Rama, too much drama

By S A Ishaqui
Hyderabad, Feb.18: Lord Rama may have waged a war against Ravana and returned triumphant but a sense of Ghor Kalyuga seems to have caught Bhadradri Rama in a 50-year-old legal quagmire. The battle is over the ownership of 917 acres that belong to Sri Seetharamachandra Swamyvari Devasthanam in Bhadrachalam, popularly known as “Bhadradri Rama”.
The land was gifted to Lord Rama by Purushottamdas, as a registered gift deed on October 12, 1870. According to the petitioners’, the temple fell under the Nizam’s administration. Temple authorities decided to sell the permanent leasehold rights of the land. Subedar Saheb (Governor) of Warangal conducted the public sale on August 24, 1912. Abdul Hussain purchased the rights. His wife Rasheeda Fatima Begum sold the land to Majeti Ramachandraiah and Repaka Venkat Ratnam after Hussain’s death.
The legal battle between local ryots and the ‘keepers’ of Lord Rama’s property began after Independence. The petitioners assert that Lord Rama was never the owner. The temple authorities had forced their predecessors to pay Rs 3 cess per acre in 1961. The legal representatives of ‘Lord Rama’ produced evidence in support of this claim. Petitioners then filed claims before the revenue authorities and appealed before the High Court.
The High Court dismissed their plea in 1980 and declared that Lord Rama is the absolute owner of the land. A patwari, produced the documents to prove the land was in the name Sri Seetharamachandra Swamyvaru. Ch Satish Kumar, standing counsel for the endowments, Telangana region, said vested interests were dragging on the litigation and a dozen appeals have been pending in the high court