Andhra Pradesh witnessed a different kind of calendar new year, not seen elsewhere in the country, with unusual saffron surge across the state with people coming into streets with saffron flag in hand and chant of Ram exhibiting the new found resolve to assert their right to own and run the temples as they did traditionally for over many centuries. Temple was the Hindu centre for sanskriti, language, music, knowledge, a place for discussion, imparting education, health and also the place for dispute resolution in any and every village. It is also the place of higher learning where Hindu science evolved and presented many new discoveries of the universe and invented numerous procedures to follow for happy and healthy life. Temples are the nerve centres for all things connected to the society. The marauding barbaric Islamic invaders attacked and destroyed the temples as they realised that the soul of Hindu resides here and by destroying one temple they can destroy the entire Hindu way of life. The theory concocted by the Left historians that temples were attacked to loot the wealth is fallacious. Though not destroyed by the colonial rulers, such temples were used to distort the social structure by inventing the terms untouchability and prevent temple entry for certain communities to do away the sanctity of the temples. Hindu society could fight those foreign invaders and their methods to destroy the greatness of temples in building the society but unfortunately, Hindus lost their temples to the pseudo-secular rulers in the brand of Nehru secularism. Having waited over 7 decades, with the hope that Governments will respect their sentiment and return them to Hindu society, now trying to ascertain themselves to free the temples from the clutches of the Governments and Andhra Pradesh is showing beacon of light to others in raising their voice for the liberation of temples.
Perhaps the Andhra Pradesh witnessed such a massive gathering earlier when VHP gave the call to the Ayodhya temple construction and LK Advani led Rath Yatra passed through the state. Barring those two incidents, the peace loving average Hindu was confined to his home prayers and tolerated the temple maladministration in main shrines whenever he went there for pilgrimage with the fond hope that his wish will be fulfilled one day. His prayers are surely answered today. His patience turned fruitful at the dawn of 2025.
The Hindu society of Andhra Pradesh gave a clarion call by blowing the sacred conch on 5th January 2025, in the presence of one hundred heads of Hindu ‘peethams’ and ‘mathams’. Over 3 lakh Hindus assembled on that day took a vow to liberate the temples from the clutches of the Governments whose pseudo-secular policies and practices turned detrimental to the sanctity of the famed Hindu temples like the Tirumala Tirupati, the Jyotirlinga Kshetram Srisailam etc., There is a huge response to the call of the Haindava Sankharavam given by the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of Andhra Pradesh. The conch blown that morning must have reverberated in the ears of the state administration and it may soon force them to concede to the demand of handing the temples back to the Hindus. The huge gathering is the reflection of dissatisfaction of average Hindu because the governments stood between their devotion to God and service to the temple. The average Hindu’s feeling of alienation from his temple through the enactment of Endowment Act and misuse of power acquired through this highly questionable act and maladministration of the temples through nefarious nexus of Government officers and Government nominated temple trust boards created through this draconic Act.
Declaration at Haindava Sankharavam
- Immediate amendments must be made to grant full autonomy to Hindu temples
- Until the law is amended to give autonomy to Hindu temples, the government must take immediate action to ensure that rituals, offerings, and services in temples are carried out with utmost devotion and quality
- Non-Hindu employees working in Hindu temples and service organisations managed by temples should be immediately removed
- Only apolitical religious individuals who practice Hindu dharma with devotion should be appointed to Hindu temple trust boards
- The Government must take responsibility for ensuring Hindu temple properties are not encroached upon, and for recovering any encroached properties and returning them to the temples
- The income of Hindu temples must be used exclusively for Hindu religious outreach, social welfare for the Hindu community, and religious services. It should not be used for government activities
- The Government should not impose illegal restrictions or financial burdens on festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, and Hanuman Jayanti. Before these festivals, the government must consult with Hindu religious leaders and institutions to make decisions regarding the management of the celebrations
- The Government should not impose illegal restrictions on the procession routes, timings, dates, and methods for Hindu deity processions and shobha yatras
Unless the temples are liberated from the clutches of Governments, the average Hindu will not be satisfied. The secular policy of leaving the mosques and temples out of government control and taking Hindu temples under government wings is hurting the Hindu population. Are Hindus not capable of running their own temples? Why should Hindu and their temples be discriminated? These are someof the questions which the participants of Hyndava Sankharavam were posing and discussing among themselves.
VHP achieved the first act of gathering people and delivering the message but now they are planning to make further actions needed to liberate the Temples. The top state level VHP leaders are preparing for the next action, the Ram Janmabhoomi temple trust model presented by the treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri ji Maharaj is being contemplated upon. Temples are bound to be liberated, if not immediately, certainly by the next five to ten years. Hindu society must be prepared to run the temples. It is necessary for the VHP in consultation with the Hindu society in Andhra Pradesh to form shadow committees of devotees who can supervise the current working of the temples, identify the ways and means to plug the pilferage of temple funds, protection and recovery of temple lands presently under illegal occupation etc., so that an efficient and honest group of Hindus will take over the administration of the temples. The day is not far for the liberation of Temples.
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