Recently an outrage broke out that, like many others, didn’t make much news in the so called “national” media as it relates to discrimination against Hindus. The outrage was about the appointment of TDP MLA Vangalapudi Anitha on the board of Tirupati Tirumala Devsthanams (TTD) board.
The reason being that she is a Christian, and in an interview stated that she never went anywhere without a Bible. The clip of this interview in Telugu went viral on Social Media, especially in Andhra Pradesh, sparking this outrage. She has since resigned, and now claims to be a Hindu and a devotee of Lord Venkateshwar.
BJP MP Mr. GVL Narsimha Rao was quick to question Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. And on a debate on Times Now he argued would it be okay for a Hindu to be presiding over the affairs of Mecca Masjid? A fair point! However, what he didn’t argue was that ONLY Hindu temples are under Government control and not any other religions’ worship place, be it Masjids, Churches or Gurudwaras. What he didn’t question was why a “secular” Government has a say in the religious affairs of Hindus.
Now, as I imagine, many readers would be confused that such a thing even happens. Not many are even aware of the existence of the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Act. Even though we all love to hate and ridicule the extreme commercialization of temples, the “tickets” on ‘Darshan’, the VIP lines, none of the now confused people looked for answers and only blamed the “money hungry”, “greedy” Pujaris, who in reality are not paid very well.
It’s easy to blame Brahmans and not look for answers, but the real culprit here is the Law and its name is Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Act or HRCE for short. As per this law despite article 26 of the Indian Constitution providing people of all religions with the freedom to manage their religious institutions, state-level Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Acts have allowed states to assume financial and management control of over a hundred thousand Hindu temples, including magnificent ancient temples of immense religious significance. These HR&CE departments are headed by a cabinet minister or by ostensibly autonomous, but government appointed, boards which includes both politicians, and non-Hinds.
The misuse of funds is rampant. Hindu Temple land is routinely given away to other religions to build their religious buildings. Sometimes even those buildings are funded by Temple money. The money that was donated to the TEMPLE by the HINDU devotees for the use of the Deity of that Temple! Those funds are NOT for politicians to use on personal convenience or play “secular” (i.e. appeasement) politics with.
Consider the year 2002. Karnataka State Govt received around Rs 72 crore from 251,000 temples. But only Rs 10 crore was returned to the temples while rest of the funds were used for other purposes including funding of Rs 50 crore for madrassas & Haj subsidy and Rs 10 crore for Churches. Temple money of Hindu devotees is used on Muslims and Christian causes!
To understand simply just how bad this law is, here are just two of the uncountable examples of how HR&CE ruins temples:
- Overflowing with sewage HR&CE land is neglected.
- A Cemetery is being built over a Ganpathy Temple land in Tiruneveli
Here’s a simple table that lays down the injustice being done to Hindus:
The HR&CE along with Anti-Hindu RTE Law is also the core of the Lingayat issue. This is also the reason why Ram Krishna Mission tried to claim to be a separate religion. They want to become a separate religion and a minority because the so-called “secular” Constitution of India is actively hostile towards Hindus!
And so my simple and direct question to Mr. GVL Narsimha Rao and the BJP is, “What is your stand on the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Act?”
As a party that claims to look out for the interest of Hindus, your silence on some of the most important Hindu issues like HR&CE and RTE discrimination against Hindu owned schools is deeply troubling. And as a supporter of the Party and the ideology, as a BJP voter and above all else as a Hindu, I demand that BJP state its stand on HR&CE clearly!
