Please allow freedom for temples by enacting a system of representative council constituted with religiously relevant people with scholastic abilities to oversee, advise & decide. Stop intervention of secular governments & political nominees in Hinduu religious affairs
Dear Sirs,
On behalf of millions of devotees from the Global Hinduu communities, who considers their temples as means to worship the God – the Almighty, we humbly request your attention to the following to affect the creation of a proper system for the service, maintenance & preservation of Hinduu temples, temple assets, temple customs, temple arts, knowledge of Thantra-Mantra-Yantra etc. associated with temples, learning, teaching & propagation of Vedas, Upanishads, other scriptures and numerous other tenets of Hinduu Cultural life. It is further humbly requested that the Constitutional guidelines and laws may be reviewed if required to effect a constructive change.
- A new system for Hinduu temple service and maintenance has to be developed and implemented at the earliest considering the historical backdrop to ensure no intervention of secular government and politicians in Hinduu temple affairs, noting that they are not intervening in Christian Church and Muslim Mosque affairs.
- This system should ensure that the numerous ancient Hinduu temples in India are properly, effectively and meaningfully preserved and utilized for the purposes for which it is intended and not just for purposes of tourism development and commercial benefits. As we all know, the prime purpose of temples are not to promote commercial tourism.
- At present, the temple assets and its affairs at large, are taken care by the bodies set up by the secular government which are a mixture of government officials and political nominees. It is evident that these personnel are the key decision makers in the affairs of temples about which they are not really conversant enough as it appears.
- Such government officials are entering into the government service through PSC examinations or such processes. And political nominees get their entry based on their comparative merits in their party and as decided by the party!!
- It is anyone’s guess that a governing body of temple affairs, constituted through such a secular process will not really stand the test of merit and competency when it is compared to a panel of subject experts in the area of temple affairs, spiritual practices, Thantra etc. that are part & parcel of Hinduu religious life.
- As an obvious result, temples have become centers of commercial activity and many consider temples as mere establishments for employment. In many temples it is observed that the Priests eyes on devotees who pay higher amount as ‘dakshina’. In many temples, the temple employees behave in rude manner as if the devotes committed a great mistake of visiting the temple. Recently, in Guruvayur temple, a devotee was beaten up by a temple employee. Many might have had several of such experiences of inadequacy to cite upon. All this happens or it shows that the people who are engaged for the temple services are not really capable to execute the work they are entrusted with. The administrative bodies are clueless about how to recruit the right people for the right job, how to train them, how to retain them, the importance of means & ways of setting right attitude in the temple staff as well as visiting devotees. All these happens while a large number of scholars and such people knowledgeable in such matters relating to Hinduu culture, rituals, Vedas, Upanishads, Thantra etc are not given any opportunity to contribute their wisdom for the well being of the Hinduu society that they hail from.
- In many temples, crores of rupees are received as offerings. Many Hinduus believe that such income is not fully and effectively utilized for the Hinduu religious purpose but it adds to the treasury of the secular government apart from paying the salary of temple staff. And this happens while many ancient temples are running short of money to maintain themselves in a reasonable status. While other religions are utilizing such fund for their religious affairs such as learning, teaching and propagation of their religious texts, literatures, their customs etc, Hinduus do not enjoy that freedom to have centers of learning, teaching etc. As a result, majority of Hinduus becomes just ‘believers’ without possing the knowledge they are supposed to have about their culture, religion and religious practices,customs, rituals, literature etc. and its significance. They find it hard to find a facility in their neighborhood for the learning of their relevant religious texts and Samskritam, the language that is the key to treasures of Hinduu wisdom.
- Ideally, government officials & politicians should refrain from temple affairs and focus on their area of activity and excel in that.
- Decision making authority & responsibility on temple affairs should be entrusted with a duly constituted, competent body that is populated with the subject experts such as Sanyasins from prominent ashrams /mutts, intellectuals and veterans in the Hinduu religious & scriptural matters, and principles governing the installation and maintenance of temples.
- As we know, there are a lot of such people in every states of India who have devoted their life for the pursuit of learning and propagating Hinduu scriptures, spiritual practices and its ways and means and so on. But the knowledge of such visionaries are hardly utilized for any policy making, temple related issues etc and the community to which they belong to.
- A suggestion about a model apex body to be laid out is stated here. We request this model be subjected for debate, correction and implementation by involving intellectuals. The model is explained below.
11.1. Based on the geographical area, each state may be divided into 3 or four zones. For example, to start with the southern most state, Kerala, it may be divided into 3 zones – Southern, Middle and North zones. Then the Government will nominate one IAS officer to each of these zones as Zonal Devaswam Commissioners (ZDC). The senior person will be the ‘Chief Devaswam Commissioner’.
11.2. These commissioners will initiate the process to constitute an apex body of Hinduu religious and temple affairs preferably with name – ‘Hinduu Mandir Seva Prathinidhi Sabha’ (HMSPS). The name shall remain uniform for all the states but with the prefix of the corresponding state name.
11.3. The zonal commissioners shall collect the data of ashrams, mutts, other spiritual/religious institutions, temples, scholarly individuals etc. Then, each institution will be contacted directly and by way of an announcement in the leading media, inviting expression of interest from all religious/cultural entities to join as member of HMSPS by explaining them the whole plan.
11.4. All such applicants/nominated persons should undergo a screening process to establish their credibility and caliber before being inducted into HMSPS. Care must be taken to counsel them well before so that no one gets misunderstood about the whole idea.
11.5. Such screened & finalized applicants & nominated persons shall elect one among them as their representative through secret balloting.
11.6. The elected representative and the Chief Devaswam Commissioner shall be the authorized joint signatories of HMSPS.
11.7. Any issue pertaining to the Hinduu temples and the society at large shall be debated & decided in HMSPS in a democratic way.
11.8. Norms for recruitment, remuneration, training etc. of staff in each temple shall be decided by the HMSPS.
11.9. An executive officer with staff shall be appointed in each temple by the HMSPS with clearly stating his duties & responsibilities. The size of organization and the facilitations shall be governed by the prominence, size and activity of the temple.
11.10 HMSPS shall have zonal offices at a centrally located town.
11.11. With the implementation of this system after thorough debate at various forums in a time bound manner, the present system of secular government involving in temple affairs could be scrapped at the earliest.
11.12. HMSPS should facilitate centers for the learning (Pata Shala) of Samskritam language, Vedic Mathematics, The Chathur Vedas, Upanishads, Jyothi-sham, Vasthu Shasthra, Gemology, Vegetarian cookery, Basic customs & procedures of pooja, Environmental preservation, meaning & significance of the customs and rituals, science behind temple etc etc as prescribed by the religious and spiritual masters of Hinduu Dharma. This would ensure that ignorant citizen will not get cheated by fraudsters and also to avoid Hinduu religious becoming a center stage for the so- called secularism drama.
11.13. Whenever situations demands and if required, the Minister of cultural affairs will act based on the inputs from the HMSPS and never directly.
We humbly request you to treat this with top priority since the efficient existence of Hinduu Dharmic thoughts would directly imply the effective prevalence of secularism in India. We humbly request the government to subject the concept of creation of such a representative council for a national debate by scholarly people and enact a new suitable law at the earliest and help Hinduus to know Hinduu Dharma and its basics at least. Hinduus wish to learn Hinduu Dharma in an authentic way.
Mechanical engineering is handled by Mechanical engineers. Cardiology is handled by Cardiologists and Nuclear science is handled by nuclear scientists so as to have good results for the efforts. It would be disastrous if such technological establishments are controlled by non experts. Similarly Hinduu temple affairs are to be handled by people who have expertise in the relevant sciences, physiology and psychology pertaining to temples. Else it would lead to undesirable effects to the society as we have been witnessing so far and at present.
So, a change for betterment is essential. We are hopeful of the newly elected government at the center under respectable leader- ship of Shri Narendra Modi ji.
Sir, we humbly request you to do the needful to ensure equality and natural justice for Hinduus along with the followers of other religions as assured by the Constitution of India.
This petition should be sent to all members of parliament members, all MLA’s of every state, all corporators of every municipality and corporations:
Please help in sending mail to all such people.
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Government control of Hindu Temples
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act of 1951
Allows State Governments and politicians to take over thousands of Hindu Temples and maintain complete control over them and their properties. It is claimed that they can sell the temple assets and properties and use the money in any way they choose.
A charge has been made not by any Temple authority, but by a foreign writer, Stephen Knapp, in a book (Crimes Against India and the Need to Protect Ancient Vedic Tradition), published in the United States that makes shocking reading. Hundreds of temples in centuries past have been built in India by devout rulers and the donations given to them by devotees have been used for the benefit of the (other) people. If, presently, money collected has ever been misused (and that word needs to be defined), it is for the devotees to protest and not for any government to interfere. This letter is what has been happening currently under an intrusive law.
It would seem, for instance, that under a Temple Empowerment Act, about 43,000 temples in Andhra Pradesh have come under government control and only 18 per cent of the revenues of these temples have been returned for temple purposes, the remaining 82 per cent being used for purposes unstated.
Apparently even the world famous Tirumala Tirupati Temple has not been spared. According to Knapp, the temple collects over Rs 3,100 crores every year and the State Government has not denied the charge that as much as 85 per cent of this is transferred to the State Exchequer, much of which goes to causes that are not connected with the Hindu community.
Was it for that reason that devotees make their offering to the temples?
Another charge that has been made is that the Andhra Government has also allowed the demolition of at least ten temples for the construction of a golf courses. Imagine the outcry, writes Knapp, if ten mosques had been demolished.
It would seem that in Karanataka, Rs. 79 crores were collected from about two lakh temples and from that, temples received Rs seven crores for their maintenance, Muslim madrassahs and Haj subsidy were given Rs 59 crore and churches about Rs 13 crore. Very generous of the government.
Because of this, Knapp writes, 25 per cent of the two lakh temples or about 50,000 temples in Karnataka will be closed down for lack of resources, and he adds: The only way the government can continue to do this is because people have not stood up enough to stop it.
Knapp then refers to Kerala where, he says, funds from the Guruvayur Temple are diverted to other government projects denying improvement to 45 Hindu temples. Land belonging to the Ayyappa Temple, apparently has been grabbed and Church encroaches are occupying huge areas of forest land, running into thousands of acres, near Sabarimala.
A charge is made that the Communist state government of Kerala wants to pass an Ordinance to disband the Travancore & Cochin Autonomous Devaswom Boards (TCDBs) and take over their limited independent authority of 1,800 Hindu temples. If what the author says is true, even the Maharashtra Government wants to take over some 450,000 temples in the state which would supply a huge amount of revenue to correct the states bankrupt conditions.
And, to top it all, Knapp says that in Orissa, the state government intends to sell over 70,000 acres of endowment lands from the Jagannath Temple, the proceeds of which would solve a huge financial crunch brought about by its own mismanagement of temple assets.
Says Knapp: Why such occurrences are so often not known is that the Indian media, especially the English television and press, are often anti-Hindu in their approach, and, thus, not inclined to give much coverage, and certainly no sympathy, for anything that may affect the Hindu community. Therefore, such government action that play against the Hindu community go on without much or any attention attracted to them.
Knapp obviously is on record. If the facts produced by him are incorrect, it is up to the government to say so. It is quite possible that some individuals might have set up temples to deal with lucrative earnings. But that, surely, is none of the governments’ business? Instead of taking over all earnings, the government surely can appoint local committees to look into temple affairs so that the amount discovered is fairly used for the public good?
Says Knapp: Nowhere in the free, democratic world are the religious institutions managed, maligned and controlled by the government, thus denying the religious freedom of the people of the country.
But it is happening in India.
Government officials have taken control of Hindu temples because they smell money in them, they recognize the indifference of Hindus, they are aware of the unlimited patience and tolerance of Hindus, they also know that it is not in the blood of Hindus to go to the streets to demonstrate, destroy property, threaten, loot, harm and/or kill. Many Hindus are sitting and watching the demise of their culture. They need to express their views loud and clear. Knapp obviously does not know that should they do so, they would be damned as Communists. But, it is time someone asked the Government to lay down all the facts on the table so that the public would know what is happening behind its back. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not secularism. And temples are not for looting, under any name. One thought that Mohammad of Ghazni has long been dead.
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Freeing Hindu temples from government control
https://reclaimtemples.com/freeing-hindu-temples-from-government-control/
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#TufailChaturvedi #HinduMandir #TempleUnderGovernmentControl
Q&A – हिंदू मंदिर – सरकारी हस्तक्षेप – Tufail Chaturvedi and Sanjay Dixit
- Premiered Jan 1, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FbC3ZxaC-g
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Govt.’s Control on Hinduu Temples.
It was external aggression of looters of all kinds in the past who ravaged our temples. East India Company, British were no exception. Now the looters are inside the country who cart away sacred idols, smuggling them abroad and then selling them via antique dealers in Europe from Milan, Italy to London, England. This is only ‘minor’ thing compared to what goes on officially well noted in the article below as well as off an on by several others. 85% of temple income goes who knows where. More things change more remains same. Thus in Rajasthan though BJP came to power and in Maharashtra where BJP is in power the situation is no different from Congress and Communist ruled states like Karnataka or Kerala. In Andhra where a BJP ally was in power, 1000 pillar temple built in 8th century around the sanctum of Lord Venkatewara was unceremoniously pulled down with bomb blasts, sculptured pillars under which for centuries people have observed vows, celebrated marriages or conducted worship, were broken and pieces were thrown into garbage. Mohd. Gazni would have been proud.
In modern times there is no reverence, respect to the sentiments of large mass of people of India on one hand nor any regard to sanctity of temples. In some cases like in Tamil Nadu where DMK ruled, the contempt towards Hinduus and Hinduu worship was open and blatant. In Andhra, the devotion is exhibited alright but at the same time loot and destruction of ancient temples goes on regardless. Even a minister in charge of Hinduu endowments and temples expressed his helplessness to stop the loot at every level of temple administrations. The loser in all cases is the devotee but who should care for them or for the temples themselves ? A monk did in Andhra when he raised protest against blasting of temple on Thirumala, and an orchestrated campaign was launched to denigrate him using Sarkari ‘Saints’ who expressed their outrage for raising objections to destruction and not a word against sacrilege.
In Thirupathi the temple land was given to an exaggerated Madrasa called ‘university ‘ for Moslem burka clad women. And as noted below 85 % of temple funds are usurped by ‘ Government’ for what? Not for use of temples but for funding everything else.
Either the Churches and Mosques too should be secularized or Hinduu temples should be freed from secular Government control. Of – course we hear this from Hinduu political parties preceding elections, after elections in this regard they too end up following same regime they have just replaced. It may be recalled Congress party too at one time was called Hinduu party. The same fate should not fall on BJP.
It is sad commentary on state of affairs that our temples and our modes of worship in them are free and unfettered in the West in places like England, US or Australia rather than in India that is not Bharath.
G V Chelvapilla, Sent: January 27, 2016
See http://www.stephen-knapp.com/crimes_against_india.html.
There is an IAS officer as head of every temple. Not for any of the Masjids or Churches. A Foreign writer opens our eyes.
The Hinduu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act of 1951 allows State Governments and politicians to take over thousands of Hinduu Temples and maintain complete control over them and their properties. It is claimed that they can sell the temple assets and properties and use the money in any way they choose.
A charge has been made not by any Temple authority, but by a foreign writer, Stephen Knapp in a book (Crimes Against India and the Need to Protect Ancient Vedic Tradition) published in the United States that makes shocking reading.
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/crimes_against_india.html.
Hundreds of temples in centuries past have been built in India by devout rulers and the donations given to them by devotees have been used for the benefit of the (other) people. If, presently, money collected has ever been misused (and that word needs to be defined), it is for the devotees to protest and not for any government to interfere. This is what has been happening currently under an intrusive law.
There is a popular belief that since the temples are controlled by the government now, the funds can be used for any social purpose at least. Please note that none of the devout kings who constructed these temples claimed any right over the temples. Many of them have not even left their names behind. Let alone not controlling the temples and their funds, these kings, in fact, consigned lands and other properties, including their jewels, to these temples. They only facilitated and did not claim any rights over these temples. That is the only acceptable attitude. None of the big temples (barring perhaps a handful) have been constructed by the governments of today and they have no right over any of these temples – funds, administration or over the way in which the worship is to be conducted. The funds of these temples should be used only for the administration of these temples, their repairs, the emoluments, the infrastructure and facilities around these temples and the surplus for the upkeep of other less known temples especially the old ones.
It would seem, for instance, that under a Temple Empowerment Act, about 43,000 temples in Andhra Pradesh have come under Government control and only 18 per cent of the revenue of these temples have been returned for temple purposes, the remaining 82 per cent being used for purposes unstated.
Apparently even the world-famous Tirumala Tirupati Temple has not been spared. According to Knapp, the temple collects over Rs 3,100 crores every year and the State Government has not denied the charge that as much as 85 per cent of this is transferred to the State Exchequer, much of which goes to causes that are not connected with the Hinduu community. Another charge that has been made is that the Andhra Government has also allowed the demolition of at least ten temples for the construction of a golf course. Imagine the outcry writes Knapp, if ten mosques had been demolished.
It would seem that in Karanataka, Rs.79 crores were collected from about two lakh temples and from that, temples received Rs.7 crore for their maintenance, Muslim Madrassahs and Haj subsidy were given Rs.59 crore and Churches about Rs 13 crore.
Because of this, Knapp writes, 25 per cent of the two lakh temples or about 50,000 temples in Karnataka will be closed down for lack of resources, and he adds: The only way the government can continue to do this is with the indifference and tolerance of the Hinduus.
Knapp then refers to Kerala where, he says, funds from the Guruvayur Temple are diverted to other government projects denying improvement to 45 Hinduu temples. Land belonging to the Ayyappa Temple, apparently has been grabbed and Church encroachers are occupying huge areas of forest land, running into thousands of acres, near Sabarimala.
A charge is made that the Communist state government of Kerala. wants to pass an Ordinance to disband the Travancore & Cochin Autonomous Devaswom Boards (TCDBs) and take over their limited independent authority of 1,800 Hinduu temples. If what the author says is true, even the Maharashtra Government wants to take over some 450,000 temples in the state which would supply a huge amount of revenue to correct the state’s bankrupt conditions.
And to top it all, Knapp says that in Orissa, the state government intends to sell over 70,000 acres of endowment lands from the Jagannath Temple, the proceeds of which would solve a huge financial crunch brought about by its own mismanagement of temple assets.
Says Knapp: Why such occurrences are so often not known is that the Indian media, especially the English television and press, are often anti-Hinduu in their approach, and thus not inclined to give much coverage, and certainly no sympathy, for anything that may affect the Hinduu community. Therefore, such government action that play against the Hinduu community go on without much or any attention attracted to them.
Knapp obviously is on record. If the facts produced by him are incorrect, it is up to the government to say so. It is quite possible that some individuals might have set up temples to deal with lucrative earnings. But that, surely, is none of the governments business? Instead of taking over all earnings, the government surely can appoint committees to make the temples accountable especially for the funds – received and earned – so that the amount discovered is fairly used for temple purposes only.
Says Knapp: Nowhere in the free, democratic world are the religious institutions managed, maligned and controlled by the government, thus denying the religious freedom of the people of the country. But it is happening in India. Government officials have taken control of Hinduu temples because they smell money in them, they recognize the indifference of Hinduus, they are aware of the unlimited patience and tolerance of Hinduus, they also know that it is not in the blood of Hinduus to go to the streets to demonstrate, destroy property, threaten, loot, harm and kill (generally or normally).
Many Hinduus are sitting and watching the demise of their culture. They need to express their views loud and clear Knapp obviously does not know that should they do so, they would be damned as communalists. But it is time some one asked the Government to lay down all the facts on the table so that the public would know what is happening behind its back. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not secularism. And temples are not for looting, under any name. One thought that Mohammad of Ghazni had long been dead.
Posted by: chelvapila@aol.com
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Funds of Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Were Used to Throw Iftaar Parties, Alleges Petition
Funds of Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Were Used To Throw Iftaar Parties, Alleges Petition
bySwarajya Staff–Aug 28, 2020
A petition filed in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has alleged that the funds of Vaishno Devi shrine board were squandered off to throw Iftaar parties, Bar and Bench has reported.
The petition has been filed by the Baridar Sangharsh Committee and 54 others who are seeking rights to the administration and governance of the holy Hindu shrine. The Baridars used to manage the temple’s affairs until 1986, when it was taken over by the state.
The petition alleges that, “shrine Board funds were squandered for throwing Iftaar parties in favour of members of a different religious group. It is argued that funds from the Shrine have been spent by the Board beyond the scope of Section 4 of the 1988 Act causing a broad daylight heist on Hindu sentiments”.
The petition has also argued that the ability of the Hindu community to manage its own religious institutions has been systematically eroded in the last few decades after they were placed under the “thumb of the state”.
It goes on to state that, “the State in brazen violation of Article 14 has exercised its authority only against Hindu Temples.”
The petition has also accused the shrine board of corruption and has demanded an external audit.
The J&K High Court judge Justice Javed Iqbal Wani has now issued a notice to the UT administration and the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
Government Control of Hindu temples: a Presentation
The Temple Worshippers’ Society based in Chennai has put together a summarized and data-driven presentation that highlights all the negative consequences of Government control of Hindu temples. Right from brazen looting of revenue of Hindu temples to mismanagement of temple administration to rampant encroachment of Hindu temple lands, this presentation is an eye-opener in many ways.
http://indiafacts.co.in/government-control-hindu-temples-presentation/
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- Freeing temples from state control – Subramanian Swamy
- Why only Hindu religious affairs need to be managed by the government. The obvious question why should a ‘secular, socialist’ government control only Hindu places of worship, but not Muslim and Christian religious institutions.
- In fact, what is scandalous is the corruption after takeover of temples by the Tamil Nadu officials, MLAs and Ministers by looting the temple wealth, lands, and jewels, and the reckless diversion of donations of devotees to non-religious purposes.
- Temple properties: Tamil Nadu temples, under Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department, has control over more than 4.7 lakh acres of agricultural land, 2.6 crore square feet of buildings and 29 crore square feet of urban sites of temples. By any reasonable measure, the income from these properties should be in thousands of crores of rupees. The government, however, collects a mere Rs.36 crore in rent against a ‘demand’ of mere Rs.304 crore — around 12 per cent realisation.
- The HR & CE takes away annually around Rs.89 crore from the temples as administrative fee. The expenditure of the department including salaries is only Rs.49 crore. Why does the government overcharge the temples– literally scourging the deities – for a sub- standard service?
- Recently the government started covering the floor of Tiruvotriyur temple with marble, a stone never used in south Indian temples. The original floor was of ancient granite slabs with historical inscriptions. There are several initiatives for ‘renovation’ of temples — the bureaucrats rarely consult archaeologists or heritage experts. Without knowledge, experience, competence or appreciation and with great insensitivity they use inappropriate chemicals on ancient murals, insert concrete/cement structures, use ceramic tiles to ‘embellish’ sanctum sanctorum and construct ‘offices’ within temple premises. Ancient monuments 300 to 1000 plus years old are never ‘renovated’, only ‘restored’, a distinction that escapes the babus.
- There are several large temples in Tamil Nadu under government control for several decades. If the Supreme Court judgment is applied, then the government is in illegal, unethical and unfair control of these temples. apart from being answerable for innumerable acts of dereliction of duty, defiling of temples that has resulted in loss of several thousands of crores of rupees to the temples and to their antiquity. That is my next move — to liberate all Hindu temples presently in government control on expired GOs. In the future we need to bring some mosques and churches to rectify the mismanagement going on in these places. Then the secularism of India’s intellectuals will be truly tested.
- For Full text read:
- http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/freeing-temples-from-state-control/article5594132.ece?homepage=true