Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan made a big announcement on April 22, in regard to Hindu temples & priests, which many see as a precursor to ‘freeing the temples from government control.’
Chouhan declared that a Brahmin Welfare Board (Brahmin Kalyan Board) will be set up in the state, which will take crucial decisions in the interest of priests & also help them empower financially & socially. The Chief Minister made the announcement in Bhopal, the capital city of MP.
In his address, Chouhan said, “ We have decided that the government will have no control over the activities of the temples and the auction of temple land will be done by the priests not district collectors”.
हमने फैसला किया है कि मंदिरों की गतिविधियों पर सरकार का कोई नियंत्रण नहीं रहेगा। मंदिर की जमीनों को नीलाम कलेक्टर नहीं बल्कि पुजारी कर सकेंगे।
निजी मंदिरों के पुजारियों को भी सम्मानजनक मानदेय देने की व्यवस्था की जाएगी। pic.twitter.com/QiMMREi6MI
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 22, 2023
Notably, this decision will be valid for those temples holding a piece of land above 10 acres. While the priests can claim the amount earned from the auction of 10 acres of land, the amount generated from the sale/lease of over and above the 10 acres of land will go to the temple trust.
he also said scholarships would be given to students studying Sanskrit and other aspects related to Hinduism. He said lessons about the mythological figure in the state’s school syllabus till Class Eighth.
“Recruitment of Sanskrit teachers has been started in government schools,” Chouhan said. As many as 3,547 Sanskrit teachers have been appointed in government schools, he said.
“The life of Lord Parshuram was included in the class’s eighth book. We will not only teach Akbar but we will also teach Ram and Parshuram,” the chief minister said. “We will try to write history correctly.”
At the event Chouhan also announced that ‘Parashuram Lok’ will be built in Janapav near Indore, considered the birthplace of Bhagwan Parshuram.
Visiting Janapav, 45 kilometres from Indore, later, the CM said Rs 10 crore will be provided for the development of a ‘Dharamshala’, garden, and other facilities for devotees.
State Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, however, said, “There is a feeling in the country now that all religions are the same. The state government does not interfere in matters concerning Waqf Board properties. We are changing the mistakes made by the Congress government for 50 years.”
Notably, from time to time there have been demands to free temples from the government’s control and the flagbearer to these campaigns was Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
In December 2022, at a press conference, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) working president Shri Alok Kumar said, “It is high time to liberate Hindu temples from government control”.
“As per the data given to us by Acharya Sabha, over two lakh temples across India are under government control. These temples give Rs 1,80,000 crore to the governments per year. When the governments don’t run mosques, churches and gurudwaras, why do they take control over Hindu temples?” Alok Kumar asked.
VHP claims that since 1966, the organisation has saved 62 lakh Hindus from religious conversion and brought 9 lakh back to their original fold with respect. “Around 25 thousand Hindu daughters were also saved from getting trapped in the clutches of love jihadists,” he informed.
Through a special campaign, Sansad Sampark Abhiyan, the VHP members met with Members of Parliament from all over the country to draw their attention towards the issues of Population imbalance, liberate Hindu temples from government control and creation of separate ministries at the centre and states for Hindu pilgrimage sites.
With Chouhan’s decision to set the temples in Madhya Pradesh free, there are rising demands from the other states to liberate the temples.
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