CPM leader P Jayarajan's visit to Kodungallur Sree Kurumba Bhagavati Temple on May 11 was held up by the BJP as yet another instance of Marxist hypocrisy. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Jayarajan said that he had visited the temple, but as part of his research work.

“I am now working on a book titled ‘Sanatanikalude Hindutva Vazhikal’ (The Hindutva Ways of Sanatanis). A chapter is on temples where non-brahmanic rituals are still followed. One of the most prominent of such places is Koduganllur Kavu (Sree Kurumba Bhagavati Temple),” Jayarajan said.

He said he visited the temple not out of design. “I got down at Kodungallur for lunch while on my way to Kochi for a court-related purpose. The temple was nearby. Though I have heard and known a lot about the temple through books, I have never directly experienced its history,” Jayarajan said.

The senior CPM leader said that the temple's various deity installations like ‘kozhikallu’, ‘thavittumuthi’, and ‘vasoorimala’ had unique historical and cultural backgrounds. “These have to be seen to be understood,” he said.

Referring to V T Induchoodan's book on the Kodungallur Temple titled ‘Secret Chamber’, Jayarajan said that the beliefs around this ‘secret chamber’, its historical context and how popular faith developed around it were a matter of great curiosity for any seeker of history.

Jayarajan noted that during his visit, he tried to glean as much information from those associated with the temple. And perhaps to show that he was not the kind to blindly accept all that they had said, Jayarajan said that he questioned some of the claims. “The insights that I had gained from this visit will flow into the book that will be published by the end of this month,” he said.

The CPM leader dismissed those who saw something controversial in his visit. “Someone must have misled them into believing that temple visits are prohibited for communists,” Jayarajan said. Besides Kodungallur Kavu, he said he had visited innumerable “famous and not so famous temples in Kerala”. 

“I have gone to the Golden Temple in Punjab, and have visited many Christian churches too. These visits were not expressions of devotion but were opportunities to better understand society, its history and popular faith. Communists have always tried to understand the society in all its complexities,” he said.

Jayarajan said that he had only sympathy for those who say that he had become a devotee by this visit. He ended the post with a cheeky line: “We will meet again in public squares, places of worship and historical sites.”