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A
Wake Up Call to Hindu Voters, Leaders and Activists
Subject:
Subversive
Govt. Control of
Temples
violates religious Freedom. Hindus also have the right to manage their
institutions as guaranteed by the constitution: Hindu Parties must commit to
end this state of lawlessness and restore the rights of the national majority by
bringing about a “regime change”.
Respected
Hindu Voters, Activists and Youth;
Respected Hindu Leaders and devotees;
This is the
wake up call for the Hindus of India.
The concept of secularism in the country, as established by the Indian majority
(read the Hindus), was meant to provide equal freedom, protection and treatment
to all religions. As a matter of fact the Indian Constitution unambiguously
prohibits the Govt. from establishing a state religion or interfering with
religious formations. It also means that the Indian state cannot elevate atheism
or secularism to the level of state sponsored religion. However, in the
thoroughly corrupt political jungle of India, in time the real majority was
replaced from the driver’s seat of the political system by an artificially
created new majority which reversed the entire content, character and intent of
secularism. Utilizing the systemic parliamentary trickery the new majority
constituted by the combination of minority and splinter groups gave entirely a
new meaning and agenda to India’s secular behavior.
The Indian
democracy thus having fallen under the clutches of the
hostile
minorityism
which in turn unleashed the same kind of aggressive yet subversive attacks as
were experienced by the Hindus during the repressive regimes of the Muslim,
Christian and other invaders.
The ultimate
goal of these self destructive strategies all along has been to change the
demographic, socio-cultural and religious complexion of modern India.
The very exemplary entity representing the highest degree of liberty and
liberalism created by the Hindus of
India for
treating the minorities fairly and with utmost equality is now using the strong
arms of unlimited Govt. in an attempt to gobble the creator up.
Influenced by the new philosophical boundaries of the minority controlled,
interpreted and enforced secularism the Indian authorities continue to invent
new schemes, plots, plans and programs for destabilizing, weakening and
fragmenting the foundations of Hinduism the only religion that historically,
even in the face of Himalayan adversities, held India together.
Under the present governing regime that crusade continues to take its toll and
seriously hurt the Hindu majority, its religion and its unified character.
1) Students
of history will remember that after converting Germany in to a Nazi state, Adolf
Hitler, in his bid to remain in power for ever, concentrated on perfecting and
using seven key structures of control for achieving his objective. The first of
the seven of course was Govt. and politics. But the very second key structure of
control was religion. Therefore, politically aware and conscious voters of India
and citizens in general cannot but view the control by Govt. of Hindu temples,
shrines and religious estates with a degree of suspicion and worry. What can
stop the Indian officials, like in Hitler’s Nazi state, from expanding the state
control to other areas like culture, work, education, propaganda, trade and
commerce depending upon who is in power? The members of other religious
formations in India should also take a moment and ponder upon the issue of state
control upon religions and their infrastructure very seriously. Today the
targeted religion is Hinduism and tomorrow it could be any one of them.
With such a sinistrous background in mind many of the state Governments’ in
India have resorted to demolition of the
Hindu
religious infrastructure with unusual ferocity after usurping the control of
temples under the illegally enacted lawless laws. The administration of the
Govt. controlled temples has been vested in the hands of the officials without
accountability, religious training, transparency and community supervision. The
abundance of available evidence has proved beyond any doubt that under
government control, the Hindu temples have not only been exploited injuriously
but are also being driven to their ultimate extinction. This
is an issue that the majority Hindus must keep in mind when they vote in the
forthcoming elections.
Obviously the builders of this control regime, Sonia- Singh and its cabal
included, have lost the trust and confidence of Hindu India. This regime has
made it a policy to violate and hurt Hindu sentiments by demolishing their
religious infrastructure through deliberate and willful mismanagement under the
unjustifiable state control.
2)The Hindus
and all aspirants of the
regime change
in India must demand an unbreakable and binding commitment from candidates and
political parties for supporting the Hindu agenda which may include a) autonomy
of Hindu religious temples and institutions as in the case of the minority
religionists; b) Amending the discriminatory provisions in the Constitution that
penalize Hindus and hamper their cultural, educational and religious freedom;
and, C) As required by the Indian Constitution the wall of separation between
state and religion must strictly be maintained and adhered to.
In today’s
India persons
having no belief, devotion and background on Hinduism, even persons
from adversarial religious groups, are given charge to govern and dictate their
will upon the Hindu religious entities.
The practice of a religious group being ruled by its opponents, former religious
oppressors or those with political or financial motivations is absolutely
unethical, irreligious and immoral and therefore, must be completely
unacceptable. The methodology of the Govt. take over of temples is being used as
an instrument of death for the Hindu places of worship. The serious consequence
of this violation is that the writ of the state determines how religious shrines
are managed and who gets to enjoy the spoils and privileges from the revenues
generated by these shrines.
3) Southern States:
Some of the Southern States have assumed the role of fore- runners for
demolishing Hinduism and its religious infrastructure.
Besides these governments the self professed secular Govt. of India has also
become an active participant in promoting anti-Hindu religions while funding
their enlargement from the Hindu coffers. A
special note should be taken of the fact that the Governments as trustees do not
maintain the accounts of the nationalized temples in a transparent manner.
In stead they treat such accounts as discretionary and disposable assets. Given
below is a short summary in two states that shows the extent to which states
plunder temples and enforce their agenda. (for more details and other
states see Attachment A):
Nationwide the
control of the famous and internationally recognized temples like Jagannath Puri,
Tirupati, Kashi Vishwanath, Vaishno Devi, Shirdi , Siddhivinayak, Guruvayoor,
Chamunda Devi, Dattapeeth, Kali Mandir of Patiala, Amarnath, Badrinath,
Kedarnath, etc. has already been assumed by the Govt.
4) Karnataka: In Karnataka
the Congress regime suffocated Temples by siphoning off their revenues to
promote adversarial religions
– In
the year 2002-2003, out of Rs 79 crores of temple revenues, Rs. 59.15 crores was
given away to mosques, Madrasas, Hajj, etc., Rs. 12.75 crores was given to
Christian institutions and a mere Rs. 7.1 crores were allocated to maintain
over 248,000 temples.
During the five
years of the report from 1997 to 2002 some 19,000 temples have closed in
Karnataka (attachment A).
No
where in the world does a Govt. engage in such robbery and assault of a single
religion to benefit its opponents and competitors.
The Govt. also went out of its way to encourage evangelization in the state. On
this front the officials provided facilities worth crores of rupees to Priest
Benny Hinn for undertaking
mass
conversions
at the State owned Jakkur Airfield Training Ground on
January
21-23, 2005. Promoting politically motivated conversions in this fashion must be
considered a crime punishable under the law.
5) In Andhra Pradesh:
The World
Famous Tirupathi Tirumala Temple is under debilitating siege by the Govt. The
criminal destruction of the centuries old historic 1000 pillar Mandapam at TTD
with official participation, and proposal to build a ropeway at TTD for turning
the sacred shrine into a tourist attraction thus commercializing and desecrating
the deeply revered shrine and vitiating its religious sanctity are highly
provocative and unsettling. Such precipitous anti-Hindu measures are taken
without public debate or the approval of the Hindu community, who are the real
owners of temples. Not surprisingly though these illegal, anti-secular and
undemocratic acts have generated enormous resentment and therefore, have been
universally condemned by all Hindu ranks. Shamefully
a former liquor baron was appointed the Chairman of the TTD Board as a reward
for helping Congress in the no confidence vote that took place in the Parliament
on July 22, 08.
The
Temple
receives an annual income of Rs. Three Thousand one hundred Crores in the form
of direct cash collected from Hundi collections and other sources at the TTD apart
from substantial amounts of Gold, Silver and precious stones. Without any
constitutional authority a huge portion of the resources of the TTD is utilized
for numerous non-Hindu purposes. The regime in office has allowed illegal
occupation of some three and a half lakh (3,50,000) acres of Mandir lands in AP
in spite of the fact that there is a huge army of some 77,000 bureaucrats in the
endowments department supposedly for protecting these assets.
Hindus have no say in how their religious institutions are run and they are at
the mercy of a seemingly fanatic Christian CM, who in spite of having taken the
oath to uphold the secular constitution, does everything officially and
otherwise to de- Hinduise and Christianize the state.
(For more
details on temples in the above states and the
status of temples under
Govt. control in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kashmir and
Haryana please refer to Attachment A.)
6) Indian High
Courts have declared the laws to control Hindu temples as illegal and
unconstitutional. The courts directed state authorities for taking remedial
measures.
a)
In Karnataka, a division bench of the High Court comprising of Justice R
Gururajan and Justice C R Kumaraswamy struck down the endowment Act stating that
the legislation violated Articles 14, 25 and 26 of the Constitution which
provided for right to equality, freedom of conscience and freedom of profession,
practice and propagation of religion and also the freedom to manage the
religious affairs; and,
b) Similarly the
Allahabad
High Court directed the Central and Uttar Pradesh authorities to prepare a
scheme for establishing a Board for the governance of the Hindu religious
organizations on the pattern of the UP Muslim Waqf Board. Even though our demand
is based on the constitutional principle of complete separation of religion and
Govt. , in the interim it would be appropriate and reasonable for all
state authorities to follow the judgments issued by these highest judicial
bodies.
c) Despite
such valid judicial decrees the
State authorities have grossly misused and abused the powers
delegated to them under the Concurrent List (Article 246 (2), Seventh Schedule)
on religious institutions. In stead they went ahead and made unwarranted
acquisition of temples and squarely discriminated against Hindu religious
institutions, while leaving the liberty and freedom of other religionists in
managing their institutions untouched and unhindered.
Anticipating possible dishonorable designs in various
administrations
the Indian
Parliament adopted a law in 1991 specifically requiring that -"the status of
religious places, as on
August 15, 1947
shall be retained".
The state officials are duty bound to uphold this law and keep the religious
places outside Govt. control as they were in 1947. In case of conflicts or
contradictions between the state and national laws - the national law receives
precedence. Scholars of constitutional law and judicial bodies have questioned
the legality of the practice used by the Govt. Both legislators and cabinets are
elected under the decree of the constitution. While administering the oath of
office they make a commitment to uphold the Indian Constitution. However, by
singling out the Hindu religious infrastructure for discriminative practices
they engage in violating the same constitution which they swore to uphold. What
an irony!
7) Only dharma
Acharyas and saints have the religious and spiritual background and authority to
guide religious shrines.
The
official grounds of imposing state control upon religion have been as illogical
as they have been irrational. And the imposition of such control in a selective
manner upon the Hindu temples and the absence of its universal application
expose the mockery imbedded in this policy.
For re-examining this erroneous and prejudicial policy the following basic
questions must be answered by the Indian state governments. What authority,
background and special training the Govt. operatives’ posses for controlling
every aspect of the temples - the Hindu cultural centers, when the concept of
secularism - neutrality towards religions - is enshrined in the Indian
constitution? Why can’t autonomous Hindu Boards govern temples under the
guidance of religious leaders, just as it is permissible in the case of other
religions? The Waqf Board of Muslims and the management of Christian religious
institutions have vast funds, properties and endowments, in addition to the
immense flow of foreign funds - yet their independence and autonomy is left
intact! Why deny this freedom to Hindus who constitute
India’s
national majority and are vital for the country’s national unity?
Hinduism: A prescription to uproot radicalism & terrorism.
In today's
turbulent world when foundations of human civilization and civil society have
been seriously shaken by religious terrorism, jihad and radical ideologies the
message of all- embracing Hinduism is needed: The
messages of peace, tranquility, non-violence, tolerance and compassion are bound
to heal the wounded civilization and lead it on the path of mutual respect and
peaceful coexistence. Accordingly people need to be motivated for dharma raksha
and dharma prasar. The lack of “dharma shiksha” could be one of the factors
responsible for the emergence of the current state of ills in the modern
society. This curse must be eradicated with a heavy emphasis on educating the
general public.
8) Hindu
Advisory Councils should be formed immediately pending the establishment of
Hindu Boards:
Such community representative Councils could play a vital role in oversight and
decision making process of the endowments department and temple Trusts.
Additionally, these Councils elected or nominated by the community and national
religious leaders could shoulder these responsibilities. They could also take
measures to root out desecration and decimation of the religious infrastructure
that has taken place during the Govt. control. Taking such steps should signify
a prelude towards denationalization and the establishment of autonomous Boards
for taking over the charge.
Govt. must realize that the temples and their endowments have been
built over centuries by our forefathers and the community is their real owner.
Accordingly the community must have the final say in the management and
utilization of temple resources. Furthermore, liberating religion from state
control would free the Govt. for addressing national rather than parochial
interests.
9) Hindu voters must
be made aware that Sonia-Singh regime is the same anti- Hindu regime
which is:
a) violating the faith of 100 crores Hindus by questioning the existence of
Lord Ram and calling Him a mythical being. By demolishing Ram Sethu the regime
further inflicts injury upon the majority community's faith and religious
practices;
b) Letting states to clamp their control upon temples and Hindu religious
properties in an attempt to demolish the Hindu religious infrastructure;
c) remaining callously indifferent on the arrest of the most revered H.H.
Kanchi Shankaracharya in Tamil Nadu;
d) Appeasing terrorists and not dealing with them swiftly and firmly. Such
deliberate policy of inaction encouraged commando raid on Mumbai killing Hindus
by the hundreds;
e) Concocting the phony idea of Hindu terrorism and arresting Sadhvi Pragya;
f) Enforcing religion based reservations, scholarships and Hajj subsidies
for Muslims in violation of secular constitution thus re-imposing Jazia tax on
Hindus; g) encouraging pub culture by one of the Ministers leading a "pub
bharo" campaign;and so on.
10) Hindus
reject brainwashing and intellectual subversion:
It took
decades of struggle for
India to
emerge as an independent country in 1947. Prior to that for centuries both the
Muslims and Christians kept it under their occupation and brutal authoritarian
rule. Even though now the country is physically free of occupiers but the mind
of its intelligentsia and the governing elite continues to suffer with acute
traces of indoctrination. The Indian social, political, educational institutions
and the media to a large measure are still controlled by anti- Indian and
subversive elements.
The Govt. control of temples has deprived Hindus of dharma shiksha, dharma
prachar and dharma sewa. They are largely kept ignorant of their heritage while
the temple resources are abused, misused and siphoned away to fund the expansion
of the predatory religions. Under the secularist philosophical dogma Hindu
organizations are questionably branded as being communal and anti-minority.
Using such methods of intimidation and contempt, the Indian officialdom and the
ruling class compels Hindus to accept subservience without questions, protest
and retaliation.
The manipulators of the Indian political system have reduced Hindus to a mere
non-entity. That status for a strong national majority is as undemocratic as it
is humiliating. They must refuse to accept such an indignity. As a meaningful
yet constructive retaliation
they need to mobilize, take initiative, come forward,
assume leadership and offer sacrifices for bringing about a desirable change.
11) This is our
“Dharma Yudh” against the indignities and inhumanities mounted on us.
This is our struggle for restoring the appropriate status of the Hindu Samaj.
This is our sangharsh to establish the rule of law and real democracy. This is
our chance to throw out of power those who insulted our gods, attempted to
destroy Hindu history and heritage of
India.
Therefore, please place every thing else on the backburner and get involved in
this "Maha Dharma Yudh". Take leave from every thing else and work for the
victory of Hindu Dharma and become a part of the electoral campaign locally,
regionally and nationally, and above all amongst dalits, OBCs, weaker segments
of the community and the disenfranchised.
The idealism
driven young generation should be on the front seat to fuel a new uprising
against the de-Indianised elite and the tainted political practices. The youth
particularly the College students who
have the idealism, energy, maturity and drive for furthering the national cause
should plunge into this campaign.
The fate of Hindus in
Kashmir and in the North Eastern India should remind them that with a weakling
Indian Govt. spearheaded by Sonia-Singh and the Bush loyalist combine they and
their loved ones face a clear and present danger in every nook and cranny of
India.
With the pace
setting example of Hindus in Jammu during the historical save Amarnath struggle,
they should urgently consider a mass Hindu electoral movement for every
legislative and Parliamentary election and assert their right of majority rule
- the underlying premise of partition. Letting this opportunity slip away could
be extremely costly with far reaching consequences.
12) Hon'ble
Voters, Hindu Leaders and activists:
We being the democratic majority in India have the right and responsibility to
demand the reversal of the anti- Hindu policies of the Sonia- Singh regime,
particularly the divisive religion based job reservations and scholarship
schemes. These perverse and discriminatory actions are not for strengthening the
Indian society but for tipping the balance in favor of loyalist vote banks so
that political merchants continue to maintain their firm hold on power. For
reversing these disuniting commands and introducing policies with universalist
character
Hindus must be bold in supporting only those candidates and parties who
commit to uphold and work for the majority Hindus interests and for rational
governance.
Here are a few material commitments they should ask for:
a) "Equal
freedom for all religions";
i) Unshackling Hindu religious infrastructure from the unconstitutional Govt.
control across India; and, ii) the formation of Interim Advisory Hindu Councils
for oversight of the Endowment departments till de-nationalization is complete;
b) "Equal
opportunity in Education"
for all poor children, as against the Sonia- Singh regime's preferential high
scholarships to Muslim students, while the so called 'upper caste poor students'
are denied any support whatsoever. (Foot note 1); and,
c)
Amend the Constitution for:
1) stopping the abuse of the
Concurrent List
by the
state authorities for taking over temples, resulting in financial suffocation,
mismanagement and manipulation of the Hindu religious infrastructure; and, 2)
Article 30 that is discriminatory and disallows establishment of Hindu
Educational Institutions to help provide education for the poor, by barring them
from the needed financial benefits as allowed to the minority institutions.
For the good of India,
empowerment of her real majority, her civilization, her immense spirituality and
culture, Sonia- Singh regime has to go. In its place a Govt. that genuinely
thinks Indian, breathes Indianism, upholds the Indian cultural heritage and
commits to protecting Indian citizens against the scourge of terrorism must be
voted to power. The
country needs leaders and lawmakers who maintain a determined core of beliefs
and whose goal of securing equal opportunity and freedom for all Indian
religions transcends the fractured nature of politics.
Thanks for
your time and "Jai Ho" to the new and transformational regime in the forthcoming
elections.
Dr. Jagan
Kaul
Krishan
Bhatnagar
Hindu Jagran
Forum (USA)
March 17 ,
2009
Foot note 1)
: The
irrational educational policy of Sonia- Singh Govt. has now divided poor Indian
students into three categories:
a) Preferred
religious minorities (read Muslims and Christians) with high financial
assistance;
b) SCs and
STs on a lower level; and,
c) Total
exclusion of students from poor Hindu families (all outside the first two
categories) from the so-called upper castes, who don't get assistance worth even
a paisa --- -- for details refer: "Equal
Opportunity in Education - for All Poor Children : an Election
Issue....(Feb 23, 2009)" --
http://www.bharatjagran.com/
Attachment
A
ASSAULT ON
HINDUISM IN
INDIA :
Govt. control of Hindu
religious infrastructure is the instrument of decimating Hindu religion
and culture
Hereunder
are the examples of the abusive control by states in
South India that have
virtually engaged in demolishing the Hindu religious infrastructure. The
abundance of available evidence has proved beyond any doubt that
under government control, the Hindu temples have not only been exploited
injuriously but are also being driven to their ultimate extinction.
Nationwide, the famous
temples of Jagannath Puri, Tirupati, Kashi Vishwanath, Vaishno Devi, Shirdi ,
Siddhivinayak, Guruvayoor, Chamunda Devi, Dattapeeth, Kali Mandir of Patiala,
Amarnath, Badrinath, Kedarnath, etc. have already been taken under the Govt.
control.
In
Andhra Pradesh:
AP Govt.'s
continuing blitzkrieg against Hinduism with
massive sale of temple lands seems a policy of looting temples for bringing down
Hinduism.
Andhra
Pradesh Govt. is going all out for controlling the entire spectrum of Hindu
religious institutions. The Endowment Minister Shri Diwakar Reddy announced on
March 12, 2007 that
AP State Govt. plans to takeover all temples, mutts and religious trusts in the
state. Furthermore, the government is planning to amend the AP Endowments Act
to enable the endowments commissioner to oversee the day-to-day administration
of mutts.
Injurious
Governance:
As per recent information there are more than 34,000
Temples under
Government control who are taking away all the donations given by devotee in the
form of cash, clothes, jewellery or in any other form. In return only some 15%
of the Revenue is given back for the maintenance of Temples and pay salaries of
Priests. More than 40,000 Priests are earning salary below Rs.500 /- Month and
over 3,000 Priest who are earning 400 /- for the whole year.
The Major
chunk of money is been used by government for various schemes under Indira Yojna,
Rajiv Yojna etc etc which in no way is helping either the Hindu community or
Hindu Temples.
In 2004, the
AP Govt. engineered the entry of JRG Wealth Management Limited, an organization
owned by Christians, into the decision making and procurement process of "Prasadam"
materials for use in Tirupati temple. Furthermore, the criminal destruction of
centuries old historic 1000 pillar Mandapam at TTD with official participation
that has been universally condemned by all Hindu ranks and it has generated
enormous resentment!
The fact that
even with huge battalions of staff for oversight, the Govt. could not protect
the temple lands simply proves either incompetence, indifference or both of the
authorities in performing their responsibilities. Such an irresponsible
establishment cannot and must not be trusted to handle these centuries’ old
estates and temples belonging to Hindu community.
The world
famous TTD with massive income of over Rs. three thousand crores and vast
endowments properties and Hindu educational institutions have been infiltrated,
particularly by Christians under the patronage of CM Rajashekhar Samuel Reddy.
There was a recent news of protests and tension at TTD's Sri Padmavathi Mahila
Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV) on
March 14 ,
2007, against university vice chancellor Veena nobel Das for the alleged
propagation of Christianity in the varsity and the suicide of a first year
post-graduate student K. Uma Maheswari in the varsity hostel room against
conversion.
Unwarranted & illegal
Actions :
Against the spirit of the law, strong opposition and wishes of the Hindu
community the AP government wants to: a) take away Rs 500 crores from TTD (Tirupathi
Tirumala Devasthanam) supposedly for irrigation projects on top of the Rs.1,500
crores it already owes them; b) build a ropeway at TTD for turning the sacred
shrine into a tourist attraction thus commercializing and desecrating the deeply
revered shrine and vitiating its religious sanctity; and c) takeover the 500
year old Chilkur Balaji temple so efficiently run by the pujaris and locals.
These highly provocative, unsettling and expeditious measures amongst many
others are being taken without any public debate or the approval of the Hindu
community, who are the real owners.
A)
TIRUPATHI (AP)
The
World
Famous
Tirupathi Tirumala Temple is under complete control by the ruling government of
Andhra Pradesh. The Temple is receiving an annual income of Rs. 31,00,00,00,000
(Three Thousand one hundred Crores) in the form of direct cash collected from...
a) Hundi Collections
b) Donations towards Annadanam Scheme
c) Large amount of donations collected from Devotees who have
donated more than 5 Lakh of Rupees
d) Thula Bharam
e) Renting out 12,000 Cottages to devotees on Daily basis
f) Sale of Prasadam (including Ladoos)
g) Leasing of premises to commercial establishments including
shops & Hotels on the Hills
h) Profit from Export of Tonsured hairs of Devotees
i) Profits from TTD Publications
j) Income generated from sale of Sewa Tickets
k) Television Rights
Apart from
this The TTD is also generating income in the form of collecting & Pledging the
same for Government schemes
In
the Financial year 2005-06, The TTD collected 2400 Kilograms of Gold 2,33,000
Kgs of Silver and 543 Kgs of Other Precious Stones including Diamonds, Rubies
etc. were collected from Devotees.
B
SIMACHALAM (AP)
Situated 15
Kilometers from the Port city of
Vishakapatnam,
Simachalam is the Ancient Temple of Narasimha Swamy. Very Recently the Temple
has come under siege by Christian Missionaries, who have illegally occupied over
300 Acres of temple land with the help Christian land Mafias and local Congress
Leaders. The Devotees are restricted at the foothills by the Christians who
abuse our God as demons and physically try stopping Hindus by luring them by
providing them basic day to day needs. On many occasions the devotees have
complained to the local administration, who are watching all this helplessly. In
a span of 20 Months, four churches and 3 convent schools have come up in the
vicinity at the foothills and a small
temple
of Hanuman has also been demolished
overnight.
C
BHADRACHALAM (AP)
BHADRACHALAM
is a famous temple dedicated to Lord Sri Ramachandra and situated on the banks
of the sacred river
Godavari.
Today this temple is also under the siege of Christian Missionaries who have
influenced the government to donate 884 Acres out of 1289 Acres of Temple land
for their Activities. The
Temple
which had a passage of 8 entrances has been left with a narrow passage for the
devotees to enter the temple.
D.
ARASAVALLI (AP)
AT ARASAVALLI,
which is practically the same as Srikakulam, the headquarters of the
northernmost district of Andhra, there is a
temple
of Lord Surya. Temples dedicated to the worship of Lord Surya are rare in
our country.
Seventh Day
Adventist Church has constructed a church right in front of both the entrances.
Number of Devotees visiting the ancient temple has come down by 85% in just one
year.
E.
SRISAILAM (AP)
SRISAILAM is situated in the thick and inaccessible forests of the
Nallamalai hills, in the northeastern portion of the Nandikotkur Taluk of
Kurnool District. It lies on a straight line west of
Vijayawada,
right as it were in the centre of
South India.
It is 73 miles north of Nandyal Railway Station.
Puranas have described this abode of Mahadev as Prantha Jyothirlinga which is
situated all sides by mountains which legend says that our great Rishis and
Munnis did penance.
The Endowment department has sold over 1600 Acres of
Temple Land
surrounding the temple to various Christian Organisations including Tribal
Gospel
F. MANGALAGIRI (AP)
MANGALAGIRI is situated on the Bezwada-Guntur road and is about 8 miles by road
from
Vijayawada.
On the top of the Mangalagiri hill there is a famous temple called the Panakala
Nrusimhaswamy temple, which has been attracting pilgrims for a very long time,
and from all parts of the country. The nearest railway station is Mangalagiri on
the Guntur Vijayawada line but to visit the temple, the better course would be
to get down either at
Vijayawada
or at Guntur and take bus connections.
This ancient
Temple
which has the largest Gopuram approximately 14 Floors constructed by King
Yudhistra has been under the attack from Christian Missionaries. Due to Poverty
stricken over 35% of the population are forced to convert to christianity and
others are forced to leave in fear. Hindus are forced to visit the temple
between
10 A.M
- 1.P.M because of fear of attack from Christians who are residing in large
number at the foothills.
G.
AHOBILAM (AP)
Ahobilam is
located in Karnool district of Andhra Pradesh in the hills of the eastern ghats,
about 400 KM northwest of Chennai. The temple consists of nine shrines to Lord
Narasimha located around a 35 KM circle in dense forest surrounded by wild
Animals.
Not many
know, Ahobilam is the same place where Lord Narasimha had taken Incarnation and
had killed the Demon Hiranayakashayapu. Lot of evidence is available even
today - e.g. : a) Place where Lord Narasimha Appeared, b) Cave School of
Prahalad, c) Vascul (door entrance) on which lord killed the Demon; d) Palace
Remains of Demon Hirayanayakashayapu.
Unfortunately, no Government of Andhra Pradesh took any interest to develop or
provide facilities to the oldest temple on this Earth. Poojas and aratis is
conducted in only 3 temples daily and annually once for the remaining 9 temples
which are in thick forest.
The
Negligence on the part of the government is helping Christian Missionaries to
illegally occupy
Temple
land and are slowly taken up the task to destroy the ancient remains of Hindus
temples.
In Tamil Nadu,
H.H. Shankaracharya who whose status is not less than that of the Pope for
Hindus, was arrested on Diwali night in 2004. He was humiliated, put in jail
without bail and treated like a common criminal. Such a barbaric action against
the most revered leader of the highly civilized and non-violent faith was
tantamount to a serious assault on Hindu religion and psyche. It is over so many
years now and neither the case against him has been proven nor has he been
exonerated.
The statue of E V Ramasamy
Naicker - Periyar for the devotees of Dravidianism has been alowed to be
installed in front of the Rajagopuram of Srirangam temple. He was a known
Hindu-baiter and will obviously hurt the sentiments of many. He was a man who
made a life out mocking the Hindu sensibilities and sentiments. But he did that
in his individual capacity. By installing his statue where Hindus congregate in
large numbers, the government, seems to have given institutionalised legitimacy
to his acts.
Last year (2008) the
Diskhidars (around a dozen of them) of the
Chidambaram
Natarajar
Temple
were arrested on foisted charges by the TN Police with regards to the issue
concerning the singing of Tamil Hymns inside the temple.
In
Kerala: the
Govt. hastily promulgated an ordinance on February 4, 2007 to disband The
Travancore and Cochin Autonomous Devaswom Boards (TCDB) and usurped their
authority. The timing, intent and integrity of the said ordinance was extremely
suspicious and questionable particularly in view of the impending session of the
State Assembly and the existence of a 3 man commission appointed by the High
Court for investigating the allegations of corruption.
In one fiscal year Secular
Kerala’s treasury was filled with Rs 268 crore solely by the revenue from
Temples under Travancore
Devaswom Board, Cochin Devaswom Board and Guruvayur Devaswom. How much of the
money was used for temple maintenance and Hindu causes is not revealed.
According to the latest
reports out of tens of thousands of temples that have abnormally been rendered
dysfunctional only a few hundred are currently fully operational. As if that was
not enough, under the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 13,000 acres of Guruvayoor’s land
has been reduced to 230 acres amounting to 98% land loot. The revenue of this
Hindu entity is subject to misuse even loot by the state authorities. In order
to appease the officially inspired Christian protesters and promote their
electoral base the officials unilaterally abandoned the construction of railway
line from Kottayam to Erumeli to Hindu Hill Shrine. -
In Karnataka,
the government has set new standards of lawlessness by taxing the temples and
without any justifiable legal authority simply diverting their funds to enhance
the Muslim run Madrassas and Christian run churches - both being the adversarial
religions against Hinduism. Not even in the godless
Soviet Union was one
religion sacrificed in favor of the other. Clearly no law of the land gives any
right to the establishment for siphoning Hindu funds for promoting Islam and
Christianity.
Statement of Receipts and disbursements of revenues
from Temples
Govt. of Karnataka
Statement
of Allocation of Revenue for development purposes
Revenue/Expense From
Temples
|
|
1997-98 |
1998-99 |
1999-00 |
2000-01 |
2001-02 |
2002-03 |
|
Revenue collected ( Rs. in Crores ) |
58.63 |
65.35 |
69.98 |
71 |
72 |
79 |
|
No. of Temples |
2,67,073 |
2,67,000 |
2,62,035 |
2,54,038 |
2,61,012 |
2,48,196 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1997-98 |
1998-99 |
1999-00 |
2000-01 |
2001-02 |
2002-03 |
|
Disbursement
( Rs. in
Crores ) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Madarsas, Mosques,
Haj committee*
Compensation for Haj Pilgrim Victims |
14.25
|
27
|
35
13.21 |
45.34
|
50
|
58
1.15 |
|
Christian institutions, churches |
5 |
8 |
8 |
10 |
10 |
12.75 |
|
Temple renovation & maintenance |
16.5 |
15 |
13.75 |
11.5 |
10 |
7.1 |
|
Miscellaneous |
22** |
17.35 |
|
5.1 |
2 |
|
* Disbursement for minority
comm. development
** Women and child welfare
programs
Note: These are approx.
Figures
Source: Chief Minister's
Office, Vidhan Soudha, Bangalore PH: 2225 3414 / 2225 3424
In Orissa
the NDA state government was reported planning to sell some 70,000 acres of
Jagannath temple endowment lands due to a financial crunch brought about by the
government mismanagement. These kind of ill-advised schemes are likely to result
in the eventual closure of the famous temple. This financial stagnation was
brought about by the corrupt and inefficient government control of the temple.
In
Rajasthan :
Through an illogical and illegal scheme supposedly to generate funds for
protecting and renovating the neglected religious places, the BJP's
Rajasthan government decided auctioning off temples translating
into transferring the control and use of temples to the highest bidders even if
they are from the competing religions. Under the project 'Apna Dham, Apna Kam,
Apna Nam' a 30-year
lease would be signed between the state government and private bidders on
build-operate transfer basis like the national highways. The state authorities
have made it amply clear that these desecrations and insults through business
like transactions of shrines by the Rajasthan tourism department are limited to
Hindu shrines and do not apply to mosques or churches.
The
Archaeological Survey of India acquired jurisdiction over the
famous temple in Pushkar, Rajasthan."
In
Maharashtra, the
state legislature passed and the governor promulgated a law paving the way for
the authorities to interfere directly and indirectly for meddling in the rich
Shirdi Sai Baba temple management, its assets, estates and revenues. This is in
addition to govt. control of the famous
Siddhivinayak
Temple.
In Kashmir
while the entire non-Muslim populations has been driven from the region and
thousands of Hindus & Sikhs and their leaders have been murdered, hundreds of
their temples have been looted, destroyed, occupied or converted into mosques by
terrorists and their local collaborators without any prospects of their return
or rebuilding. Having lost the lives of hundreds of pilgrims in the past the
yatra of the Amarnath shrine, its scheduling and devotees safety remains at the
mercy of Kashmir Chief Minister Mr. Mufti and his antagonistic Islamic regime.
Pointing to the real character of this disloyal regime one of its senior
ministers recently claimed that Kashmir was a disputed territory and therefore,
should be jointly governed by India and Pakistan.
A)
In February 1986 some 39 temples were destroyed in Anantnag,
Srinagar,
Budgam, Kupwara and Baramula districts **
B) From
1987 to 1990 at least fifteen temples were destroyed **
C) 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
** for
details refer: "J&
K - Hon'ble CM : Massive destruction of temples in J&K and
Talibanization of the state (Feb.
21, 2008)"
--
http://www.bharatjagran.com/
Haryana
Government
enacted legislation to take over dozens of temples in the State, following
closely on the heels of the "Kurukshetra
Shrine Bill" that allowed the State to take over the functioning
of 75 temples in the Kurukshetra area. Haryana was a Congress ruled state
(August 2003).
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