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Temple property belongs to the deity alone; government has no right over it—Ashok Singhal FOC “THE whole treasure found from the secret cellars of the famed Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram belongs to deity alone and the government has no right over it. This money has to be utilised only for the Hindu society,” said VHP president Shri Ashok Singhal in New Delhi on July 7. He was talking to mediapersons after an emergency meeting of Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal. The meeting had been called to decide the future course of action after the growing attacks on saints and temples in the country. Shri Singhal pointed out that senior saints of the country are going to meet in Coimbatore on July 22 to decide how to preserve and utilise the treasurer found in Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Shri Singhal also suggested to set up a ‘Hindu Dharmik Kosh’ involving the property of various temples of the country. He reiterated that the money of the proposed kosh should be utilised only for the Hindu society. “The kings of Travancore had dedicated their entire kingdom to Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy and ruled it only considering themselves as a servant of the deity. The people who were entrusted the task of preserving this wealth of God have discharged their duty with full integrity and responsibility. The Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal of the VHP wants to tell the governments that according to Hindu traditions, governments have no right over the property belonging to the deities of the temple,” said a resolution passed at the Margdarshak Mandal meeting in New Delhi. Shri Singhal said the temples have been playing a vital role in guiding the Hindu society since time immemorial and they have been the places of propagation and preservation of Hindu culture. Inspired by such services and religious feelings the people used to dedicate their movable or immovable property to the deities of temples for welfare activities. Therefore, the property dedicated to the deity in bulk or collected as daily offerings belongs to the deity alone and no individual, organisation or government has any right over it. This money has to be utilised only for the temples, temple premises, promotion and preservation of Hindu sanskriti. It is very unfortunate that after the foreign invaders and British government, even the governments of Independent Bharat have been keeping an evil eye on the property of the temples and that is why some of the temples have been taken over by the governments. This must not happen in future, the VHP president said. (FOC)

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