Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams - Establishment and Legislative Setting

Establishment and Legislative Setting

TTD was established in 1932 as a result of the TTD Act of 1932. According to the act, administration of the temple was vested to a committee of seven members and overseen by a paid commissioner as appointed by the Madras Government. Advising the committee were two advisory councils — one composed of priests and temple administrators to aid the committee with the operations of the Tirumala temple and another composed of farmers for advise on Tirumala's land and estate transactions. The act was revolutionary in that no specific qualification for temple administration was laid for the commissioner and the committee members. However, the act was limited in scope in temple fund generation and usage for religious purposes.

The Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institution and Endowments Act (1969) superseded the 1951 act with section 85 to 91 laying the provisions for TTD. The Board of Trustees was expanded from five to eleven with compulsory representation from certain communities. Three members from state legislative assembly, one person belonging to the scheduled castes and one woman member was made mandatory on the board whose term was fixed at three years. The AP government was mandated with the appointment of EO and deputy EO (DEO). Apart from the responsibilities defined in the previous act, the major addition was that the devasthanam should promote study of Indian languages, should open and operate Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, should open and operate Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam. The objectives of Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam was promotion and propagation of Hindu Dharma by research, teaching, training and literature creation. This Act was an improvement because for two reasons — inclusion of minority interests in the board of trustees as well as broadening the scope of the devasthanams to include study and dissemination of religious practices and knowledge.

Though the previous Act was path-breaking, it ended up making TTD equivalent to smaller temples in the state and the TTD Act (1979) rectified this issue. The rank of EO was defined and additional posts of financial adviser and chief accounts officer (CAO) were created. The act further broadened the scope of Sri Venkateswara Sishatachara Vidya Samstha (renamed from Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam) to include promotion of Hindu culture.

The A.P. Charitable & Hindu Religious Institutions & Endowments Act (1987) superseded the 1979 Act. The Board of Trustees was expanded from a maximum of eleven to fifteen while retaining previous minority and legislative representation (Section 96). The most controversial clause in the act was the abolishment of hereditary rights of temple priests as well as limited right to garner a share of the hundi proceeds.

After increased pressure from the priests over a long period, the AP government made an amendment to the act in 2006 to discontinue these two controversial clauses. It is mandatory for non-Hindus to sign a declaration form before entering the hill temple, stating that they have faith in the presiding deity, Lord Venkateswara.