Mysterious death of Shiroor seer must be investigated
Swamijis of various mutts are in news for all wrong reasons now. Raghaveshwara Swamiji of Ramachandrapura Mutt faced rape charges and had to attend court in connection with that. The court finally ruled the swamiji had ‘illicit and immoral’ relationship with the survivor. Yet, he continues to be in the chair. Babas and self-declared godmen in North India are being jailed one after another over sex related charges. Mutts that had to be centres of spirituality and philosophy are becoming centres of politics, controversy, with even rape charges included. People have begun to view these places with suspicion.
The cultural centre of South India, Udupi, is no different from the rest. The difference of opinion between the head seers of eight mathas known as ‘ashta matha’ is very evident since long. Now, looks like this difference of opinion may have caused a death of one of the popular swamijis. Shiroor sri has died under mysterious circumstances. Doctors have confirmed the presence of poison in his body, and even consumption of food laced with poison.
Some allege that sri Lakshmivara Teertha didn’t die an accidental death; instead he was systematically eliminated. And there are many reasons to believe so too. Many a times, fights had transpired between all the eight mathas (referred to as Ashta Mathas). It could be that of a swamiji crossing the seas, one more swamiji loaning money to someone and then having threatened the man who’d taken money with life, etc. Pejawar seer going on a fast during the Paryaya festival of Puttige Swamiji so on and so forth.
Despite being a Brahmin mutt of a particular community, the bouquet of mutts often got into trouble with its pratices and rituals. But then, the mutts always projected themselves as hindu mutts. However, they could never follow a uniform hindu tradition at their places. Shiroor Lakshmivara Swamiji was responsible for the recent tiffs in the mutts. He had become some sort of an embarrassment for his fellows and devotees. Because Shiroor Sri led a very democratic life shunning most practices of the mutt. He spoke like a rational and like those who would have caused a positive revolution in the country. Alshmivara Teertha was interested in music, sports and other aspects too. He would mix freely with the people and involve them in mutt practices as well.
At the same time, he was also questioning the ways and means of politics and illegal happenings in the mutt. He had even spoken about making a foray into politics. He had expressed his desire to electoral politics too. Udupi swamijis have always shown their inclination towards politics. But Pejawar seer was never seen identifying with any particular party. But his influence is of very high order. He has openly supported Ram Janma Bhumi issue.
Shiroor Sri Lakshmivara Swamiji did not have this kind of diplomatic finesse in his approach towards politics. He did not have the ‘craftsmanship’ of Pejawar seer. He had even said “ All swamijis in Ashta Mathas, including me, have children” in a video that went viral on social media. With this, all the swamijis had faced embarrassing moments. The incident of main god had forced him to say most undiplomatic things against the other swamijis. He had said “If I do not get Pattada Devaru, I will move the courts against six yathis.” Not just this, he had even threatened to expose the illegal transactions of Udupi mutts. He had said “Pejawar seer has gun man. But the one who is facing life threat is me. Hence I need protection too,” he had said. In the very few days after he expressed that he didn’t feel safe, he had died of poisoning. If he didn’t get Pattada Devaru, he would have ensured that he somehow got the idol sooner or later. He would have exposed all the irregularities happening in the mutt complex, had he lived for some more time. He was a live landmine that would have claimed massive collateral damage. He was a threat for people around him too, including industrialists and politicians.
Hence this death has to be investigated. Doctors have already said traces of poison are found in his body. Swamiji never consumed meat. He was a pure vegetarian. He wouldn’t even eat out. How can the food prepared in mutt turn into poison? A complaint has also been registered on the death case in the police station. Pejawar seer’s name also figures in the list of Shirur Seer’s enemies. Hence it is Pejawar seer’s need too that the cause of the death be established. All the swamijis of the mutt have to press for an enquiry of Shirur Swamiji’s death. If they remain silent, they would be proving some of the doubts right with their silence and give rise to more rumours regarding this death.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
