Tipu's "Salaam Aarati" in temples to be renamed as "Sandhya Aarati"

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Dharmika Parishat, the state's top body which monitors Hindu shrines, on Saturday, approved the proposal to rename "Salaam Aarati" to "Sandhya Aarati" in all temples in the state.

The renaming is because "Salam" is Persian, reminds the reign of Tipu Sultan, and the new name will be Sanskrit, Times of India reported. The proposal for the said renaming was tabled just six months ago.

Earlier, scholar and member of Dharmika Parishat Kashekodi Sooryanarayana Bhat said that such Persian terms were imposed on Hindus during Tipu's rule. He underscored then that "Salam" does not belong to Hindu culture, saying that "the word does not belong to us".

The Chaluvanarayana Swamy temple in Melkote had tabled the renaming proposal before the Mandya district administration of the BJP-ruled state, and the latter submitted it before the Dharmika Parishat.

The Melkote temple has been carrying out "Salaam Aarati (Torch Salute)" every evening at 7:00 since Hyder Ali and his son Tipu's era.

Now, as a subsequent move, the Hindu religious institutions and charitable endowments department (muzrai) in Karnataka has decided to issue an official circular renaming the Aarati services not only in Melkot but also all temples across the state. This will be done after final clearance is given by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, said muzrai minister Shashikala Jolle.

Jolle said that there were demands to rename Persian terms and retain traditional Sanskrit terms such as Mangalarati Namaskara or Aarati Namaskara. She claimed with respect to history, they have brought back what was in practice in the past.