Conspiracy to demolish three dozen prominent temples of Delhi
Vinod Bansal
About three dozen temples and Gurudwaras of Delhi may soon become a history as the Government of Delhi has listed them for demolition. A total of 74 religious structures of Delhi were listed some time back. Now 40 of them may be demolished any time. According to reports some schools and other institutions may also become the victims of the Congress conspiracy. The remaining 34 religious structures have been identified as sensitive, as the Government of Delhi is of the opinion that “…if the demolition carried out, it may be resisted by the local people supported by the religious and political persons of that particular area”. It is important to note that more than half of these 34 so-called sensitive structures belong to Muslims and Christians. These structures are alleged to have been built on Delhi Development Authority’s land.
So, Delhi is getting ready to sacrifice some of its prominent places of worship. There was a time when building temples was considered to be the status symbol by some great rulers of the country. They felt pride in building large and magnificent temples and worshipping therein. Recent detection of huge treasure in a South India temple is the evidence of dedication of the rulers to the places of worship. Former Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had re-built the Somnath Temple after Independence. But the current time political heroes of the national capital of Delhi have got themselves ready to demolish already built beautiful temples and Gurudwaras but hesitating to touch the mosques. It is also surprising that this anti-religious act is recommended by a so-called ‘Religious Committee’ of the Government of Delhi.
This Religious Committee reportedly found that out of the 74 cases, 34 unauthorised religious structures, if demolished, maybe resisted by the local people supported by the religious and political persons of that particular area. But, for the remaining 40 structures, the Committee has categorically recommended that they are the easy targets thus should be demolished forthwith. This list consists of only four mosques and a church, but all others are Hindu religious places, mostly located in South Delhi. In response to a specific query raised by the High Court of Delhi, Arvind Ray, Principal Secretary (Home), GNCTD, informed the Court that the above report of the Religious Committee had the approval of the Lt. Governor of Delhi, who heads the Committee. Therefore, the Court ordered for demolition of these structures immediately.
Vide its order dated May 22, 2013, the Court directed that the Chief Secretary, GNCTD, shall convene a meeting, within two weeks to (a) draw up a time-bound action plan for the removal of the 40 unauthorised religious structures and (b) finalise the modalities for negotiations as regards to the 34 other unauthorised religious structures as recommended by the Religious Committee. The Court also directed that by August 22 i.e. the next date of hearing, the land should be handed over to DDA and a compliance report will be placed before the Court by the Chief Secretary, GNCTD by that date.
The Hindu religious organisations, led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, have come up openly to save these places of worship. They alleged that Delhi Government is soft targeting our temples and hurting Hindu sentiments, which is not tolerable. They have formed a new group called Hindu Dharma Sthal Suraksha Samiti under the presidentship of Shri Brijmohan Sethi. The Samiti comprises of many Hindu groups like the VHP, Akhil Bharatiya Mandir Prabandhak Parishad, Sanatan Dharma Pratinidhi Sabha, Hindu Maha Sabha, Arya Samaj, Rashtravadi Shiv Sena, Akhand Hindusthan Morcha, etc.
“In the first face, we are going to meet the LG of Delhi with a memorandum to protect the temples and approach the Court and the public, if needed,” said Shri RamPal Yadav, convenor of the Samiti. On the demolition drive the Government will demolish our temples escaping mosques and churches taking excuse of law and order problems or other reasons for their protection, but Hindu community would not tolerate it, he added.
