In April 2025, a much-anticipated Malayalam film named ‘Thudarum’ was released. The film followed a linear narrative of a small loving family, who unwittingly become victims of caste discrimination and injustice, following the murder of their son by two reputed police officers.
Although the film is established on the primary theme of honour killing, the film zooms in on a much larger picture, highlighting the struggle of a common man, who held the keys to truth, against the systematic falsity practised by the law-bearers.
This particular analogy roots its branches to a deeply horrifying confession that shook the nation to the core. In July 2025, a retired Dalit sanitation worker walked in claiming to be a witness to a mass burial site that took place behind the holy ground of the Dharmasthala Temple, situated in Karnataka.
The man, after twelve years of silence, claimed that he had been forced under the threat of his life to bury the bodies of people who were victims of rape and injustice alongside the banks of the Netravati River, keeping silent. The deponent claimed the bodies held evidence of brutal marks of sexual abuse and forced strangulation, which were alleged to be done by persons of higher authority.
However, it is not the very first time Dharmasthala Temple was a victim to such an allegation. The hunt began long ago, in 2012, when the temple was accused of the rape and death of a 17-year-old girl. This commenced a series of protests led by local families and political groups probing the unscrupulous acts happening behind the sacred structure. But due to scant evidence and lack of stronger influence, the institution was left free of charge, re-establishing its glory.
The re-emergence of this case after twelve years, under strong photographic evidence, opened those accusations under a much broader light, questioning the corporality of the temple to its hidden actions. The temple, famous for its religious harmony and colourful identity, was suddenly in the spotlight for a dark scenario revealed through the mouth of a common man. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) began excavations across claimed sites; however, as forensic analysis failed to corroborate the mass burial claims, the complainant was subsequently arrested by the SIT for perjury and fabricating evidence.
However, justice took its time and attempts to silence the heinous crime came in quickly from institutional players, including a gag order granted by a Civil Sessions Judge, to remove social media links related to the case. Possible speculations and attempts to ‘cleanse’ the temple’s name were made.
Chinmaya’s case is a projected reality of millions of common people who are struggling to voice the truth yet are silenced due to their social position.
Just like how the analogical movie mentioned above, Dharmasthala’s case, portrays the systematic manipulation practised by powerful institutions to silence the truth. These systems are carefully curated to yield towards the wealthy and powerful, leaving the concerns and safety of the country and its people at stake. Hence, in a place where a massive network of political parties, authorities and chronic capitalism works in joint forces, their transcribed words become a verdict for millions, reducing sacred institutions like Dharmasthala to a mere playground for deceitful tactics.
Truth in its very essence requires effort and becomes difficult to expose when power is bestowed on the wrong people. The further controversies and the falsified attempts of institutionalised powers, especially from court authorities, prove the embedded distance between the powerful and the powerless and the subsequent delay in justice.
Perhaps it is not a coincidence that a common man becomes a puppeteer to a play that the powerful yields. After all, for a country occupied by a majority who are vulnerable, their lives become leverage, discarding the truth for as long as it survives.
References:
- Dharmasthala mass burial case - Wikipedia
- Judge who passed gag order on Dharmasthala mass burials studied in Veerendra Heggade-run institution
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