2024-09-21 15:28:29
New Delhi: There has been a sensation after it was found that beef, fish oil and animal fat were used in making laddus at the world famous Tirupati Balaji temple. This claim was made by the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. His party has said that this adulteration has been confirmed in the Gujarat-based livestock laboratory. Naidu had alleged that the previous YSRCP government had used substandard ingredients and animal fat in making the sacred sweet Tirupati laddu.
TDP has alleged that when YSR Congress Party was in power in Andhra Pradesh, Jagan Mohan Reddy was the Chief Minister. Then this committee used bad and adulterated ghee in the laddus of the temple prasad. However, YSRCP has denied this. At the same time, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has assured to investigate the matter and advocated the formation of a Sanatan Dharma Raksha Board at the national level. Let us know the whole matter, what is in the report and how wealthy is Tirupati temple. Let us also understand its connection with the British Raj.
What is beef tallow and lard, on which there is a big controversy
This controversy is going on regarding the alleged use of beef in laddus. It has come to light that ghee is made from the fat obtained from beef, tail, ribs, from which laddus are prepared. The lab report also says that fish oil and animal fat are also used in the ghee made from these. Ghee made from these things becomes soft like butter when cooled.
Such results can also come if the cow is sick or malnourished
TDP spokesperson Anam Venkat Raman Reddy showed the alleged laboratory report in a press conference, which confirmed the presence of beef fat in the given ghee sample. The report also claimed the presence of lard i.e. pig fat and fish oil. The date of taking the samples was July 9, 2024 and the laboratory report was of July 16. It is also written in this report that if the cow is sick, if the cow has been given vegetable oils and palm oil or some chemicals have been given or the cow is malnourished, then in such a situation false positive results can come and due to this, animal fat and their fat fragments can reach the cow ghee.
Andhra government maintains the Venkateswara Swamy temple
There has, however, been no official confirmation on the laboratory report from the Andhra Pradesh government or the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple. The lab where the test was conducted is CALF (Centre for Livestock and Food Analysis and Studies), a laboratory of the National Dairy Development Board located in Anand, Gujarat.
Big question? Why was ghee being purchased from a blacklisted contractor?
A big question is also being raised as to why ghee was being ordered from a blacklisted contractor. TTD sources said that cow ghee was purchased from a blacklisted contractor at the rate of Rs 320 per kilogram. Now Tirupati Trust is purchasing ghee from Karnataka Mahasangh at the rate of Rs 475 per kilogram.
Tirupati God owns a total of 13 thousand kilograms of gold
According to a record of Tirupati Devasthanam, 11,225 kg of gold is kept in several banks in the name of Lord Balaji, which he has received as offerings from devotees. Apart from this, gold ornaments have been offered to all the deities in the temple, which weigh 1088.2 kg. At the same time, the total weight of silver ornaments is 9071.85 kg. Lord Balaji has 6,000 acres of forest land.
He has 7,636 acres of immovable property at 75 places. Not only this, he has 1,226 acres of agricultural land and 6409 acres of non-agricultural land. Tirupati has 535 properties and 71 temples across the country, out of which 159 have been leased out. These generate an annual income of Rs 4 crore. He earns the same amount by leasing out the Mandapam. Every year, he receives Rs 1,021 crore as donations from devotees.
The temple’s annual income is more than Kohli and Tendulkar
The data of 2022 also shows that the annual income of Lord Balaji’s hundi in Tirumala is Rs 1,400 crore. At the same time, this income is more than Sachin Tendulkar’s annual income of Rs 1,300 crore and Virat Kohli’s annual income of about Rs 1,000 crore.
Tirupati Laddu is 310 years old
Everyone’s favourite Tirupati Laddu is 310 years old. Tirupati Laddu has also received the GI tag. This laddu is the world’s richest prasadam of Lord Venkateshwara. It is also known as Sri Vari Laddu. Ingredients like flour, oil, sugar, ghee, dry fruits and cardamom are used to make Tirupati Laddu.
Annual income of 500 crores from laddus, 3 lakhs are distributed daily
TTD prepares about 3 lakh laddus every day in Tirumala and distributes them among the devotees. The trust earns about Rs 500 crore every year from the sale of laddus alone. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam prepares an average of 3 lakh laddus a day in Laddoo Pottu. At present, the capacity of the pottu is to make 8 lakh laddus per day.
620 cooks together make three lakh laddus
About 620 cooks work to make laddus at Laddu Pottu. They are called Pottu Karmikulu. About 150 Pottu workers are regular employees, while more than 350 work on contract basis. 247 of them are head cooks.
Proktam, Asthanam and Kalyanotsavam Laddus are made
Three types of Proktam, Asthanam and Kalyanotsavam laddus are made in Pottu. Proktam laddus are regularly distributed to all the common pilgrims visiting the temple. It is small in size and weighs 60-75 grams. These laddus are prepared in large numbers. On the other hand, Asthanam laddu is made only on special festivals. It is bigger in size and weighs 750 grams. It is prepared with more cashew nuts, almonds and saffron. On the other hand, Kalyanotsavam laddus are distributed only to devotees participating in some special festivals. Usually the shelf life of these laddus is about 15 days.
Dittama i.e. list of ingredients to be used
The list of ingredients and their proportions used in making Tirupati laddus is called Dittam. Dittam has been changed six times in its history to meet the growing demand for laddus. Currently, the ingredients used are gram flour, cashew nuts, cardamom, ghee, sugar, sugar candy and raisins. Every day, about 10 tonnes of gram flour, 10 tonnes of sugar, 700 kg of cashew nuts, 150 kg of cardamom, 300 to 500 litres of ghee, 500 kg of sugar candy and 540 kg of raisins are used to make these laddus. TTD procures them by issuing annual tenders.
The first freedom struggle was sparked by cartridges coated with cow fat
From January 1857, the British army started using the ‘New Enfield Rifle’. Cartridges containing cow and pig fat were used in it. Indian soldiers had to bite these cartridges with their mouth before using them. It is believed that this was the use of the policy of divide and rule among the Hindu-Muslim population of India. On March 29, 1857, some soldiers under the leadership of Mangal Pandey, a soldier of the then Calcutta’s 34-Native Infantry Barrackpore, rebelled and refused to use these cartridges. They fired the first bullet against the British.
When Mangal Pandey said- why don’t you stand up for the sake of religion
According to the book ‘Dateline 1857 Revolt Against the Raj’ by renowned historian Rudranshu Mukherjee, at that time Mangal Pandey was wearing his regiment’s coat but instead of trousers he was wearing a dhoti. He was barefoot and had a loaded gun. He shouted to the soldiers, the Firangis are here. Why are you not getting ready? We will become apostates just by biting these bullets. Stand up for the sake of religion. You incited me to do all this but now you are not supporting me.
Mangal Pandey had already got a hint about these cartridges. When Lieutenant BH Bow reached the parade ground of Barrackpur cantonment, Mangal Pandey shot his horse’s leg. Eventually, after a small skirmish, Mangal Pandey was arrested and publicly hanged on 8 April.
There is three times more gold in Indian temples than in the US treasury
There is so much gold in the treasury of temples in India that it is three times more than the treasury of the US government. God loves gold so much that temples like Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Tirupati Balaji Temple, Jagannath Temple, Vaishno Devi Temple have 4000 tons of gold. This figure is from the World Gold Council. India’s gold reserve may be more than 800 tons, but we Indians also like gold so much that we have preserved more than 25 thousand tons of gold. This is almost three times the 8,965 tons of America, which has the highest gold reserve in the world.
4.74 lakh crore spent on pilgrimage in India
In India, the practice of visiting temples is so closely linked to tradition and spirituality that every year people spend Rs 4.74 lakh crore on pilgrimages and religious tours alone. According to the data of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), India’s temple economy has reached about Rs 3.02 lakh crore, which is 2.32 percent of the country’s total GDP.