12-01-2005, 11:30 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Subject:Â AP Govt. plans to take over all Hindu Mutts and trusts and run Tirupati as a tourist center are anti- Hindu moves to suppress Hindus religious rights, demolish Hindu religious infrastructure and de- Hinduise India
Aadarniya Shri Singhal ji,
Here is some deeply shocking news -- the Andhra Pradesh Govt. has decided to take absolute control of Hindu mutts, and is also considering bringing Hindu religious trusts under its control (attachment A). Further, Chief Minister Dr. Samuel Reddy has revived the Tirupati ropeway plan and convert Tirupati into a tourist center. Andhra Pradesh Tourist Development Corporation (APTDC) chairman and managing director J. Raymond Peter says the visitors' zone project is an important part of the government's plan to develop Tirupati into an A-class tourist destination (attachment B). These blasphemous moves need urgent action to thwart Govt. initiatives to further demolish the Hindu religious infrastructure.
<b>Special note should be taken of the fact that historically the entire seven hills region at TTD is very sacred for Hindus and it is an integral part of the Hindu history. Therefore, respecting the Hindu sentiments, any improvements in the Hindu religious infrastructure must be undertaken by the Hindu community in its entirety. And the development of the town must be carried out with the approval and under the supervision of the Hindu community. This town is highly sacred to Hindus. Therefore, the rightful role of Hindus must not be surrendered.</b>
At this point in time may we suggest urgent actions for the following:
* Governance and Improvements of temples, mutts, their estates and temple towns must be undertaken under the exclusive control of Hindus without any role for the Govt. for it, except providing the budget for the projects. A Hindu committee should be set up for this task which must come up with long range plans.
* An ad hoc Hindu Council should be composed by Acharyas/VHP etc. to demand partnership with Govt. for all development of the TTD and oversight of "devasthans" and their estates now under Govt. control, pending their transfer to a community Hindu Board.
<b>Every place of Hindu worship and reverence is now under attack .</b>
Sir, at Hyderabad you had recently "advocated the setting up of an autonomous spiritual body to manage temple affairs, and that the VHP would organize a nation-wide agitation to achieve the objective. It would be launched from Andhra Pradesh" (attachment C). <b>Such agitation could not be postponed any more, because they are fast undermining the majority community by altering its traditional cultural identity with a view to de- Hinduise India. Without a strong awakening and a convincingly compelling response by the Hindus, the continuing serious erosion of the Hindu Samaj can neither be halted nor reversed.</b>
With respectful pranams
Dr. Jagan Kaul                    December 1, 2005 Â
Krishan BhatnagarÂ
Hindu Jagran Forum (Maryland, USA)
email: krishan.kb@verizon.net
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Attachment A
State will take total control of all mutts
Deccan Chronicle, November 24, 2005
Hyderabad, Nov. 23: The State government has decided to take absolute control of Hindu mutts. The proposal has been pending for four years. The State government is also considering bringing Hindu religious trusts under its control. The government is planning to amend the AP Endowments Act to enable the endowments commissioner to oversee the day-to-day administration of mutts.
Once the Act is amended, 181 mutts will come under the control of the endowments commissioner. According to sources, the law department has vetted the proposed amendment. An ordinance amending the Act is expected after the winter session of the Assembly. Another amendment pertains to scrapping the clause which specifies that only officials above the age of 45 should be appointed as endowments commissioner.
This is being done in the wake of the High Court nullifying the appointment of IAS official J.S.V. Prasad as endowments commissioner, since he did not fulfil the age requirement. Mutts such as Hathiramji of Tirupati, Raghavendra of Mantralaya, Byragi of West Godavari and Gavi in Uravakonda in Anathapur, which have assets worth crores of rupees, would come under the control of the government.
This will strip many "financial powers" of the heads of mutts. For instance, "padu kanukalu" (offerings made to deities of temples run by mutts), will now go into a general account. Earlier, they were considered the property of the mutt head. Sources said the government was also keen on bringing wealthy Hindu religious trusts under its control but was yet to take a concrete decision on the matter.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Attachment B
Holy ire as YSR revives the Tirupati ropeway plan
Outlookindia.com, December 5, 2005
MADHAVI TATA
Faith may be a short and simple word. But it is what drives 50,000-odd pilgrims to the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala every day. It is also what makes the temple the richest in the country, with an annual budget of Rs 630 crore, fixed assets of Rs 10,000 crore and jewellery worth Rs 5,000 crore
So it wasn't surprising that the globalisation-friendly Chandrababu Naidu government drew up ambitious plans to develop Tirupati as a tourist spot as well. The project included a religious theme park (Rs 20 crore), multiplex shopping complex (Rs 16 crore), star hotels and a Rs 91-crore ropeway from Alipiri to Tirumala. The ropeway would waft pilgrims to the hillock while allowing them to take in the scenic sight below. In 2002, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which runs the temple, allotted Rs 117 acres at Alipiri, the foothills of the Tirumala, to the state's tourism development corporation (APTDC) for the scheme.
However, there was strident opposition from the Agama Advisory Committee (panel of priests and experts who have the say over the temple's traditions) and prominent pontiffs like Chinna Jeer Swamy and Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswati, forcing Naidu to cancel the project a year later. The land was then returned to the TTD.
For the priests, a cable car for pilgrims up to the temple is like gliding above the lord's head.
However, two weeks ago, chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy gave the go-ahead to the ropeway and asked the APTDC to take up the scheme in a time-bound manner. He opines that the cable car will reduce pollution and curtail accidents on the ghat road. But horrified local Agama advisors regard this as a deadly sin. They believe that the 6.3-km cablecar ropeway to Tirumala will violate the age-old shastras and traditions. According to them, the ropeway would disturb meditating deities, saints and spirits present among the Seshachalam hills in invisible form.
"The hill on which the temple stands is Vishnu swaroopam (Lord Vishnu's form). To travel over the Lord's head is a cardinal sin," says C. Rayabhattacharyulu, an Agama expert. He adds that if the government insists on going ahead with the project, several powerful religious bodies would move court to obtain a stay order to ensure there's no violation of the holy airspace.
Another open opponent of the project is the Vaikhanasa Peetham, a powerful religious institution at Tirupati. G. Prabhakaracharyulu, in charge of the peetham at Tirumala, says the devotees come for the Lord's darshan with purity of thought. "The government is trying to convert a holy place into a picnic spot. I mean, do you really want to see an imax theatre here?"
Interestingly, the temple's chief priest Ramana Deekshitulu, who also heads the Agama Advisory Committee, is reluctant to voice an opinion. "We need to examine the Agama shastras, puranas and dharma shastras and then brief the TTD," he says. Asked how the same board that objected to the cable car in 2003 could possibly okay it now, Deekshitulu says two members had opposed it then. "But the committee will examine it afresh. Whatever decision is made will be collective."
Meanwhile, APTDC chairman and managing director J. Raymond Peter says the visitors' zone project is an important part of the government's plan to develop Tirupati into an A-class tourist destination. The cable car, says Peter, won't fly over the temple but would transport 40,000 pilgrims every day to its base. Peter, who is back in India after a five-year stint with the World Bank in the US, feels the AP government should follow the American method of utilising the existing infrastructure of a place and developing it into a tourist destination. "Providing hotels, parks or a ropeway at Alipiri will induce tourists going to Tirupati to stay back longer. Think of the employment this would generate," says Peter.As the arguments continue, the gap between local religious sentiments and American-inspired mass tourism grows ever widerâperhaps too wide for the ropeway to bridge.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
Attachment C
A) VHP movement to protect Hindu temple property
2005-11-12 Published by new kerala.com Gathered by Press Trust of India
HYDERABAD,NOVEMBEr 12:Vishwa Hindu Parishad International President Ashok Singhal saturday announced a country-wide agitation against the Andhra Pradesh government for allegedly using assets of Hindu temples to ''develop wakf properties''. Inaugurating a two-day National ''Mutt Mandir conference'', organised to protect the sanctity and property of Mutts and Mandirs here, he demanded a white paper on the revenue generated by various Hindu temples and how they were spent.
Advocating the setting up of an autonomous spiritual body to manage temple affairs, Mr Singhal said the VHP would organise a nation-wide agitation to achieve the objective. It would be launched from Andhra Pradesh. He charged that not even 25 per cent of temple revenue in the state was being utilised for development of dilapidated temples and the cause of Hindu spiritualism. The VHP would demand an ordinance for protection of Hindu property and setting up an autonomous body. He said the revenue of Hindu temples should not be used for any purpose other than temple development and the Hindu cause.
====================================
B) VHP calls on Hindus to protect temples
November 13, 2005
Published by newindpress.com Gathered by
United News of India
HYDERABAD,NOVEMBER 13: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international president Ashok Singhal on Sunday said all Hindus must start a Bhaktha mandali in every temple to maintain them in accordance with the age-old religious and cultural traditions. Alleging that the ideal system which was functioning for thousands of years in the temples was being eroded due to administrative negligence, Mr Singhal told newsmen.
The bhaktha mandalis should strive to revive the ideal system of the functioning of the temples.
Demanding the centre to enact a law to free the temples from the clutches of the state governments and release a white paper on temple properties, he said VHP would launch a massive movement to protect temples and their properties if the centre does not respond to their demands. Stating that 34,000 temples in Andhra Pradesh, 34,000 in Tamil Nadu, two lakh each in Kerala and Karnataka were being neglected by the governments, he said many important temples had been taken away by the archaeological departments for research. Mr Singhal said 5 lakh acres of temple lands were in the hands of government in the state.
Referring to the Ayodhya issue, he said the VHP would take concrete steps to construct Ram temple during this year. The construction of the temple would be completed in one year after the works start. Answering a question, Mr Singhal said the arrest of Kanchi seer Shankacharya was an insult to Hindu community
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Aadarniya Shri Singhal ji,
Here is some deeply shocking news -- the Andhra Pradesh Govt. has decided to take absolute control of Hindu mutts, and is also considering bringing Hindu religious trusts under its control (attachment A). Further, Chief Minister Dr. Samuel Reddy has revived the Tirupati ropeway plan and convert Tirupati into a tourist center. Andhra Pradesh Tourist Development Corporation (APTDC) chairman and managing director J. Raymond Peter says the visitors' zone project is an important part of the government's plan to develop Tirupati into an A-class tourist destination (attachment B). These blasphemous moves need urgent action to thwart Govt. initiatives to further demolish the Hindu religious infrastructure.
<b>Special note should be taken of the fact that historically the entire seven hills region at TTD is very sacred for Hindus and it is an integral part of the Hindu history. Therefore, respecting the Hindu sentiments, any improvements in the Hindu religious infrastructure must be undertaken by the Hindu community in its entirety. And the development of the town must be carried out with the approval and under the supervision of the Hindu community. This town is highly sacred to Hindus. Therefore, the rightful role of Hindus must not be surrendered.</b>
At this point in time may we suggest urgent actions for the following:
* Governance and Improvements of temples, mutts, their estates and temple towns must be undertaken under the exclusive control of Hindus without any role for the Govt. for it, except providing the budget for the projects. A Hindu committee should be set up for this task which must come up with long range plans.
* An ad hoc Hindu Council should be composed by Acharyas/VHP etc. to demand partnership with Govt. for all development of the TTD and oversight of "devasthans" and their estates now under Govt. control, pending their transfer to a community Hindu Board.
<b>Every place of Hindu worship and reverence is now under attack .</b>
Sir, at Hyderabad you had recently "advocated the setting up of an autonomous spiritual body to manage temple affairs, and that the VHP would organize a nation-wide agitation to achieve the objective. It would be launched from Andhra Pradesh" (attachment C). <b>Such agitation could not be postponed any more, because they are fast undermining the majority community by altering its traditional cultural identity with a view to de- Hinduise India. Without a strong awakening and a convincingly compelling response by the Hindus, the continuing serious erosion of the Hindu Samaj can neither be halted nor reversed.</b>
With respectful pranams
Dr. Jagan Kaul                    December 1, 2005 Â
Krishan BhatnagarÂ
Hindu Jagran Forum (Maryland, USA)
email: krishan.kb@verizon.net
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Attachment A
State will take total control of all mutts
Deccan Chronicle, November 24, 2005
Hyderabad, Nov. 23: The State government has decided to take absolute control of Hindu mutts. The proposal has been pending for four years. The State government is also considering bringing Hindu religious trusts under its control. The government is planning to amend the AP Endowments Act to enable the endowments commissioner to oversee the day-to-day administration of mutts.
Once the Act is amended, 181 mutts will come under the control of the endowments commissioner. According to sources, the law department has vetted the proposed amendment. An ordinance amending the Act is expected after the winter session of the Assembly. Another amendment pertains to scrapping the clause which specifies that only officials above the age of 45 should be appointed as endowments commissioner.
This is being done in the wake of the High Court nullifying the appointment of IAS official J.S.V. Prasad as endowments commissioner, since he did not fulfil the age requirement. Mutts such as Hathiramji of Tirupati, Raghavendra of Mantralaya, Byragi of West Godavari and Gavi in Uravakonda in Anathapur, which have assets worth crores of rupees, would come under the control of the government.
This will strip many "financial powers" of the heads of mutts. For instance, "padu kanukalu" (offerings made to deities of temples run by mutts), will now go into a general account. Earlier, they were considered the property of the mutt head. Sources said the government was also keen on bringing wealthy Hindu religious trusts under its control but was yet to take a concrete decision on the matter.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Attachment B
Holy ire as YSR revives the Tirupati ropeway plan
Outlookindia.com, December 5, 2005
MADHAVI TATA
Faith may be a short and simple word. But it is what drives 50,000-odd pilgrims to the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala every day. It is also what makes the temple the richest in the country, with an annual budget of Rs 630 crore, fixed assets of Rs 10,000 crore and jewellery worth Rs 5,000 crore
So it wasn't surprising that the globalisation-friendly Chandrababu Naidu government drew up ambitious plans to develop Tirupati as a tourist spot as well. The project included a religious theme park (Rs 20 crore), multiplex shopping complex (Rs 16 crore), star hotels and a Rs 91-crore ropeway from Alipiri to Tirumala. The ropeway would waft pilgrims to the hillock while allowing them to take in the scenic sight below. In 2002, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which runs the temple, allotted Rs 117 acres at Alipiri, the foothills of the Tirumala, to the state's tourism development corporation (APTDC) for the scheme.
However, there was strident opposition from the Agama Advisory Committee (panel of priests and experts who have the say over the temple's traditions) and prominent pontiffs like Chinna Jeer Swamy and Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswati, forcing Naidu to cancel the project a year later. The land was then returned to the TTD.
For the priests, a cable car for pilgrims up to the temple is like gliding above the lord's head.
However, two weeks ago, chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy gave the go-ahead to the ropeway and asked the APTDC to take up the scheme in a time-bound manner. He opines that the cable car will reduce pollution and curtail accidents on the ghat road. But horrified local Agama advisors regard this as a deadly sin. They believe that the 6.3-km cablecar ropeway to Tirumala will violate the age-old shastras and traditions. According to them, the ropeway would disturb meditating deities, saints and spirits present among the Seshachalam hills in invisible form.
"The hill on which the temple stands is Vishnu swaroopam (Lord Vishnu's form). To travel over the Lord's head is a cardinal sin," says C. Rayabhattacharyulu, an Agama expert. He adds that if the government insists on going ahead with the project, several powerful religious bodies would move court to obtain a stay order to ensure there's no violation of the holy airspace.
Another open opponent of the project is the Vaikhanasa Peetham, a powerful religious institution at Tirupati. G. Prabhakaracharyulu, in charge of the peetham at Tirumala, says the devotees come for the Lord's darshan with purity of thought. "The government is trying to convert a holy place into a picnic spot. I mean, do you really want to see an imax theatre here?"
Interestingly, the temple's chief priest Ramana Deekshitulu, who also heads the Agama Advisory Committee, is reluctant to voice an opinion. "We need to examine the Agama shastras, puranas and dharma shastras and then brief the TTD," he says. Asked how the same board that objected to the cable car in 2003 could possibly okay it now, Deekshitulu says two members had opposed it then. "But the committee will examine it afresh. Whatever decision is made will be collective."
Meanwhile, APTDC chairman and managing director J. Raymond Peter says the visitors' zone project is an important part of the government's plan to develop Tirupati into an A-class tourist destination. The cable car, says Peter, won't fly over the temple but would transport 40,000 pilgrims every day to its base. Peter, who is back in India after a five-year stint with the World Bank in the US, feels the AP government should follow the American method of utilising the existing infrastructure of a place and developing it into a tourist destination. "Providing hotels, parks or a ropeway at Alipiri will induce tourists going to Tirupati to stay back longer. Think of the employment this would generate," says Peter.As the arguments continue, the gap between local religious sentiments and American-inspired mass tourism grows ever widerâperhaps too wide for the ropeway to bridge.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
Attachment C
A) VHP movement to protect Hindu temple property
2005-11-12 Published by new kerala.com Gathered by Press Trust of India
HYDERABAD,NOVEMBEr 12:Vishwa Hindu Parishad International President Ashok Singhal saturday announced a country-wide agitation against the Andhra Pradesh government for allegedly using assets of Hindu temples to ''develop wakf properties''. Inaugurating a two-day National ''Mutt Mandir conference'', organised to protect the sanctity and property of Mutts and Mandirs here, he demanded a white paper on the revenue generated by various Hindu temples and how they were spent.
Advocating the setting up of an autonomous spiritual body to manage temple affairs, Mr Singhal said the VHP would organise a nation-wide agitation to achieve the objective. It would be launched from Andhra Pradesh. He charged that not even 25 per cent of temple revenue in the state was being utilised for development of dilapidated temples and the cause of Hindu spiritualism. The VHP would demand an ordinance for protection of Hindu property and setting up an autonomous body. He said the revenue of Hindu temples should not be used for any purpose other than temple development and the Hindu cause.
====================================
B) VHP calls on Hindus to protect temples
November 13, 2005
Published by newindpress.com Gathered by
United News of India
HYDERABAD,NOVEMBER 13: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international president Ashok Singhal on Sunday said all Hindus must start a Bhaktha mandali in every temple to maintain them in accordance with the age-old religious and cultural traditions. Alleging that the ideal system which was functioning for thousands of years in the temples was being eroded due to administrative negligence, Mr Singhal told newsmen.
The bhaktha mandalis should strive to revive the ideal system of the functioning of the temples.
Demanding the centre to enact a law to free the temples from the clutches of the state governments and release a white paper on temple properties, he said VHP would launch a massive movement to protect temples and their properties if the centre does not respond to their demands. Stating that 34,000 temples in Andhra Pradesh, 34,000 in Tamil Nadu, two lakh each in Kerala and Karnataka were being neglected by the governments, he said many important temples had been taken away by the archaeological departments for research. Mr Singhal said 5 lakh acres of temple lands were in the hands of government in the state.
Referring to the Ayodhya issue, he said the VHP would take concrete steps to construct Ram temple during this year. The construction of the temple would be completed in one year after the works start. Answering a question, Mr Singhal said the arrest of Kanchi seer Shankacharya was an insult to Hindu community
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->