Houston Hindus oppose Church on Tirumala Hills

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Houston Hindus oppose Church on Tirumala Hills

Lalit K Jha (HindustanTimes.com)

Minneapolis, July 18. 2005

 

Opposing the construction of a church at the sacred`Tirumala Hills, as many as

23 Indo-American organizations based in Houston has urged the Prime Minister,

Manmohan Singh, to ask the Andhra Pradesh Government to maintain the sanctity of

the religious place, which is a holy shrine for the Hindus world over.

 

Agitated by media reports emanating from India that the Andhra Pradesh

Government was actively considering the application of a religious society to

build a church atop the Tirumala Hills, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, these

Indo-American organizations held an emergency meeting at Houston on Saturday

(July 16) to discuss the issue.

 

Even though the news has been denied by the Andhra Pradesh Government that no

such thing would be allowed at the Tirumala Hills, the Indo-American, mostly

Hindu organizations, at the meeting decided to send a representative to

Washington D.C. to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister during his visit

this week.

 

Another representative of these Houston-based Hindu organizations would be

flying to Hyderabad on Tuesday (July 19) to meet the Chief Minister, Y S

Rajasekhar Reddy, to apprise him of the sentiments of the community in the

United States.

 

"We are all agitated and upset following the series of news regarding the

Tirumala Hills which is coming from Andhra Pradesh. We want to make sure that

such a anti-Hindu thing does not happen," Geetha Donthi, of Prajna - JET USA,

which is one of the signatories to the memorandum, told the HindustanTimes.com.

 

Donthi would meet Reddy in Hyderabad on behalf of these 23 organizations

including Gujarati Samaj of Houston, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Chinamaya Mission,

Arya Samaj, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Hindu Worship Society, Kerala Hindu

Society, Shri Radha Krishna Temple, Ashtal Lakshmi Temple, Hindu Student

Council, Vallabh Priti Samaj, Esha Vasyam, Param Shakti Peet, Indian Senior

Citizens Association, India House, Bhakta Samaj, Friends and Family of Houston,

Santhan Hindu Center, LPSH, Houston, Bhram Samaj, Houston Natya Kala Vrund and

Center for Global Studies.

 

"It shocks the conscience of the Hindu-American community of Houston that the

Government of India can so cavalierly demolish a structure with a history of 550

years, as if it were yesterday's newspaper being tossed into the rubbish bin,"

said the petition signed by these organizations on Saturday, which would be

submitted to both the Prime Minister and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister.

 

Stating that the Seven Hills of Tirumala, in their entirety, have been

considered to be a tirthasthanam and a devasthanam since time immemorial, the

petition said: "It affronts the sanctity of the place for the Government to

permit the construction of a Christian church.Consequently, it is incumbent

on you, as the Prime Minister of India, to direct the Government of Andhra

Pradesh to ensure that the sanctity of Thousand Pillar Temple and the entire

Seven Hills of Tirumala remains intact," it said.

 

The organizations said given the fact that the Central and State Governments,

rather than private trusts, controlled the Hindu structures, they have the

solemn obligation to maintain these places.

 

"Despite this, the Andhra Pradesh Government has knowingly permitted the

demolition of the 550-year old Thousand Pillar Temple and was considering

constructing a Christian church on Tirumala Hills," the petition said adding

that this was in direct contravention of the interests of the worldwide Hindu

population, including the Hindu-American community of Houston.

 

Different countries, including the United States, may be the homelands for the

worldwide Hindu population, only India serves as their matrubhumi and

dharmabhumi, in said.

 

As such, the Hindu-American community of Houston has a vested interest to ensure

that thousands of tirthasthanam and devasthanam which cover the landscape of

India remain preserved and accessible to devotees from across the globe, the

petition said.