Chennai: A long running dispute over a stone lamp pillar at Thiruparankundram hill near Madurai has returned to the spotlight after a recent court order permitted a ceremonial lamp to be lit at the site. The pillar stands close to the Sikkandar Badshah dargah, and the issue has revived questions on ownership, historical practice and the boundaries between Hindu and Muslim religious spaces.
The Subramania Swamy temple sits at the base of the hill. The dargah occupies the top. A Shiva temple is located in between. Madras High Court records show that worship of Murugan at the hill dates back nearly two thousand years. The dargah was built during a period of Muslim rule. Both communities maintained peace for decades. Annual lamp lighting took place at the Uchi Pillaiyar temple midway up the hill rather than at the deepathoon, the stone pillar located about fifty metres from the dargah.
Attempts in earlier centuries to light the lamp at the top were stopped by officials to prevent a breach of peace. The current plea sought permission at the stone pillar, not the hilltop. Justice G. R. Swaminathan allowed this request on December 1. He noted that the pillar was Hindu property and that a 2005 resolution by the dargah authorities raised no objection.
The order triggered a contempt plea against the Tamil Nadu government for non compliance. It also led to an appeal in the Supreme Court. The State argued that the dispute required a ground level demarcation of all properties involved. Past civil suits from 1920, 1958, 1975 and later writ petitions had highlighted the same need. With elections nearing in 2026, the issue is expected to draw wider attention as the case proceeds.
