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Chilkur Balaji’s Reformist Head Priest M.V. Soundararajan Dies at 90

Tributes highlight his equality-first reforms that preserved temple autonomy.

Overview

  • He died on Friday at age 90 following age-related illness, according to his family.
  • Political leaders across parties, including A. Revanth Reddy, K. Chandrashekar Rao, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, and G. Kishan Reddy, offered condolences praising his service.
  • At the shrine popularly called Visa Balaji, he removed the hundi, urged devotees to support temple publications, and prohibited VIP queues so everyone used the same line.
  • He became a leading voice for temple independence, resisting government attempts to assert administrative control and insisting on primacy for devotees.
  • A retired Osmania University commerce professor and former registrar, he also helped popularise 11 circumambulations for a wish and 108 after fulfillment.