Stop Sale of DAV School and Massive destruction of temples in J&K

published on May 15, 2008

Letter to Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir State

 

THE HINDU JAGRAN FORUM-USA

3145 Gilbert Avenue
, Roseburg, OR
(USA) 97470

 

 

Subject:


Sale
of DAV School in Srinagar and Massive destruction of temples in J&K
amounts to state sponsored Talibanization of the state:  Hindu
religious and educational infrastructure must be protected by the state
and a Waqf like Hindu Board be formed for their upkeep, development and
governance.

 

 

Hon’ble Chief Minister Azad,

 

   
It is abundantly clear that the unwarranted sale of one of the leading
DAV High Schools in Srinagar, against which the teachers and the
students had to march in streets to register their protest, did not
have the approval of the community who are the real owners of this
infrastructure (attachment A). This represents another example of
deliberate yet a “tactical failure“
by the J&K Govt. in protecting the Hindu community of Kashmir. It
also further strengthens the case of the Kashmiri Hindus as a minority
community for a change in the political set up to protect their
community, culture, educational institutions and religion. The
systematic elimination of minorities from the Islamic domain of Kashmir
says volumes about the contradictory nature of the Islamic political
culture when compared to India’s secular system.

 

   If
the Kashmir Govt. is sincere in its commitment to enforcing the
proclaimed goals of equal protection of citizens under a system of
political secularism, it must without any excuses issue an executive
order, similar to the recent one issued by it for protecting religious
shrines, to cover the sale of the DAV School in Srinagar as well as
other sales of educational institutions (attachment B). All such deals
involving the religious and educational institution and their estates
after 1989 must be declared null and void and accounts of the trusts
engaged in these extra legal transactions under duress must be sealed.

 

1) Hindu Institutions being destroyed at an unprecedented Scale:

 

         
 The
process of desecration, loot, vandalizing and destruction of temples
has continued in J&K under the anti-Hindu Islamic rule through
generations with intent to wipe out all traces of religious and
cultural symbols of Hindus. These targets besides the temples included
libraries, schools, universities and ashrams. After country became free
and Kashmir acceded to the Union of India in 1947 the destruction and
desecration of temples under the new Islamic regimes wearing secular
turbans received added impetus and acceleration.

 

Temple

lands, cremation grounds and other such entities belonging to Hindus
were usurped and utilized for expansion of the Islamic populace. The
famous Bhairavnath temple of Chattabal, Srinagar was locked up
by the police. The judicial case pending in court concerning this
temple was never allowed to be decided. Precious lands around Hari
Parbat hill, Durganag temple of Srinagar and lands at several Hindu
places of worship in the Valley were slowly and steadily turned into
lands under occupation of the Muslim trusts (Maqboozai-Ahali-Islam).

 

2)  The
law and order situation in the Valley since 1986 deteriorated
progressively and temple desecration became the order of the day


.
The Islamic fundamentalist conspiracy against Hindus received
unqualified support from the Pan Islamic Movement and from across the
border. Here are some of the glaring examples that defy and shred into
a million pieces the tall claims made by the Muslim leaders of Kashmir
about their dedication and adherence to nationalism, multiculturalism,
secularism, Kashmiriyat and religious freedom.

 

  In
1967, Shivala temple, Chotta Nazar, Srinagar was desecrated. Again in
1984 Shri Hanuman temple at Hari Singh High Street was damaged and in
the same year Arya Samaj temple of Wazir Bagh, Srinagar was burnt down.

 

3)  Temples desecrated and damaged in Kashmir from 1990 to December 1992




  

 

1. DASHNAMI AKHARA, SRINAGAR
2. GANPATYAR TEMPLE
3. RAGHUNATH MANDIR, SRINAGAR
4. SHIVA TEMPLE, JAWAHAR NAGAR, SRINAGAR
5. HANUMAN MANDIR, SRINAGAR
6. SHIVA TEMPLE, BARBAR SHAH, SRINAGAR
7. JAI DEVI TEMPLE, BIJBEHARA
8. VIJESHWAR TEMPLE, BIJBEHARA
9. SHIVA MANDIR, BIJBEHARA
10. RAGHUNATH TEMPLE, ANANTNAG
11. GAUTAM NAG TEMPLE, ANANTNAG
12. THREE TEMPLES OF LUKHBHAVAN, LARKIPURA, ANANTNAG
13. WANPOH MANDIR, ANANTNAG
14. SHAILPUTRI TEMPLE, BARAMULLA
15. DAYALGAM MANDIR, ANANTNAG
16. BHAIRAVANATH MANDIR, BARAMULLA
17. BHAIRAVANATH MANDIR, SOPORE
18. RUPABHAVANI MANDIR, VASAKURA
19. KHIRBHAVANI MANDIR, GANDERBAL
20. SHIVA TEMPLE, GANDERBAL
21. MATTAN TEMPLE, ANANTNAG

 

There
have been reports of further destruction of some 39 temples in Kashmir
after December 6, 1992 for which FIR were filed. Please note that FIRs
on all destruction cases were not filed with the authorities in view of
the complicity of the administration and warnings of retaliation
against the complainants by the Islamic terrorists.  According to local eye witnesses accounts there were additional 38 temples that were vandalized after December 6, 1992.

         

 

    
 These
examples represent only a fraction of the systematic mass destruction
of thousands of temples in J&K after independence of India when the
Islamists assumed the total and unfettered control of the state. These
examples are listed in details in our letter of February 21, 2008 (may
be seen on website:



http://www.bharatjagran.com/



under the heading – “Massive destruction of temples in J&K and Talibanization of the state”).

 


 

4)
What is difficult to understand is that when the Govt. re-built
Cherar-e-Shareef why can’t it re-build Hindu temples destroyed in the
wake of ethnic cleansing unleashed by the local and foreign Jihadists?





The Indian Parliament adopted a law in 1991 specifically requiring that


–”the status of religious places, as on August 15, 1947 shall be
retained”. Under the present circumstances it is obligatory upon the
Govt. as envisaged by the above referred law to maintain the integrity
of religious entities as it stood in 1947. The J&K Government while
flouting the law of the national legislature very conveniently divorced
itself from this commitment. As always, the Indian authorities looked
the other way.

 

Hon’ble
Chief Minister, government’s indifference towards the temple security
and their functioning can only be termed as its support to persecution
of Hindus and denial of their freedom of religion:



  Govt.
must realize that the temples and their endowments have been built over
the centuries by our forefathers and therefore, it is the community
which is their real owner. Therefore, it is the community which must
have the final say in the management and utilization of temple
resources and management of educational institution.

 

5)
Given the militant exposition and expansionist designs of the majority
community – the Hindus as a minority in J&K need & must get
special protection:



Your government’s recent order making it mandatory to obtain its
approval for the sale and purchase of properties held by Hindu shrines
and religious places is right on the mark. However, this is only an
initial step to correct the situation that has been wronged over many
decades. It must be followed by other appropriate administrative
measures like formation of a Waqf- like Hindu Board for their
protection, preservation, administration and development.

 

For
maintaining the real religious autonomy the Hindu community must retain
power to decide the future of its educational and religious
institutions and not the antagonistic work force of the biased J&K
Govt. Clearly under estimating the possibility of the prevailing
anti-Hindu policies coming into play in their dealings, particularly
when their personal faith teaches them that Hindus are the infidels and
kafirs, will be a grievous mistake.

 

 



6)
Formation of a Waqf like autonomous Hindu Board for Hindu institutions’
governance under the Hindu community’s guidance is essential:



  Hon’ble
Chief Minister, we strongly believe that for social, religious,
educational and community affairs and services and temple
administration there must be a representative but autonomous Hindu
Board with full jurisdiction over temple governance and management.  Since
the right of freedom to manage religious places is available to the
Muslim community which constitutes the majority in your state, where is
the justification to deny this right to Hindus?

 

7)
The Govt. must restore community’s vital role in temple and educational
institutions management through Hindu Advisory Councils:


 
Such Councils representing the community and its leaders could play an
important role in oversight, day to day administration and decision
making process of the endowments department and temple Trusts. 
Additionally these Councils should have full authority for asking the
Govt. to take swift measures for stopping desecration and decimation of
the Hindu religious and educational infrastructure and for bringing the
culprits to book.

 

          8)
Chief Minister Azad, we hereby urge you to take prompt action
for protecting Hindu educational institutions, temples and Hindu
community properties


from illegal sales and annul all such sales that took place after 1988 by declaring them as “sales under duress.”
This will be in keeping with the norms and practices in all open and
democratic societies; and the secular Constitution of India. Restoration
of the DAV High School in Srinagar to community management should be a
priority, before the School campus is demolished by its new but
unlawful owners.

 

If
this double standard and extremely discriminatory policy against Hindus
in Kashmir is not reversed, you can be sure that it will eventually
transcend the state boundaries and impact adversely the privileges
enjoyed by the Muslims as a minority community in India. In that case
they will have nobody to blame except their fellow religionists and the
Muslim Govt. of Kashmir. It is also relevant to point out that almost
all of the budgetary expenditures in the J&K state are gifted by
the Indian Govt. with taxes mostly paid by Hindus. Surely these
taxpayers do not fund the Kashmir Govt. so it could destroy the age old
Hinduism and its infrastructure for realizing the forced talibanization
of the state.

 

          Thank
you Mr. Chief Minister. We shall be looking forward to your response
and prompt action towards resolving this highly explosive but easily
solvable situation.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Dr. Jagan Kaul
Krishan Bhatnagar
Hindu Jagran Forum (USA) 

email:



[email protected]








May 11, 2008

Note: This letter will soon be posted on website: http://www.bharatjagran.com/

==========================================

 

Attachment A

School building sold; students, teachers take to streets

The Tribune, Chandigarh

Friday, May 2, 2008,

Srinagar,
May 1 : Traffic on the Srinagar airport road was today affected for an
hour after students and teaching staff of DAV High School protested
against the sale of school. The students and teaching staff of more
than 60-year-old school today took to streets and blocked the main road
at Magarmal Bagh.

Raising slogans against the school management, the students and
teachers said the sale of the school building and its ground was
illegal.

“Give us our school back,” they demanded and appealed
to authorities to intervene and save their future. They alleged that
Kashmiri Pandit management without taking the parents and teaching
staff into confidence had reportedly sold the school property. However,
one person, who removed the school boards, said they have purchased the
entire complex from the management. We have legal documents, including
the sale deed, he said.

Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded for an hour as there was no
police official. However, the traffic was allowed after a group of
police personnel from Shergrahi police station reached the spot and
assured the agitators that they would take the matter with the higher
authorities. The DAV school was one of the leading schools before the
Pandit management migrated from here after the eruption of militancy.

— UNI

=================================================

 

Attachment B

 

Valley temple trusts now need Govt OK to sell their property






by Toufiq Rashid( Indian Express- May 01,2008)

SRINAGAR, MAY 1: In order to safeguard the religious institutions
and shrines of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, the J&K Government
has passed an order which makes it mandatory to seek the Government’s
approval for the sale and purchase of such property.

The Government is also likely to investigate the deals so far and take action in three months.

The
April 16, 2008 order has come following an inquiry report which reveals
violations in the process of sale and purchase of land belonging to
Pandit religious institutions in the Valley.

In most of the cases, the shrine managers have been found guilty.
The properties include shops and land belonging to temple trusts.

“We
had ordered an inquiry by the Settlement Commissioner of Jammu and
Kashmir in February and found that there have been many cases where
land and property of temples and other religious institutions of
Kashmiri Pandits were sold by the mahants or temple managers. The order
has been issued to safeguard these properties and put some checks and
balances in place,” said Masaud Samoon, Secretary, Revenue, Jammu and
Kashmir.

The J&K government passed an order stating that Deputy
Commissioner of the area will be responsible for shrine properties. No
sale deal can be registered without prior approval of the Deputy
Commissioner of the concerned area. The order says that no revenue
records should be issued to the mahants or managers of the shrine
without the permission of the Deputy Commissioner.

The order states that any deal executed by any mahant or manager
shall have to be attested by a Tehsildar after getting clearance from
the Deputy Commissioner.

The issue was highlighted by a
pressure group of Kashmiri Pandits who stayed back in the Valley after
1990. The group, Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti, had even filed a case
in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court demanding that all deals involving
the temple properties after 1990 be cancelled and accounts of the
trusts be sealed.