brand).

The YS Jagan Govt in Andhra Pradesh had appointed Jagan's uncle as the Chairman of TTD. In his administration, KMF was removed as a supplier, and the order was given to another agency. AR Foods of Tamil Nadu was given the contract to supply ghee.

It has now come to light that the ghee was contaminated with fish oil, lard, and beef tallow. Hindus were shocked when none other than AP CM Chandrababu Naidu Garu revealed this news. It was followed by the release of a lab report that confirmed this terrible desecration.

Desecration of our faith

This is not a minor incident, but an extremely serious one. It is not a mere matter of adulterated ghee but a desecration of our faith. The laddu is considered the holiest prasadas and consumed by millions. People do not touch the laddu unless they have bathed and done their daily poojas. No one eats the prasada without first closing their eyes and remembering the Lord of Seven Hills.

This is the faith of Sanatanis who remember and thank God before consuming the prasada. There is virtually no Hindu who does not want to eat the Tirupati Laddu. When such a sacred laddu has been contaminated with beef and lard, it is a desecration of the worst order. It is not only the prasada that is desecrated but our faith.

Lakhs of laddus were sent to the Ram Mandir inauguration and consumed by lakhs of people. In the last few years, millions of laddus would have been consumed. Just imagine all those who ate the laddus have probably had beef! Sanatanis revere the holy cow and would abhor the idea of eating beef.

They have now been forcefully fed some elements of beef through the desecrated prasada. Worse still, the prasad and the ghee were offered to Lord Venkateshwara as a part of daily rituals. There is nothing more despicable than this.

If this incident had happened in some other countries, the persons guilty would have been summarily executed. In our country, NONE of those responsible have been named and shamed, forget action taken. Such incidents should have shaken and woken up Hindus, but sadly, the majority seem to be sleeping.

Time for the Hindu to wake up

The truth behind this shameful contamination of the prasada will be out soon. As expected, the YSR party has denied the allegations. The former Chairman of TTD, Sri Subba Reddy, has not only denied the charges but threatened to drag CM Naidu to court. The truth will be known soon, but the very allegation that beef and lard was used to adulterate ghee is painful.

It is time that Hindus wake up. They have slept for too long and allowed themselves to be taken for a ride. The Hindu faith, culture, and heritage have become victims of communal politics. The sad fact is that some Hindus themselves denigrate our heritage in the name of 'woke ideology'.

And yet, the Hindu at large is not concerned. There have been no mass protests about this incident, as one would have expected. In any other faith, such desecration would have caused a tumult. But the Hindu continues to sleep, concerned more about caste, freebies, and other such issues.

If we do not wake up now, it will be too late. It is time for Hindus to be more vocal and demand that their faith and culture be respected. We don't need special privileges. Just respect our faith and stop targeting our culture and our Gods.

Beef used in cartridges of guns made Mangal Pandey revolt against the British, triggering the First Indian War of Independence. But the use of beef continued. Beef tallow was used to make soap, and for many years, Hindus had no option but to use 'non-veg' soap.

Sosale Garalapuri Sastry (grandfather of well-known author Dr. Shiv Shastry) brought about an innovation, allowing beef tallow to be removed and vegetable oil to be used to make soap. It was used in Mysore Sandal Soap, and it was Sri Sastry who started the factory (with the support of the benevolent King Nalvadi Wodeyar and Sir M V).

When beef is such a touchy issue, adulterating the divine prasada with beef is a cardinal sin. It calls for severe punishment. But before that, a comprehensive enquiry is needed. Hundreds of people work in the temple to prepare the prasada, and they use the ghee regularly. How is it that no one spotted the adulteration?

Surely there would be some smell of beef tallow and fish oil? Why didn't anyone spot it? Or did they report it, and the report was pushed under the table? All this must be uncovered. The issue calls for intervention by the Supreme Court, which is always ready to take suo moto notice of all issues. This is a serious issue, and we need an SC-monitored time-bound investigation.

Once the truth is out, the guilty must be punished so severely that no one ever will think of repeating this desecration again. It is also time to free Hindu temples from the tyranny of government interference. But that would not be the end. Many other important issues have come up and they must be addressed.

The Way Forward

Superstar and Andhra DCM Sri Pawan Kalyan has called for the establishment of a Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board. It is a good suggestion and must be considered at an all-India level. Hindus across the world have no other country to look to than India. Our silence when the Hindus of Bangladesh were being butchered was shameful.

If we don't wake up, a Bangla could repeat here. It is time that Hindus speak out loudly and assert themselves. We need a Sanatana Board. We also need organizations like the VHP and Bajrang Dal to protect Hindus. We also need a political party that speaks for Hindus. Already, Naidu garu and his deputy have been speaking vocally on Hindu issues.

Union Minister and former Karnataka CM Sri Kumaraswamy has also spoken strongly on issues related to Hindus. It is time for parties to give up their false secularism and speak up when the Hindu faith is in trouble. Hindus do not want majoritarian rule. Neither do they want special privileges.

Just allow us to practice our religion and our tradition peacefully. Stop the film industry and 'liberals' from mocking and insulting Hindus. Let us love and respect our culture and have political parties that would allow us to flourish.

Hoping that people will start speaking out and calling for change. I also hope that PM Modi speaks up strongly on Hindu issues and uses this opportunity to become a Hindu Hriday Samrat. We are a Hindu nation where every faith gets respect and equality. While other faiths are respected, we, too, must get respect.

When our faith is under attack, we need defenders. And we need people to speak up. We will have no future if we still keep sleeping. It is time to arise, awaken, and ensure our religion remains strong. Here's hoping that this issue will lead to a Hindu renaissance that will bring our many positive changes.

धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः

Deepak M R is a professional writer and author, who has previously worked in academics, training, and consulting. He is the author of the novel ‘Abhimanyu – the warrior prince’ (Bloomsbury, 2021). He is also a contributing author in the anthology Unsung Valour (Bloomsbury, 2020) and a KDP e-book ‘Mahabharata Tales: Justice for Draupadi and other stories’. He is an avid fan of Hindi film music.