Hindu Temples in ‘SECULAR’ INDIA”

“HINDU TEMPLES IN ‘SECULAR’ INDIA”- LETTER TO INDIAN EXPRESS

Dear Sir,

Compliments to your paper in daring to publish in ‘secular’ India
the report “Where gods go without naivedyam”-(TNIE-05 Mar).

There is a growing sense of disquiet in the Hindu community in several parts of the country on the issue of state management of temples, particularly the attitude of ‘certain regimes’ towards temples well-endowed with land and funds.Reports in the media indicated that in Karnataka,in 2002, the State received Rs 72 crore as revenue,returned Rs 10 crore for temple maintenance, and granted Rs 50 crore for madarsas and Rs 10 crore for churches.This studied neglect of temples under the direct control of the State Government could cause as many as 50,000 of the 2.6 lakh temples in Karnataka to close down in the near future.

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the Government withdrew a demand for Rs 36 crore from the Sri Venkateshwara Temple at Tirupati after a public furore and litigation in the High Court. There is, however, a move to take away temple lands and distribute them among poorer sections in the name of social justice.Thus, once the lands are seized, many temples may fail to conduct daily puja. What is more, the Andhra Pradesh Government has failed to pay the Rs 28 crore compensation towards temple lands previously acquired for building bus terminals, police stations and other public utilities.

It is suspected that there is a purpose to this de facto nationalisation of Hindu temples. The strong economic foundations of temples are being bled to support activities inconsistent with the legitimate goals of Hindu dharma, which is what the Haj subsidy, madarsa and church development, must be acknowledged to be. These monotheistic creeds are not only at variance with Hindu dharma, but their very raison d’etre is expansion by the eradication of Hindu dharma and culture. In the words of Swami Dayananda Saraswathi:

“On the national level there are governmental acts against the religion. People who have no love for Vedic culture govern the center and the states and some are also anti Hindu. There are strange alliances. Communists are anti Hindu and anti national, yet relay on Hindu votes for power. They also join the so-called secular Christian and Muslim political outfits in the name of protecting the minorities on a secular plank. Our central government is depended upon the communists. Our History books are rewritten to prove the lack of Hindu unity. We are portrayed as disjointed and conflicted tribes and segments that do not have a common thread.The ruling majority party, the Congress–Communist alliance is headed by an Italian. Therefore all the missionaries are having a good time. In Andhra Pradesh the chief Minister is Christian,but call himself Raja Sekhara Reddy, while suppressing his Christian name Samuel. Therefore he gets votes from both Hindus and Christians. The Christians are having a field day”.

VANDE MATARAM

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