Previous Year Question

The Tarakeswar Movement or Tarakeswar Satyagraha took place in Bengal in 1924. It was connected with allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the famous Tarakeswar Shiva temple and its associated monastic establishment.

At that time, serious allegations were made against Mahant Satish Chandra Giri regarding his personal conduct and the administration of the property and funds endowed to the temple.

The purpose of the movement was not merely to oppose a religious practice, but to free the temple and its property from corrupt management and place them under a more accountable public system of administration.

When the initial attempts failed to improve the situation, the Bengal Congress intensified the agitation in 1924. Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das (C. R. Das) also provided important leadership to the movement.

The Satyagrahis peacefully demanded reform in the administration of the temple and its attached property. Police intervention and arrests subsequently transformed the issue from one of religious reform into an important political agitation as well.

A historical study of the Prime Ministers Museum & Library describes the Tarakeswar Satyagraha as a local non-violent campaign under C. R. Das, with corruption in a local temple as its direct target.

Therefore, the Tarkeshwar Movement of 1924 was directed against corruption in temples.