Political Activism Vs Religious Freedom: A Study On Trade Union Movement Among Temple Employees In Kerala, Dogo Rangsang Research Journal, Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021, UGC Care Group I Journal,pp.44-51

 Dogo Rangsang Research Journal UGC Care Group I Journal ISSN : 2347-7180 Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021 Page | 44 Copyright @ 2021 Authors 

POLITICAL ACTIVISM Vs RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: A STUDY ON TRADE UNION MOVEMENT AMONG TEMPLE EMPLOYEES IN KERALA

 Dr. JITHA. S. R Principal Sree Narayana Guru College of Advanced Studies Chempazhanthy, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala 

 Dr RAJAGOPAL.P. K Assistant Professor PG Department of Political Science NSS Hindu College, Changanacherry Kottayam, Kerala

 ABSTRACT Freedom of worship is the remarkable factor in a secular state and as such, Indian Constitution ensures religious freedom to all without any discrimination. Equality in religious affairs to all sections of the society is the hallmark of secularism. But politicization has grappled the administration of Hindu temples in the state of Kerala since the formation of Devaswom Boards which are envisaged as autonomous bodies entrusted with the administration of temples here. This is contradictory to the secular principles as the religious institutions of other communities are largely left free from political control. Trade unions and their activities are rampant today in the temples of Kerala. Trade unionism is nothing other than the direct result of the politicization of temple administration. Though trade unionism is significant for protecting the rights of employees, often its politicization affects the serenity of temples and the unity and general discipline of employees as it involves direct action methods for achieving goals. Various Commission Reports and Court verdicts often pointed out that politically affiliated trade unionism is detrimental to the temples. The administration of Devaswom boards has been deteriorated to the level of a business establishment due to the presence of strong and highly politicized trade unions. The study tries to examine the historical and contemporary role of trade union movements existing among the temple employees of public temples in Kerala. Keywords: Devaswom, trade unions, politicization, labour laws, temple administration Introduction Religion forms an integral part of Indian culture, polity and society and its role cannot be disregarded and becomes a potent force in the socio- political life of an individual here. Among the distinctive features of the Constitution of India in relation to religion, ideological neutrality in matters of religion is included. It visualizes secularism as one of the key concepts that demarcates religion from state affairs and vice versa. Though there is no impassable wall between the state and religion; the state is expected to observe strict neutrality in the matter of religion in the sense that it should not actively propagate the tenets or doctrines of any one religion in preference to others. At the same time, Articles 25-28 of the Constitution guarantee certain Fundamental Rights to the citizens for the practice and propagation of religion. Thus, a secular state is expected to remain neutral in the religious affairs of its subjects. Though the underlying principle of secularism is the withdrawal of state from religious affairs, the governments in the modern period generally involve in the affairs of temples, the religious institutions of the Hindus. Their motive mainly is to establish a presence in temple management and thereby to regulate the use of the temple’s material and influence on society to their own benefits. Administration of Hindu Religious Institutions (HRI) by a secular state is a matter of great concern to the stakeholders. Now both the sacred and secular spheres of activities of temples are being managed by the government and the bureaucracy. As a secular polity, the state has to refrain from direct involvement in temple affairs and so Devaswom Boards are working for temple governance in the state. Though envisaged as autonomous bodies, actually the Devaswom Boards become puppets in the hands of the government and politicians. It should be noted here that even the rulers who built temples in the past had never interfered in their affairs except when their mediation became necessary for settling disputes over the administration of these temples. Kerala has higher degree of political awareness and mobilization among the working class as Dogo Rangsang Research Journal UGC Care Group I Journal ISSN : 2347-7180 Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021 Page | 45 Copyright @ 2021 Authors compared to most other states in the country. The labour force here is more conscious of its rights and usually, the militant behaviour of labourers has disturbed the industrial production and the region remains unattractive for industrial investment as compared to other parts of India (Zacaria, 2012: 28). Another interesting peculiarity of Kerala’s trade union movement is its close affiliation with political parties. Political parties usually exploit the trade unions for their ideological purposes. In the sphere of temple administration also, trade unions emerged as offshoots of politicization process. The curious thing is that the nature of work of temple employees is poles apart from that of the employees in other sectors. Even the priesthood class has its own service organizations, sometimes with the backing of revolutionary ideology. Temples are intended for worship of God and expected to have serene atmosphere where trade union activities may create disturbances in the temple premises which is a strange thing expected in temples. Trade Union Movements in Kerala The trade union movement had been instrumental in protecting labour rights. The origin of trade unions can be traced back to the second half of the 18thcentury in the industrial sector in England. Labour rights have become integral to the social and economic development since the industrial revolution that turn out to be a part of social movements, enunciated the interest of working-class people. They serve not only to protect the labour class from exploitation, but also ensure better service conditions and fair wages. Labour laws are applicable to the working of trade unions and collective labour laws relate to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer and union. Trade union, according to the Trade Union Act of 1926 is an association formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations between workmen and employers or between workmen and workmen, or between employers and employers, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more Trade Unions (Section 2(h) Trade Union Act of 1926.). Trade unions are commonly found in industrial sectors or business establishments for the common interest of their members. According to Webb Trade unions are a continuous association of wage earners to maintain or improve the conditions of their working lives (Webb, 1950:1; Sinha, 2017: 3). They help the workers to better their service conditions, job security, welfare measures, healthy working conditions etc. Trade unionism creates class consciousness among its members and usually becomes part of political struggle pursuing radical methods like strike, dharna, demonstrations and protest movements. All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was the first trade union movement in India founded in 1920. In Kerala, the Travancore Coir Factory Workers Union (TCFWU) became the first of the trade unions for the benefit of the working class. Trade Unionism in Temples An interesting development in Kerala is that trade unionism is very much active even among the temple employees, including the priestly classes. It becomes paradoxical in the sense that the nature of work of the temple employees is entirely different from that of the employees in other sectors. Also, the idea of trade unionism is against the serene and holy atmosphere expect in temples. Trade unions are founded in industrial sectors as a bargaining force following direct action methods like strike, dharna, satyagraha etc. for achieving their political and other objectives. Today, trade unions with revolutionary backgrounds are very active in temple governing bodies (TGBs) in the state. Leftists are generally presumed as atheists, but trade unions with their backing are very vigorous among the TGBs employees. In the beginning, the Hindutva organizations were kept aloof themselves from making trade unions in temples, but later they identified the requirement and organized employees under their banner in various Devaswoms in the state. Thus, came into being the BMS affiliated trade unions in the Devaswoms of Kerala. Trade unionism in the temples of Kerala can be viewed as the result of politicization of temple administration. The modus operandi of the trade unions has its pros and cons among temple employees in Kerala. The employees are forced to join in various trade unions to protect their service conditions and as a safety tool for protecting their personal matters. Thanks to trade unionism that the temple Dogo Rangsang Research Journal UGC Care Group I Journal ISSN : 2347-7180 Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021 Page | 46 Copyright @ 2021 Authors employees get decent salary today as the employees of the state government with all the benefits. Coming to the cons, the plurality of trade unions and their political affiliations create disunity and mess in temple administration. Their direct actions and radicalism affect the serene atmosphere of temples and also the dedication to work of the temple employees. Category wise unions are there among Devaswom Board employees, most of them are politically affiliated ones. Subgroup officers Association, Devaswom Officers Association, Temple Employees Union, Maramath Employees Association etc. are a few among them. Through the formation of trade unions, the working atmosphere in Devaswom Boards has become deteriorated to the level of a business establishment. The tussle between Devaswom Board management and employees and the overflow of trade unionism have further changed temple atmosphere similar to that of a bargaining market place (Jayaprasad.1989:272). History of Temple Trade Union Movement Passing through the history of temple administration, it can be seen that the temples in Travancore witnessed organized movements of temple employees; some of them attracted wide attention in state politics. Earlier, the Devaswom employees got meagre salary and the service conditions were not good. After a series of agitations with political support, they could achieve better salary at par with the state employees. But these types of agitational politics and direct-action methods create disorder and factionist attitude among the temple employees. The genesis of trade unions among temple employees in Travancore is traced back to the formation of Devaswom Boards for Travancore and Cochin temples in 1950. The Devaswom Servants Recruitment and Conduct Rules of 1952 banned service associations with political bearing under the Devaswoms. In the early years of the Board, a Temple Employees’ Union was formed under the Devaswom Commissioner. The Union organized a hunger strike in front of the Board office in 1953 demanding pay revision to the employees and the strike was withdrawn on the assurance of Pattom Thanu Pillai, the then Chief Minister. But the government under Pattom Thanu Pillai turned a deaf ear to the demands of the employees that created resentment among temple employees and several members of the Union left from it (Vamadevan, 1974:15). Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) is the first political party in Kerala that mobilized temple employees. In 1956, Maramath Work Establishment Employees Association was formed under the Presidentship of N. Sreekandan Nair, a veteran RSP Leader and K. C Vamadevan as General Secretary. They organized an agitation demanding pay hike at par with that of Public Works Department (PWD) employees in the state government. The Labour Department interfered in the issue, referred it to the Industrial Tribunal and the Tribunal issued its order in favour of the Union. In 1964, the state witnessed a prolonged strike of different categories of employees under TDB that resulted in the appointment of Devaswom Employee's Salary Revision Committee headed by Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai. The Committee in its Report (1966) recommended the scientific reorganization of the whole contingent services, grouping them according to their functions, dividing each group into grades on the basis of the quality and quantity of their work and fixing them the proper scale of pay. It would also mean guaranteeing them the security of tenure instituting some pension or provident fund and bringing them under Kerala Service Rules (KSR) both regarding rights and restrictions (GoK,1966: 169). The most fundamental aspect of the Committee recommendation was that for the first time the contingent employees have been brought under regular service patterns and modern salary structure. The employees belonged to about 85 categories have been grouped under ten categories; each group has been graded and each grade given suitable pay and allowances (GoK, 1966:170). The Committee proposed creation of five selective posts to accommodate a few of the most outstanding artists like nagaswaram, takil etc. (GoK, 1966:174). The temple employees raised objections against many of the recommendations of the Committee. Despite all objections, the Board decided to implement the recommendations. The employees’ union organized a march to the residence of the Devaswom Board President, Mankuzhi Madhavan to press their demands. But the Board was not ready to heed the demands of the Union. So, the employees started a hunger strike and extended their agitation to all the temples premises in Dogo Rangsang Research Journal UGC Care Group I Journal ISSN : 2347-7180 Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021 Page | 47 Copyright @ 2021 Authors central Travancore region. They organized a demonstration at Thiruvananthapuram raising slogans like, "We are unable to perform rituals on an empty stomach, jail or wage" to indicate their plight (Nair, 2006: 433-34). The Union resorted to direct action by starting a satyagraha in front of the Devaswom Group Offices and finally before the Board office. Unfortunate incidents happened including, police action of arresting employees including the priests who were sentenced to undergo imprisonment. The Union began a hunger strike before the residence of the Devaswom Board President which lasted for 13 days. Again, a mass picketing and demonstrations before the Board Office were organized. Finally, the Board referred this matter to a Committee consisting of Kumbalathu Sanku Pillai, N. Govinda Menon and K. R. Narayanan. The Committee recommended removal of 147 employees from service and 726 employees placed under suspension (TDB. 1968:19-20). When the United Front (U.F.) Ministry came to power in 1967, the union leaders became Ministers and MLAs. A new Board was constituted with members nominated by the U.F. Government which took the initiative to revert the decisions of the previous Board and to reinstate all dismissed employees (TDB, 1968:18). The Board implemented the scheme of pension and gratuity to the Devaswom employees on a par with the state government employees with effect from 1stApril, 1969 (GoK, 1970: 331). In 1974, Kerala witnessed another agitation of temple employees demanding a revised pay structure equal to that of the last grade staff in government service. The Board decided to implement their demand on the same day the Union declared their strike. Consequently, the strike was withdrawn. In 1975, temple employees again organized protest demonstrations and 24-hour strike in front of the temples without affecting the temple rituals. These agitations of politically affiliated trade unions created concerns among the devotees. This was the first organized political movement of temple employees in front of temples. Later, they shifted their satyagraha in front of the Board Head Office (Nair, 2006: 435). Expressing solidarity with the agitators, UTUC, the trade union wing of RSP issued a call to all unions affiliated with it to extend support to the strike of temple employees (Nair, 2006: 436). Several employees were suspended by the Board and some of them faced serious police actions including arrest and imprisonment. In 1975, Devaswom Staff Union was formed which became the sole association of all employees of the Board except temple employees. Prof. Ramachandran Nair in his “The History of Trade Union Movement in Kerala” analyzes temple employees’ struggle as an unforgettable saga and the various such struggles were responsible for raising their socio-economic status among other segments of the working class as well as among the general public in the state (2006: 438). K. C. Vamadevan, K. V. Sreedharan, K.Narayanan Potti were the top-ranking leaders who organized the temple employees in the state. In 1980, Travancore Devaswom Employees’ Union staged a demonstration in front of the Devaswom Board Office demanding better pay scale for the staff and legislation to ensure better governmental control over the Board (The Hindu, 1980). RSP leader, V. P. Ramakrishna Pillai raised the issue as a submission in the Kerala Legislative Assembly and urged the government to introduce a Bill to control the TDB as in the case of Guruvayur Devaswom (Proceedings of KLA, 1987: 76-77). Temple Employees and Labour Laws Temple employees are not coming under the purview of labour laws in the state. Kuttikrishna Menon Commission, appointed by the Government of Kerala in 1964 to study a uniform law for temples in the state, pointed out certain peculiarities regarding the service of the employees of temples that differentiate them from other sectors. There is no capitalist or employer-employee relationship in Devaswom affairs and so labour laws are not applicable to them. Working hours, rules regarding holidays, overtime work etc. cannot be applied to them. References relating to questions about temple services have to be made only to Tantric authorities and such questions relating to remuneration for such work cannot be taken before a labour tribunal under the legislation. Observance of pollution by temple functionaries is outside the scope of labour laws (GoK, 1964: 134). After discussing the pros and cons of trade unionism in temples, K.Kuttikrishna Menon Commission stated that trade unionism is against the spiritual atmosphere of the temple and should Dogo Rangsang Research Journal UGC Care Group I Journal ISSN : 2347-7180 Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021 Page | 48 Copyright @ 2021 Authors be prohibited (1964: 134). A ruling in 2010 by the Gujarat High Court stating that the temples cannot be considered as industry and the employment disputes relating to temples cannot be resolved as per industrial laws is relevant in this context. The administration of Devaswom Boards in Kerala today has been deteriorated to the level of a business establishment due to the presence of strong and highly politicized trade unions (Jayaprasad, 1991:238). K.P. Sankaran Nair Commission (1984) in its report suggested providing a systematic facility for redressing the grievances of temple employees. Their service associations should not to have political affiliations or not to indulge in any activities that affect the spiritual atmosphere of the temples (GoK, 1984:176). Again, in 1993, the KHC appointed S. Krishnan Unni, a District Judge as enquiry commission on the allegations of corruption rampant in the Guruvayur Devaswom. The Commission in its Report stressed the need for a check into the trade union activities of Devaswom employees and even went to the extreme of recommending the ban of union activities in Devaswoms that may affect the discipline of the Devaswom servants. Politicization may badly affect temple administration and so the Commission recommended a single union for the entire Devaswom employees. Restrictions on Trade Unions in TGBs in Kerala It is supposed to have an atmosphere of calmness, serenity and discipline, ordained by religious faith in temples that is suited for the proper administration of temples and that plurality of associations or organizations will only hamper and lead to more confusions and not in the larger interest of the devotees. The High Court of Kerala observed that the administration of a temple cannot be characterized as that carrying on in an industry. No question of trade union activity or political interference directly or indirectly should be allowed to creep in temple affairs. Direct action methods associated with normal trade union activities like strike, demonstrations, etc., cannot be allowed either in the temples or in temple governance. The existence of category-wise trade unions in Devaswoms creates mutual hatred, disunity and conflict among its employees and becomes a severe setback for the betterment of employee-employer as well as employee- employee relations (Menon, 1956: 6). A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court(KHC) in 1992 observed that the right to form association and ventilate grievances should be afforded; but it should be in conformity with the spirituality of the Hindu shrines without any disturbance either directly or even remotely. Consistent with the high standards required in temple atmosphere, it is only proper to keep off political or other influences. It will be ideal to have one Service Association in each TGBs (Jayaram, 1999). The union activities are not conducive in temples because trade union activities such as calling for strikes, dharnas,satyagraha etc. are illegal and unjustifiable and totally against the serene atmosphere of temples. The court also directed the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to take necessary action for banning trade unions and political interference in the Board based on the High-Power Committee Report. A petition filed by P. Jayaram a native of Vaikom in Kottayam District and a member of the Temple protection committee urged to free the temple from trade unionism and politicization. The petitioner alleged that politicization and trade union activities adversely affect the day-to-day functioning of the Board (Jayaram Vs TDB, 1999). The High Court of Kerala directed the Devaswom Boards to derecognize the trade unions as per the recommendations of the High Power Commission Report. The Court insisted to recognize a single union for the Board employees and derecognize all other unions and to vacate the places occupied by derecognized trade unions (Kerala Kaumudi, 1999). Consequently, the TDB imposed certain restrictions on trade union rights of Devaswom employees including temple employees. This move of the Board was questioned by the left trade unions on the ground that it will affect the bargaining power of Devaswom employees in Kerala (Kerala Kaumudi, 1990). Based on the Court direction, the TDB issued a notification taking steps to derecognize all category wise unions and unions with outside politicians as office bearers. The notification stipulated that the associations should have a bye-law that ensures calmness, serenity and discipline ordained Dogo Rangsang Research Journal UGC Care Group I Journal ISSN : 2347-7180 Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021 Page | 49 Copyright @ 2021 Authors by Hindu religious faith and without resorting to direct action and strike (TDB, 1999). Accordingly, the Board has to conduct a referendum and that the association which secures the maximum percentage of votes would be granted recognition. The referendum is valid for five years. The direction of the Court was a major setback to more than eleven unions in the Devaswom Board. The Sub Group Officers Association filed an appeal before the Supreme Court against the verdict of the High Court that curtailed the rights of employees. But the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the High Court that banned trade union activities (Mathrubhumi, 1999). Devaswom Board Employees Confederation, a joint platform of various associations of employees, urged the government to take necessary steps to protect the trade union rights of 6000 Devaswom employees (Kerala Kaumudi, 1999, November, 12). As mentioned earlier, the High Court of Kerala ordered to disband trade unions with leaders from politicians outside as per the High-Power Commission recommendations. Against this, Devaswom Subgroup Officers Association approached the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court rejected their appeal. Thus the fate of more than eleven trade unions under TDB became in crisis (Mathrubhumi, 1999). Then the TDB issued guidelines for recognizing a single union for Devaswom employees by conducting a referendum. Accordingly, a referendum was held in 2005 and CITU affiliated Travancore Devaswom Employees Confederation got recognition. After this, two referendums were held and the Travancore Devaswom Employees Front of the Congress Party got recognition twice. Table: Service organizations of temple employees in Travancore and Cochin Devaswom Board Sl. No Name of Union Board Affiliated Political Party/trade union 1 Cochin Devaswom Employees Congress Cochin Devaswom Board Indian National Travancore Devaswom Congress/INTUC Employees Front Travancore Devaswom Board 2 Cochin Devaswom Employees Organization Cochin Devaswom Board CPI(M)/CITU Travancore Devaswom Employees Confederation Travancore Devaswom Board 3 Cochin Devaswom Employees Sangh Cochin Devaswom Board RSS/BJP Travancore Devaswom Employees Sangh Travancore Devaswom Board 4 Cochin Devaswom Employees Federation Cochin Devaswom Board CPI/AITUC Travancore Devaswom Board Staff Organisation Travancore Devaswom Board 5 Travancore Devaswom Employees union Travancore Devaswom Board RSP/UTUC Source: Data compiled from various sources Concerning the grievances of employees, the Board has to discuss only with the recognized union. The TDB issued directions to the unions reminding them that they should not indulge in extremely risky exercises with the help of outsiders and spoil the serene atmosphere of the temples. Accordingly, the Board framed rules for the effective functioning of one service association for all categories of employees and published Devaswom Servants Rule in the Gazette. In 1996, the Sree Padmanabha Bhaktajana Seva Samithi filed a grievance in the KHC about the sad state of affairs existing in the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple due to the proliferation of trade unions which were impeding the serene and holy atmosphere and also the functioning of the temple. The Court ruled that the existence of multiple trade unions is not salutary in any establishment especially in temples and it will be enough if there is only one trade union, representing all members Dogo Rangsang Research Journal UGC Care Group I Journal ISSN : 2347-7180 Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021 Page | 50 Copyright @ 2021 Authors for the purpose of discussions with the management. The Court directed to conduct a referendum with regard to the recognition for the union. The Hindu Daily, in 1991, published a news captioned "A raw deal for temple staff?” referring to the plight of temples in the Malabar region and the Devaswom employees there. A Division Bench of the KHC took it as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and issued notice to the State Government and Hindu Religious Endowment Department. The Court pointed out the pitiable and pathetic state of affairs existing in the temples of erstwhile Malabar area and the dismal conditions of the employees (Re: Temples, 1994). The need for a Devaswom Board for Malabar temples was gravely felt and the Court issued directions accordingly and also better packages for the employees. The Malabar Devaswom Board was constituted only in 2008 after fourteen years of the court verdict. Even though trade union activities are strong among the Devaswom employees of Malabar region, their living conditions remains the same, especially in the low income temples. Employees under the MDB have politically affiliated trade unions. INTUC-led Malabar Devaswom Board Staff Union and Malabar Temple Employees Association and CITU led Malabar Devaswom Employees Union are prominent employees unions. Guruvayur Devaswom employees also have trade unions like Guruvayur Devaswom Employees Congress,Guruvayur Devaswom Employees' Association, Guruvayur Devaswom Employees Organisation etc. Political leaders often try to politicize employee's problems for their own petty political interests. Thus, it is a fact that temple trade unionism creates more problems that will affect the peaceful atmosphere in temples. For ensuring better management of employee’s relations, the unions should have to be represented by employees within the department itself and meaningful discussions have to be held with those who know better the problems of the employees. Conclusion A secular state’s intervention in the affairs of religious institutions of particular communities is illogical, as other religious institutions are left free for managing their own affairs and free from politically affiliated trade unionism. It is rightly observed by K. P. Sankaran Nair Commission that with the interference of the state in temple administration, the golden era of temples has been ended and their income declined considerably (GoK, 1984:74). Moreover, the governmental interference became instrumental in the politicization of temple administration that resulted in excessive trade unionism among the Devaswom employees and consequent alienation of devotees from temple governance. All political parties have their affiliated trade unions for temple employees; even for the priestly classes and their radicalism have often disrupted the holy atmosphere in temples. Commissions appointed from time to time for Devaswom reforms; K. Kuttikrishna Menon (1964), K.P. Sankaran Nair (1984), High-Power Commission (1990), S. Krishnan Unni (1993) and Justice Paripoornan (2007) in their Reports unanimously stressed the need for regulating trade unionism among temple employees. Temples are holy places and not industrial establishments; so extreme direct action methods usually resorted by the trade unions are not suitable in the calm, serene atmosphere ordained by religion. The trade unions in the Devaswoms often adopt methods like strikes and agitations in the pretext of safeguarding employees’ rights. Worship in temples give mental solace to a devotee and activities disrupting the calmness and tranquility of temple premises are unfortunate and such situations should be definitely avoided. Many a times, the judiciary acted as saviour to the interests of the devotees. As per the directions of the court, the TGBs imposed certain restrictions on trade union rights of Devaswom employees; these were challenged, but the court stick on to the decision to ban trade union activities. Plurality of trade unions in Devaswoms is another important issue. As a defense, the court suggested selection of a recognized trade union through referendum for ventilating the grievances of employees. Still, politically affiliated trade unions are there, but unions with outside politicians and category wise unions are prohibited on the basis of High Power Commission Report. It is a matter of relief for the devotees that the processes of referendum for a recognized union in various TGBs are going on as per the directives of the court. Such measures become part of Dogo Rangsang Research Journal UGC Care Group I Journal ISSN : 2347-7180 Vol-11 Issue-12 No. 01 December 2021 Page | 51 Copyright @ 2021 Authors democratization process and could establish a balance between the interests of temple employees and rights of devotees. References GoK,(1964).Report of the High- Level Committee for the Unification of Laws relating to Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments.(Kuttikrishna Menon Committee Report).Unpublished Report, Government of Kerala. GoK,(1966).Report of the Devaswom Employees Salary Revision Committee. (Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai Committee).UnpublishedReport,Thiruvananthapuram:Government of Kerala. GoK,(1970). Kerala State Administration Report-1969-70, Thiruvananthapuram: Government Press, Government of Kerala. GoK,(1984). 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