Plea to Kalam on distressing temple situation in AP

[Guest guest]

*Plea to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India *

 

*Your action to end subversion of Constitution by AP and illegal

mass sale of temple lands and demolition of Hindu religious infrastructure

is requested. With Karnataka High Court's landmark verdict against Govt.

control of temples, the jurisdiction of Hindu "devasthans" and

"teerthasthans" should be transferred to a Waqf- like Hindu Board. *

 

Hon'ble President,

 

The Andhra Pradesh Govt., in continuation of its deliberate crusade against

the Hindu religious establishments, has decided to "entrust temple lands in

urban areas to urban development authorities for dividing them into plots

for quick auctioning." (attachment A). The directive seems to be a

pre-emptive measure for selling all endowment lands before the inevitable

denationalization of temples, in view of the Karnataka High Court's

landmark verdict. That judgment struck down the "Hindu Religious

Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act, 1997 as unconstitutional" 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 (Attachment B).

 

*Anti- Hindu elements seem to have spearheaded the fast, illegal and highly

questionable land sales* : Following the Karnataka HC verdict that the state

control of temples is unconstitutional, the Endowments department of

AP requested the "government to permit handing over urban lands

to institutions like Huda (Hyderabad Urban Development Authority), Vuda

(Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority) and the like," to divide them

into plots for auctioning. *Hence the in-charge administrators of these

entities have made themselves responsible for participating in illegal

ventures undertaken by an anti-Hindu Govt.* in office. Instead of putting a

freeze on such activities and form a Hindu body to assume the jurisdiction

of temples, the authorities who had utterly failed to deliver on their

responsibilities, have unilaterally and without any legitimate authority

decided to sell the estates thereby destroy the only life support system of

temples.

 

The excuse that the decision in favor of sale was taken, in view of the

increasing encroachment upon the temple lands in urban areas and official

inability to stop illegal occupation, is simply frivolous and shows the

outright failure of the Govt. to enforce law. It also shows: *a) t**he fact

that even with huge battalions of staff for oversight, protection and

management the Govt. could not or did not protect the temple lands and; b)

proves either incompetence, indifference or both of the authorities in

delivering their responsibilities. Such an irresponsible establishment

cannot and must not under any circumstances be trusted to handle these

centuries' old estates and temples belonging to Hindu community *.

 

*Without any doubt such public assaults by the Govt. upon Hindu places of

worship and their estates were conducted to penalize and shackle Hinduism.

Consequently from the Hindu stand point they *have created a "*national

emergency*" for the entire Hindu samaj. The suppressive AP govt. by taking

temples under its control and selling their estates has blatantly

disregarded and seriously violated the principle of separation of state and

religion. Its undeclared policy seems to be that of allowing Hinduism to

survive under the mercy, dictates and direction of the state. To put it

simply the pseudo-secularists are taking charge of re-interpreting Hindu

faith, reshaping Hinduism and redesigning its future. But sadly enough they

do not realize that "discrimination, suppression and high handedness" serve

as the host of many future troubles and upheavals.

 

*Shocking Reverse Discrimination* : How corrupt, dishonest and disgraceful

it is that on the one hand the Indian Govt. subsidizes the "Hajj" pilgrimage

of the Muslims to the tune of Rs. 200 crores annually, provides Rs. 1,000

crores per year for Imams salaries, churches are supported on taxpayers

expense in AP, reservations are offered on the basis of minority status, but

on the other hand the AP authorities are crusading to stealthily destroy the

self- supporting foundations and structures of Hindu places of worship

through state control. Democratic and secular governments do not patronize

or penalize religions. Such extra legal actions constitute a reverse

discrimination against the religion of India's majority community which must

be done away with.

 

*Injurious Endowment Governance *: There prevail serious charges that 85%

of temple revenues are illegally transferred to the state exchequer for

funding a fat-filled ministry with 77,000 bureaucrats to supposedly manage

33,000 temples while leaving many pujaris penniless and starving. Recently,

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 1,000 pillar Mandapam at TTD

with official participation has been universally condemned by all Hindu

ranks and has generated enormous resentment!

 

*Unwarranted & illegal actions by Govt.: *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 by the

Hindu community, who are the legal owners.

 

*AP Govt. oblivious of their duty:* The state authorities seem oblivious

that under the provisions of the Indian constitution, controlling,

discriminating, managing, reforming or patronizing religions is completely

and fully out side the parameters of government jurisdiction . Any diversion

of revenues, major changes in physical structures, sale/ transfer of lands

and properties e.g. the proposal for land for a Church atop Tirumala,

ropeway at TTD, religious practices or major projects like the "Master Plan"

at TTD must take place only upon the express approval by the Hindu

community.

 

*The Indian Parliament adopted a law in 1991 specifically* requiring that

–"the status of religious places, as on August 15, 1947 shall be retained".

This pre-emptive measure was taken by the national legislature anticipating

possible dishonorable designs of trouble makers and anti- national elements

in various administrations. A faithful implementation of these laws will

require removal of unconstitutional govt. control upon Hindu temples and

their estates and the restoration of the community based management.

 

*It is baffling to note how the AP State legislature adopted laws on

temples* : a) that violate 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 ; b) that violate intent of the Parliament on

maintaining status of religious places; and, c) that are against the

universally accepted norms in all free and democratic societies.

 

*Two major HCs of India (Karnataka & UP) in their landmark decisions have

held* *that the management and administration of the religious institutions,

their estates and places of worship, must reside in the hands of the

representative bodies of the believers. * For instance: how would Sikhs

(Golden temple), Muslims (Jama Masjid, Ajmer Sharif) or Christians react to

Govt. control of their places of worship? Such an intrusion by the

authorities in otherwise an autonomous domain could constitute a serious

charge against the state itself for being a leading instrument of

dismantling Hinduism.

 

* Patronizing Churches violates Constitution* *:* By allocating the

taxpayers funds to patronize a particular religion and its places of

worship, AP Govt. is committing flagrant violation of the secular

constitution of India and utterly disregarding the policy of separation of

state and religion. Whether AP ministerial team realizes it or not, this is

exactly what is happening in Andhra Pradesh. The govt. has issued a specific

GO Ms No. 21, stating that Rs. 80,000 will be provided to each church for

repairs and renovation purposes, and Rs.1.50 lakh as grant-in-aid per church

for constructing new churches (Attachment C). Thus a pivotal requirement of

a secular Govt. system that the churches (religion) will constitute no part

of official domain has been blown into thin air

 

* CM's personal faith* *seemingly influences him to ignore his oath to

uphold the secular Constitution. This negative behavior has

transformed AP into the leading state in the country to target Hindu

infrastructure for demolition *. On the basis of the clear cut verdict by

the Karnataka HC the AP Govt. too has no alternative except to hand over

temples and endowments to an autonomous Hindu board. Such practice is

already in vogue and permissible in the case of other religions. The Waqf

Board of Muslims and the management of Christian churches and religious

institutions have vast funds, properties and endowments, in addition to the

immense flow of foreign funds - yet their independence and autonomy are left

intact!

 

*Formation of an Autonomous Hindu Board* : For rectifying these historic

blunders, may we suggest that representatives of shrines, temples, Hindu

community and religious leaders from Dharma Sansad, Hindu Dharma Acharya

Sabha, etc. be motivated to convene an assembly for clearly defining the new

legal and organizational framework ensuring community governance of temples

and other religious places. Such an approach among other things should make

the proposed Board completely autonomous and thereby responsible and

accountable for the entire administration, including planning, executing,

auditing, guiding, investigating and taking corrective steps as and when

needed.

 

*The Karnataka HC also said* that the government could have a commission

constituted for temple affairs and involve Hindu religious leaders, social

reformers and other experts and thereafter proceed to pass a uniform law

(attachment B).

 

*Allahabad High Court's directive for a Board could be a guide* : In regard

to the management and governance of Hindu religious institutions, the

Allahabad High Court's recent directive to the Central and Uttar Pradesh

authorities (attachment D) to prepare a scheme for constituting a Board of

representatives of Hindu religious organizations on the pattern of the UP

Muslim Waqf Board could be a guide for AP authorities as well. This decree

by the said judicial body has been widely acclaimed as a welcome

development.

 

*Hon'ble President, as guardian of the Constitution, may we request you* ,

in the national interest, to direct the AP Chief Minister to end subversion

of Constitution by penalizing and patronizing religions, stop illegal

initiatives against Hindu religious institutions and :

 

1) take guidance from the Karnataka HC verdict which declared Govt. control

upon temples as unconstitutional, and a) adopt a hands off policy on

endowments and b) take urgent steps for denationalization of temples ;

 

2) Withdraw with immediate effect the proposal to dispose off temple lands

in urban areas through urban development authorities; and b) place a freeze

on non- essential activities and plans.

 

3) constitute a Waqf like Hindu Board, as decreed by the Allahabad High

Court, for overseeing the management of Hindu religious institutions etc.;

 

 

4) Stop violating the Constitution by funding construction, repairs and

renovations of Churches at the taxpayers' expense, or by money diverted from

Hindu endowments and trusts directly or indirectly.

 

5) For the transitional period, have the Hindu community appoint a

committee, nominated by Acharya Sabha, Dharma Sansad, social reformers,

experts, etc. to a) oversee the endowment department ; b) ensure

transparency, c) protect temple lands and assets; and d) assure proper

utilization of revenues, till the denationalization of Hindu institutions is

realized.

 

Sir, we request for your help in resolving these important yet contentious

issues on a priority basis. It is a matter of national disgrace that India,

boasting to be the largest secular democracy and aspiring to be a member of

the UN Security Council denies its own national majority community the human

right of religious freedom

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Dr. Jagan Kaul

Krishan Bhatnagar

Hindu Jagran Forum (USA)

 

September 17, 2006

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*Attachment A*

 

*Let Huda sell our land: Endowments*

Deccan Chronicle, Sept 11, 2006

 

*Hyderabad, Sept. 10*: The endowments department has proposed to the

government to entrust temple lands in urban areas to urban development

authorities to develop them into plots and auction them, an official said.

 

"We have land and they have expertise. We have requested the government to

permit handing over urban lands to expert institutions like Huda (Hyderabad

Urban Development Authority), Vuda (Visakhapatnam Urban Development

Authority) and the like," endowments commissioner Dinesh Kumar told this

correspondent.

 

One official estimated that the department could earn over Rs 800 crores

from the auctions. The endowment department took this decision in view of

the increasing encroachment of its lands in urban areas and its inability to

stop it. The department has previously sold some lands through public

auction to encouraging results, but the experiment was limited.

 

Out of the 7,441.99 acres and 7,72,721 square yards [the land in acres

refers to large chunks of land while the figure in square yards are bits

less than an acre] of prime lands belonging to different temples in

Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Guntur, Kurnool, Warangal and Hyderabad, almost

one-third have been encroached upon or are caught in legal wrangles.

According to Mr. Kumar, the AP High Court had in one instance stopped

regularization of lands both in rural and urban areas but permitted the

auction of endowments properties.

 

Officials cite some successful auctions. The management of Sri Venugopala

Swamy Temple in Nellore auctioned 52 acres of land in February and earned Rs

10.78 crores. The financial position of some temples including Bhavanarayana

Swamy Temple in Chinnaganjam village improved after lands were leased out

through public auction. A tenant, T. Anjaneyulu, who paid Rs 29,000 for

lease of five acres last year bid for Rs 52,000 this year.

 

Sources in the department confirmed that about 6,000 acres of urban lands

had been identified for public auction in a phased manner and the government

has given a green signal. In Hyderabad district, the department owns 1,194

acres and 7,56,989 square yards of land, 4,609 acres in Vizag city, 219

acres plus 15,732 square yards in Kakinada, 429 acres in Guntur, 320 acres

in Kurnool and 670 acres in Warangal.

 

According former endowments commissioner A.B. Krishna Reddy, the department

had made the proposal because "It's difficult to protect prime land in urban

areas. The land sharks are taking advantage of the lack of security and

legal loopholes." The department has sold land in both rural and urban

areas. Recently, panchayat raj and endowments minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy

had said that 521.37 acres belonging to the Hathiramji Math were sold

through public auction.

 

Elsewhere, the income from the lease of temple lands and buildings is

meagre. In Prakasam district, the department gets Rs 3.94 crores per year on

13,962 acres and in Nizamabad district, about 2 lakh per year and 91 kgs of

paddy on 106 acres. A farming society in Nellore has failed to pay lease for

60 acres of land worth Rs 1.5 crores belonging to Sri Kodandaramanjaneya

temple in Gudur. The society took the land known as Polayakunta in 1968 on

lease for three years but is still sitting on it. When department officials

tried to take action they were stalled by local legislators.

 

http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp#Let%20Huda%20sell%20our%20land:%20Endowments<http://www.bharatjagran.com/bharat-jagran-data/2006/170906.htm>

 

 

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*Attachment B*

 

*HC strikes down Act on temples*

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep92006/index20595200698.asp

 

DH News Service Bangalore:

Deccan Herald, September 09, 2006

 

A division bench comprising Justice R Gururajan and Justice C R Kumaraswamy

struck down the 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. The order will come

into effect prospectively.

 

The Karnataka High Court on Friday struck down the Karnataka Hindu Religious

Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act, 1997 as unconstitutional pointing

out that its provisions amounted to "dividing Hindu religion."

 

A division bench comprising Justice R Gururajan and Justice C R Kumaraswamy

struck down the 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. The order will come

into effect prospectively.

 

The bench also side aside an order of a single judge who had upheld the

constitutional validity of the Act last year. Several trustees of the

temples and archaks had challenged the order contending that the Act divided

the Hindu community, besides denying the right guaranteed under the

constitution to establish and manage religious institution.

 

The court, in its 176-page order, observed that keeping out Maths and

denomination temples from the purview of the Act amounted to violation of

Article 14 of the Constitution. "Religious denomination does not in any way

stand on a different footing than other temples," the court observed and

said the state has to justify its action of exclusion of Maths in the Act,

which were earlier included in local Acts.

 

The court said the Act defined Hindu as not to include Sikh, Jain and

Buddist contrary to constitutional provisions. "Hindu religion is already

divided by way of castes and sub-castes. Now the state wants to divide

Hindus by excluding Jains, Sikhs in terms of a statute", the court observed..

Regarding the provision in the Act, which makes it mandatory for a notified

temple to contribute 5 per cent of its total annual income to the "Common

Pool Fund", regulated by the Endowment Commissioner, the court said there

cannot be compulsion only for Hindu temples to provide assistance to

institutions of other religions. "Devotees of Hindu temples provide money

for temple purposes and it cannot be spent for non-Hindu causes," the court

observed.

 

The court said the government could have a commission constituted for temple

affairs and involve Hindu religious leaders, social reformers and other

experts and thereafter proceed to pass a uniform law.

 

The government can also think of having different regulatory measures for

temples, maths and Jain institutions depending on their religious beliefs

within the provision of the Constitution. "We deem it proper to observe that

the government would be doing a great service to Hindu society by

eliminating all evil corrupt practices, if at all, prevailing in Hindu

institutions. This would go a long way in Hindu temple reformation," the

court observed.

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Attachment C

 

*Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy okays public money for Churches*

Deccan Chronicle, August 23, 2006

 

 

Nizamabad, Aug. 22: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy has decided to

sanction grant-in-aid to old churches for repairs. Similarly, grant-in-aid

would be sanctioned to new churches. He is the first chief minister to take

the decision to give a facelift to abandoned churches. State Government has

issued a specific GO Ms No. 21, stating that Rs. 80,000 will be sanctioned

to each church for repair and renovation purposes, and Rs.1.50 lakh for

constructing a church in the shape of grant-in-aid.

 

Repairs and renovation of abandoned churches and constructing new churches

would be taken massively in the State. The responsibility to promulgate

these orders was allocated to the Minorities Welfare Department. Mr M.S.

Parvez, district minorities welfare officer, told this correspondent that

the GO was communicated to all 36 mandal parishad development officers of

the entire district. According to the GO, the concerned MPDOs could invite

proposals for churches from church authorities for repair and renovation,

and also invite proposals from church preachers to construct new churches,

in their jurisdictions.

 

He also said that the proposals, which the MPDO receives, should include a

blueprint copy of the plan, detailed estimate in original, duly approved by

the mandal engineer, a letter of permission and recommendation by the

panchayat authorities for the construction of a new church, representation

on the letterhead of the Church Committee, documentary evidence of the

property of the church in case of new construction. Rev. T. Bhasker,

District Churches Council, Nizamabad said that 300 churches were spread over

in the district with a 100 year history. Of them, 200 are in poor condition

and some churches had already collapsed.

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*Attachment D*

 

*Make Waqf-like board for Hindu religious bodies: HC*

 

Press Trust of India

Allahabad, June 6, 2006

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1714562,000900010004.htm<http://www.bharatjagran.com/bharat-jagran-data/2006/170906.htm>

 

 

Hindustan Times

 

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre and Uttar Pradesh to

prepare a scheme for constitution of a Board for Hindu religious

organisations on the pattern of the UP Muslim Waqf Board. Passing the order,

Justice SN Srivastava said the Board so constituted shall be an autonomous

body and it will register all such religious and charitable establishments

and endowments according to the norms represented by mutts, monasteries,

temples and religious and charitable trusts or societies, as the case may

be, through their heads.

 

The Centre as well as the state government may also frame schemes for

providing minimum wages and other welfare measures for those working in

temples, the court added.

 

The judgement was passed on a writ petition filed by Shree Satya Narain

Tulsi Manas Mandir at Varanasi.

 

The court said that the schemes so framed may be placed before the court on

September nine.

The court was of the view that though provisions of Minimum Wages Act were

not applicable to temple as it is not an industry, fair wages cannot be

denied merely on the ground that the establishment or institution is of a

religious or charitable nature or that persons who are engaged are

'sevadars' or employees at the pleasure of management.