Sentence:  ... Ganesh ("Pillayar" in Tamil), here is not associated with militant Hinduism; Pillayar is a lovable <WSD>household deity</WSD> here, a free and familiar god who craves no chauvinistic devotion. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A minor tutelary deity watching over a household, usually conceived as a protective ancestral spirit or genius loci.