Author: Vivek Gumaste
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: September 20, 2006
Charges that the Congress's secular policy has an anti-Hindu slant is often met with derision or contemptuously dismissed as the rant of bigoted protagonists of Hindutva. But whenever the judiciary has examined contentious issues related to Hindus, it has invariably found ample evidence to substantiate these claims.
A case in point is the recent judgement by the Karnataka High Court against the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act, 1997, implemented by the Congress in 2003. The judgement brings to the fore the nefarious design of the Congress, namely denying Hindus the basic privileges accorded to other religions. It also highlights the embezzlement of Hindu funds and attempts to weaken Hindu society by creating divisions.
The court has observed, "The legislation violated Articles 14, 25 and 26 of the Constitution which provided for right to equality, freedom of conscience and freedom of profession, practice and propagation of religion and also the freedom to manage the religious affairs."
In 1997, the Karnataka Government received revenue of over Rs 52 crore from Hindu temples. While Rs 17 crore were returned to the temples for maintenance, Rs 12 crore were diverted to support madarsas and churches. Another Rs 23 crore were usurped by the Government. Figures for subsequent years indicate an increasing percentage of collections being utilised for non-Hindu causes. In 2002, Hindu temples received only Rs 10 crore of their Rs 72 crore revenue, the remainder finding its way to churches and madarsas. Castigating this fraudulent siphoning of funds, the court categorically decreed, "Devotees of Hindu temples provide money for temple purposes and it cannot be spent for non-Hindu causes."
Further, the court has censured this Act by deeming it as divisive in nature vis-à-vis Hindu society, especially the clause that seeks to exclude specific mutts from its purview. The attempt to draw a demarcation by means of an official statute between Hindus and Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists (who share common traditional values) too has not found favour with the court.
Appeasement of minorities or fleecing the majority community cannot be misconstrued as secularism. True secularism demands that all religions, Hinduism included, be treated fairly and equally.