11-03-2003, 10:54 AM
Taking Away Hindus' Rights To Their Own Temples
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Dhananjay Mathur
Taking Away Hindus' Rights To Their Own Temples
On October 15, 1999, a historical court decision which portends ominous implications for the days ahead was handed own as a true miscarriage of justice in Kerala. As an allegory imagine if Satan worshippers were given full control and power to appoint administrators of the Catholic Church. That in essence is the ridiculous import of the Kerala High court's latest decision.
It all started when the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Kerala Shethra Samrakshana Samiti [Kerala Temple Protection Council], filed a petition seeking that irreligious Hindu politicians and ministers be banned from temple administration. This is quite a logical plea considering that earlier this year the Communist government which is composed of vehement anti Hindu members amended the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institution Act. The Act used to require every minister or MLA who could elect members to the temple's administration boards, to sign a declaration which clearly showed that they believe in god and temple worship . This requirement makes a lot of sense when we consider the fact that the State Government doesn't have even an iota of say in the administration of Churches and Mosques. It is quite logical and justifiable therefore that Hindus were angered at being forced to turn over their temples' administration to politicians who are downright hostile to Hinduism and demean it at every opportunity.
There is no doubt that this malicious decision to remove that particular requirement from the Act was done purposely by the Communist Government in a blatant attempt to take away the Hindus' rights to even administer their own temples! It also ensured that the ruling government filled up vacancies in rich temple bodies with its own men so that the funds contributed by Hindu devotees would be subverted and be poured into the Communist Government's coffers. Those diverted funds then would obviously be used to create even more hostile propaganda against Hindus!
VHP and KSSS leaders were therefore forced to approach the court for religious justice as some of the biggest places of worship like the Guruvayur and Sabarimala temples have been systematically mismanaged and misused by atheist politicians from Communist parties. VHP general secretary R Ravindran had made the press statement to Rediff magazine that "It is an insult to Hinduism that temples are managed by ministers and politicians who hate god and temple worship. No politician has any right to indulge in religious and temple matters of the Hindu believers"
The plea asked the court to ensure that only those Hindu ministers and MLAs who believed in god and temple worship are given the power to nominate members to temple managing boards. This sounds like an eminently reasonable and rational request. For example drawing a parallel with Islamic institutions in India today would be unthinkable. If the Kerala State Government has the right to appoint administrators for Temples, why can it not do the same with Mosques, Churches or Synagogues? Why are Hindus being made the ultimate scapegoats here?
The Communist government's argument was that since freedom of thought was the hallmark of Hindu religion, Hindus also have the right not to believe in god and temple worship. That could not be a reason for denying the Hindu ministers the right to choose or nominate members to the administrative bodies religious institutions. This ridiculous claim is tantamount to saying that even Communists are Hindus! By definition Communism does not believe in religion therefore how could politicians from a Communist government be treated as Hindus!! The idea is obviously to obfuscate the definition of Hinduism and make it look so vague as to justify that it incorporates anything. The government counsel Ashok Desai also contended that the duties of managing committee members were purely administrative in character and did not touch upon the traditional religious duties of temples.
This is another ridiculous argument, as it is the administrative management of the temple which has control of resources and finances. If the control of the money is in the hands of the Communist politicians then what can stop them from dictating the parameters of religious rituals or confining them altogether?
The five-member high court bench led by Justice A R Lakshmanan was obviously not interested in meting out justice for after having perused the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Act, it dismissed the VHP-KSSS petition stating that the Hindu ministers and MLAs need not be practitioners of Hindu faith!
The shocking verdict of the bench stated that "The freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution was not an uncontrolled freedom," This statement by itself reveals the politically motivated and biased attitude of the Bench! For going by the Court's own definition of "uncontrolled religious freedom", it would seem that the Muslims and Christians of India are entitled to it, but NOT the Hindus. The same rules should then apply to Mosque and Church administration as well. Why should Hindus be the only ones made to relinquish their rights to control their religious institutions.
In a truly ironic statement the Court stated that "The religious freedom which has been safe-guarded by the Act is religious freedom in the background of a secular state. Courts have held that the administration of a religion institution is not a matter of religion. The state can control and regulate the administration of the secular affairs of a temple by suitable measures." Note that the reference is clearly made in the context of TEMPLES and not just religious institutions of any type.
A disappointed KSSS president M P Gopalakirshnan Nair, in his press statement to Rediff magazine, lamented the fact that the verdict would enable many Marxist ministers and politicians to freely interfere and influence the running of temple management boards. "The court order also neglects the rules of temples boards. For instance, the Guruvayur Devaswom Act states that only persons who have faith in god and professes Hindu religion are qualified to manage its affairs. Therefore the judgment is fraught with danger for the believers of Hinduism as a bunch of hardcore atheist communists have begun occupying temples boards." The VHP too is "saddened" by the judgment that gives a free hand to the government to interfere in temples and their properties across the state. "We are planning to move the Supreme Court," VHP spokesperson Ravindran added.
The implications of this decision are truly immense, for it clearly infers that Hindus can their rights to administer their temples snatched away from under their very noses! In the name of secularism, the majority community of India is being subjected to extreme injustice and inequity. It is imperative that Hindus all over India recognize the importance of this decision and wholeheartedly express their outrage. If by chance the Supreme Court upholds this incredibly unjust decision then the first blow to their identity will have been made.
The Kerala High Court's decision is by no means a small matter it is the symbol of the growing trend of deliberate emasculation and diminishing of the rights of Hindus to practice their religion without interference. It is imperative that steps are taken to block this type of utter discrimination because it is obvious that the same standard is NOT being applied to all religions equally in the interests of India's so called "secularism"
If Hindus do not rise to the occasion and defend themselves selves against such incidents of blatant injustice aimed at weakening them, the fate of India, a nation which has since time immemorial been synonymous as the upholder of Vedic Dharma, will be in grave danger.
If you enjoyed this article, please visit: [url="http://www.hinduunity.org/"]http://www.hinduunity.org/[/url]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dhananjay Mathur
Taking Away Hindus' Rights To Their Own Temples
On October 15, 1999, a historical court decision which portends ominous implications for the days ahead was handed own as a true miscarriage of justice in Kerala. As an allegory imagine if Satan worshippers were given full control and power to appoint administrators of the Catholic Church. That in essence is the ridiculous import of the Kerala High court's latest decision.
It all started when the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Kerala Shethra Samrakshana Samiti [Kerala Temple Protection Council], filed a petition seeking that irreligious Hindu politicians and ministers be banned from temple administration. This is quite a logical plea considering that earlier this year the Communist government which is composed of vehement anti Hindu members amended the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institution Act. The Act used to require every minister or MLA who could elect members to the temple's administration boards, to sign a declaration which clearly showed that they believe in god and temple worship . This requirement makes a lot of sense when we consider the fact that the State Government doesn't have even an iota of say in the administration of Churches and Mosques. It is quite logical and justifiable therefore that Hindus were angered at being forced to turn over their temples' administration to politicians who are downright hostile to Hinduism and demean it at every opportunity.
There is no doubt that this malicious decision to remove that particular requirement from the Act was done purposely by the Communist Government in a blatant attempt to take away the Hindus' rights to even administer their own temples! It also ensured that the ruling government filled up vacancies in rich temple bodies with its own men so that the funds contributed by Hindu devotees would be subverted and be poured into the Communist Government's coffers. Those diverted funds then would obviously be used to create even more hostile propaganda against Hindus!
VHP and KSSS leaders were therefore forced to approach the court for religious justice as some of the biggest places of worship like the Guruvayur and Sabarimala temples have been systematically mismanaged and misused by atheist politicians from Communist parties. VHP general secretary R Ravindran had made the press statement to Rediff magazine that "It is an insult to Hinduism that temples are managed by ministers and politicians who hate god and temple worship. No politician has any right to indulge in religious and temple matters of the Hindu believers"
The plea asked the court to ensure that only those Hindu ministers and MLAs who believed in god and temple worship are given the power to nominate members to temple managing boards. This sounds like an eminently reasonable and rational request. For example drawing a parallel with Islamic institutions in India today would be unthinkable. If the Kerala State Government has the right to appoint administrators for Temples, why can it not do the same with Mosques, Churches or Synagogues? Why are Hindus being made the ultimate scapegoats here?
The Communist government's argument was that since freedom of thought was the hallmark of Hindu religion, Hindus also have the right not to believe in god and temple worship. That could not be a reason for denying the Hindu ministers the right to choose or nominate members to the administrative bodies religious institutions. This ridiculous claim is tantamount to saying that even Communists are Hindus! By definition Communism does not believe in religion therefore how could politicians from a Communist government be treated as Hindus!! The idea is obviously to obfuscate the definition of Hinduism and make it look so vague as to justify that it incorporates anything. The government counsel Ashok Desai also contended that the duties of managing committee members were purely administrative in character and did not touch upon the traditional religious duties of temples.
This is another ridiculous argument, as it is the administrative management of the temple which has control of resources and finances. If the control of the money is in the hands of the Communist politicians then what can stop them from dictating the parameters of religious rituals or confining them altogether?
The five-member high court bench led by Justice A R Lakshmanan was obviously not interested in meting out justice for after having perused the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Act, it dismissed the VHP-KSSS petition stating that the Hindu ministers and MLAs need not be practitioners of Hindu faith!
The shocking verdict of the bench stated that "The freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution was not an uncontrolled freedom," This statement by itself reveals the politically motivated and biased attitude of the Bench! For going by the Court's own definition of "uncontrolled religious freedom", it would seem that the Muslims and Christians of India are entitled to it, but NOT the Hindus. The same rules should then apply to Mosque and Church administration as well. Why should Hindus be the only ones made to relinquish their rights to control their religious institutions.
In a truly ironic statement the Court stated that "The religious freedom which has been safe-guarded by the Act is religious freedom in the background of a secular state. Courts have held that the administration of a religion institution is not a matter of religion. The state can control and regulate the administration of the secular affairs of a temple by suitable measures." Note that the reference is clearly made in the context of TEMPLES and not just religious institutions of any type.
A disappointed KSSS president M P Gopalakirshnan Nair, in his press statement to Rediff magazine, lamented the fact that the verdict would enable many Marxist ministers and politicians to freely interfere and influence the running of temple management boards. "The court order also neglects the rules of temples boards. For instance, the Guruvayur Devaswom Act states that only persons who have faith in god and professes Hindu religion are qualified to manage its affairs. Therefore the judgment is fraught with danger for the believers of Hinduism as a bunch of hardcore atheist communists have begun occupying temples boards." The VHP too is "saddened" by the judgment that gives a free hand to the government to interfere in temples and their properties across the state. "We are planning to move the Supreme Court," VHP spokesperson Ravindran added.
The implications of this decision are truly immense, for it clearly infers that Hindus can their rights to administer their temples snatched away from under their very noses! In the name of secularism, the majority community of India is being subjected to extreme injustice and inequity. It is imperative that Hindus all over India recognize the importance of this decision and wholeheartedly express their outrage. If by chance the Supreme Court upholds this incredibly unjust decision then the first blow to their identity will have been made.
The Kerala High Court's decision is by no means a small matter it is the symbol of the growing trend of deliberate emasculation and diminishing of the rights of Hindus to practice their religion without interference. It is imperative that steps are taken to block this type of utter discrimination because it is obvious that the same standard is NOT being applied to all religions equally in the interests of India's so called "secularism"
If Hindus do not rise to the occasion and defend themselves selves against such incidents of blatant injustice aimed at weakening them, the fate of India, a nation which has since time immemorial been synonymous as the upholder of Vedic Dharma, will be in grave danger.
If you enjoyed this article, please visit: [url="http://www.hinduunity.org/"]http://www.hinduunity.org/[/url]