Dancer denied temple performance: Tharoor expresses disappointment, says art overruled by religion
New Delhi, Mar 29: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday expressed disappointment over an atheist dancer being denied permission to perform at the famed Koodalmanikyam temple in Kerala, saying art has no religion or caste but it has been overruled by religion in this matter.
Mansiya V P, a Bharatanatyam dancer and a PhD research scholar in classical dance, on Monday took to Facebook claiming the temple officials denied her permission to perform despite her name being printed in the programme notice.
The temple officials claimed that she was denied permission as the temple tradition does not allow a non-Hindu to enter the premises.
Asked about the issue, Tharoor said as a Hindu and a citizen of India, he is disappointed with this decision.
"Art has no religion or caste, but here, art has been overruled by religion," Tharoor told PTI.
Other faiths go out of their way to attract others to respect their religion, throwing open the doors of mosques, churches, gurdwaras and synagogues to all, he said.
"As a public representative in Thiruvananthapuram, I have attended Christmas Eve Mass at St Joseph's Cathedral, celebrated Eid at Palayam's Juma Masjid and been received with honour at the sacred sites of every Christian sect," the Lok Sabha MP said.
"I have walked on the hallowed ground of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, offered prayers alongside Jewish friends at the Wailing Wall there and bowed my head at the Church of the Nativity. While some Hindu temples are equally welcoming, some are not, and I deplore their attitude," he said.
Tharoor noted that temple board chairman Pradeep Menon explained that the decision is in keeping with "the existing tradition at the temple".
"Traditions, of course, change with the times: it was also the existing tradition at every temple to deny Dalits entry a century ago, but that is an unthinkable thought today. I can understand reluctance to permit access to outsiders to the sanctum sanctorum, where an idol has been installed with a 'prathishtha'," he said.
"But a dance on the temple premises? Surely Mansiya, who dances with reverence and talent, is no threat to the sanctity of the place," Tharoor asserted.
He said this is not the religion of 'vasudaiva kutumbakam (the world is one family) and 'sarva dharma sambahava (all religions are the same). These are rules made by "small-minded" men that reflect their prejudices and not the inclusive spirit of a great faith, Tharoor said.
Earlier, responding to a tweet which claimed that he was being selective in his criticism as a judge had also stopped the Mohiniattam dance in Palakkad halfway through, Tharoor said on Twitter, "I deplore that as well, all the more so since the judge was acting in his own interest (he claimed the music was disturbing him since he lived next door). Neena Prasad is one of the most famous Mohiniattam exponents and deserved better than to be so rudely interrupted by police."
Mansiya, born a Muslim, was to perform at the 10-day National Festival of Dance and Music organised by the Koodalmanikyam temple to be held from April 15 to 25. Around 800 artists are expected to perform at the temple during the fest.
"The organisers phoned me and told me that I cannot perform. When asked why, they said non-Hindus are not allowed in the temple. I said it is a national dance festival. I also said that I am a human being," Mansiya told the media.
"I told them that even though I was born a Muslim, I don't follow any religion. The official asked whether I have converted to Hinduism as I have married one. I told them that I don't have a religion to get converted to," she had said.
Mansiya is married to musician Shyam Kalyan.
The classical dancer told the official that she was not coming to offer her prayers at the temple but to perform Bharatanatyam.
"If they had told me that my performance was not up to the mark, then I would have been happy because that's how Kerala treats the artistes. But this was not like that. I have performed at numerous venues and most of them are in temples," she had said.
Other faiths go out of their way to attract others to respect their religion, throwing open the doors of mosques, churches, gurudwaras& synagogues to all, but some of my fellow Hindus prefer to shut our temples to outsiders: https://t.co/BKPCiBbbZH
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 29, 2022
Where's "vasudaiva kutumbakam"?
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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.
