Tirupati’s Gold
August 31, 2013 15 Comments
Tirupati is among the world’s richest temples with an estimated gold hoard of about 1,000 tonnes, nearly double of India’s estimated imports this year.
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15 Responses to Tirupati’s Gold
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wealthymatters 
Interesting recent article states efforts being made to convince temples like Tirupati to part with their gold in exchange for paper currency.
Well misruling in the name of the Gods is not new;Do you know that in India deities are considered minors in a legal sense?This was a British ‘reform’.Before that people feared the wrath of the Gods enough to avoid plunder.
If the Indian Government attempt to plunder sacred spaces I am sure that will be enough to start a civil war.
Yes its acts like this that allow the Congress to claim being secularist and the BJP to scream minority appeasement.
Interestingly no one is talking of the Sikh’s Golden Temple or The gilding of churches-just Hindu Temple claddings.
It is a sign of desperation that a ruler would raid its sacred placess, this sort of thing happened in Britain in the time of Henry VIII and I believe the Roman Emperor Caligula did this after naming his horse a fellow ruler.
A horse as a fellow ruler?First time I’m hearing of something this crazy!
Caligula was an interesting fellow 🙂 The people of Colchester were happy when Caligula decided not to attack Britain preferring to instruct his army to attack the sea instead and collect sea shells as plunder.
Mad chap!Didn’t know he had a Colchester connection!
A Celtic family which ruled Colchester argued amongst themselves and one ran off to seek help from Caligula leading to a aborted invasion.
Alex your knowledge of history never ceases to amaze me.
Ever considered a tour guide business in Colchester?
There are at least two tourist guide operations in Colchester, but I do intend to use my local historical knowledge for business. Thanks for the suggestion.
Not at all.If you can train your guides to be as interesting and knowledgeable as you,your business is bound to have a killer product.
How does this temple protect its gold?
This temple has gold dating from the middle ages.Originally priests and benefactors acted as custodians of the temple treasures.Then a few decades back when Socialism was in favour,the government took over the management of many temples in the name of social justice.This temple trust has 3 government nominees.Here’s hoping the rest of the trustees ensure that there is no dipping into temple treasures to finance a profligate government!
Most temples have their own private treasuries and have dedicated bank lockers to safe keep the gold.The faith of the devotees ensures that plunder of gold by force is not easy.But keeping safe from legal plunder is a different game altogether.