Author: Ajay Bharti
Publication: Organiser
Date: February 28, 2010
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=333&page=11
Introduction: Political backing badly needed
to counter proxy war unleashed by Pakistan against India, was not forth coming.
Politicians in New Delhi were instead busy in scoring brownie points. Separatist
tendency in Valley was and is being rewarded continuously.
AFTER successfully terminating the practice
of hoisting Tri-colour-the national flag-in Lal Chowk Srinagar, the ruling
elite of Kashmir has turned its guns towards elimination of all other remaining
symbols of resistance that ensured down fall of terrorist movement in Kashmir
tagged as "Azadi".
Hoisting of national flag in Lal Chowk, it
must be recalled was started to make obvious the assertion of Indian state
in an area that insurgents used to claim their supremacy by unfurling Pakistani
flags every now and then. Brave soldiers of India hailing from all parts of
the country, tore apart the backbone of the terrorists' movement at a huge
cost. In spite of all handicaps and restrictions imposed by power hungry politicians,
security forces were able to neutralise the entire terror network, which at
one point of time, was otherwise bold enough to strike at will and at the
places of their choice. Those initial days of terror may be behind us, but
can neither be elapsed nor overlooked. Keeping national highway open was a
challenge then. Indian state, controlled by people with a pathological hatred
for nationalist sentiment, responded half-heartedly to the threats emanating
from Kashmir.
Political backing badly needed to counter
Author: Ravi Varma
Publication: Orgnaiser
Date: February 28, 2010
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=333&page=38
Introduction: State has no right to loot temple
funds
The newly created statutory bodies-Travancore
Devaswom Board, Cochin Devaswom Board, Religious Endowment Board and Guruvayoor
Temple Committee-mainly and only consist of those nominated by the elected
legislators and ministers having Hindu names. But being the nominees of so-called
secular political parties, most of them are either atheists or sown non-believes
in Hindu temple culture, tradition and rituals.
A secular Government led by Communist and
their allies had even appointed a Christian by name Baby as their nominee
to the statutory Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple Committee for controlling and
managing the religious affairs of the famous Temple. It was only after angry
agitation by Hindu devotees that he resigned from his post. Besides, under
the statutory autonomous status conferred on the Board, members of the Boards
are not answerable or accountable to any other constitutional authority
IT is high time to take up the following for
the judicious consideration or rational analysis and sagacious judgment of
Honable High Court of Kerala to decide as to whether in the context of the
below-explained reasons, administrative decisions and the consequent activities
of the State and Central Government-the Executive-are volatile of well understood
provisions of the highly acclaimed Indian Constitution in spirit and ethical
value and in the back ground of the ancient cultural tradition and heritage
of the country.
As per the popular understanding and the dictionary
meaning of terms, secularism, a government is committed to secular principles,
has nothing to do with and also prohibited from indulging in the religious
matters or any section or community in the country, whether they belong to
majority community or minority religious community. Otherwise, the state is
particular religious state like Islamic or Christian or Buddhist State. In
short, a scholar state does not interfere or indulge in the religious affairs
of any section of the country's population. But contrary to the secular precepts
the present elected state and Central Government always interfere even in
the purely religious affairs of the Majority Hindu Community alone. This is
violative of the secular principles incorporated in the Constitution, But
the same Executive, misinterpreting relevant provisions of the Constitution,
also refrains from interfering or indulging in the religious affairs of Muslim
and Christian religious minorities in the country. It is very clear from the
administrative decisions and actions of the Kerala Government that they are
not only partial to minority religious community thus promoting minority communalism
and disharmony between communities but also bent upon destroying and disintegrating
Hindus religions and the majority Hindu Community through the destruction
of temples and denigrating Hindu religions.
It is in the same context of anti-Hindus secular
policies of the secular government of Kerala, either led by the secular congress
party or communist parties, the elected "Secular" Government of
Kerala has passed a legislative Bill and has taken over only Hindu temples,
trusts, their asserts and related affairs including the revenue from Hindu
devotees, their donations and endovements, and entrusted their ownership,
management and control to specially constituted statutory bodies like Travancore
Devaswom Board, Cochin Devaswom Board and Guruvayoor Temple Committee. The
secular government then started appointing their own nominees on these Devaswom
boards. Being the nominees of the secular legislators and ministers, they
are also invariably atheists or some times sown non-believers in Hindu religion
and traditional temple culture. They even refuse to take oath in the name
of God or inside any major Hindu temple before taking over the temple administration
like the traditional Thantris or Brahmin Poojaris appointed in different Hindu
temples for conducting pujas and other connected religious rituals exposing
their true commitment to atheism.
But before Independence and introduction of
the newly adopted Indian Constitution, all temples in Kerala State including
their assets, revenue and management and Control of the traditional religious
affairs were handled traditionally by reputed Nair Tharavads, Groups of Brahmin
families, different royal families and sometimes even singly. And at state
level, they were traditionally entrusted with Chiefs of local royal families-Samudirins,
Chirackal and other families in Malabar region, Travancore and Cochin Royal
families in their respective kingdoms, besides, Pandalam Royal family in the
care of the famous Sabarimala Sasta temple and Kodungallur Raja in the case
of Kodungallur Durga temple. Since they were all Hindus and committed to Hindu
religion and temple culture, they were very particular about the strict observance
of all temple matters as per the local traditions and satisfaction of the
Hindu devotees. In case of any dispute or difference of opinion, the concerned
authorities or the royal houses had taken a final decision but only after
consulting local community leaders, Thantries and vedic schalarism... the
past.
Since Hindu kings of Travancore and Cochin,
they were the sovereign rulers-and therefore, had temperal and religious authority
in their states. But they never misused their sovereign power to bring the
Mosques, Churches, and related trusts under the control of Hindu Maharajas.
That is the traditional Hindu concept and practice of the secular principles
which show respect and tolerance to the beliefs and practices of different
religious communities in their Hindu states.
Once the royalty was abolished and the new
secular constitution was adopted, as the basis of administration, ideally,
normally and ethically, the democratically elected secular government of Kerala-led
by the secular Political parties like congress or communists with their allies
who swear by the high principles of secularism, should have refrained from
blatant interference in the religion affairs of the majority Hindu community
and instead, voluntarily entrusted the ownership, control and management of
their temples, muths and related trusts and religious affairs to Hindu Community.
The only reason for the state to take over the ownership, control and management
of all matter connected in the Hindu temples excluding those of Ezhava temples
Kudumbi temples and Konkani temples -seems to be because they were earlier
vested in the Deveswom departments in the secretariats under the ruler of
Travancore Maharajah and Cochin Maharaja. When royalty was abolished and after
the adoption of the Indian Constitution, ruling power were vested with the
new Constitutional authority and naturally all the departments in the respective
government secretariats also revolved to it. As a matter of fact, under the
previous rule of the Hindu Maharajas, all affairs of the states were looked
after and accounted for, by various departments in the government secretariat
like public work, forest, excise and revenue department, Devaswom department
also was located in the same secretariats because the concerned Maharaja,
was directly in charge of all department including that of Devaswom. Since
the abolition of royalty, only secular and sovereign authority should have
been taken away from the previous regime and not the traditional non-secular
religious affairs, like the Devaswom departments in the same secretariats.
The state's majority Hindu community had raised objection only to the transfer
of authority of Hindu temple and related religious affairs from traditional
Hindu authorities to the new secular authority. Besides, the same secular
authority had not taken over similar religious matter connected with Muslim
and Christian religious Communities and their Mosques, Churches and their
related trusts and religious teaching institution and transferred the power
to manage and control them to a new Minority Religious authority through a
similar special Bill as done in the case of Majority Hindu religious Institutions
in the state. This is partial and distorted version of their secular precepts
and is violative of the Indian Constitution both in spirit and ethics.
The newly created statutory bodies-Travancore
Devaswom Board, Cochin Devaswom Board, Religious endowment Board and Guruvayoor
Temple Committee-mainly and only consist of those nominated by the elected
legislators and ministers having only Hindu names. But being the nominees
of so-called secular political parties, most of them are either atheists or
sown non-believes in Hindu temple culture, tradition and rituals. Under above
context, once a secular government led by Communist and their allies had even
appointed a Christian by name Baby as their nominee to the statutory Guruvayoor
Sri Krishna Temple Committee for controlling and managing the religious affairs
of the famous Temple. It was only after angry agitation by Hindu devotees
that he resigned from his post.
Besides, under the statutory autonomous status
conferred on the Board, members of the boards are not answerable or accountable
to any other constitutional authority and hence they are a law unto themselves.
This is one of the main reasons to breed and spread corruption in almost all
transactions and activities of administration in various departments of the
Boards, both in Travancore area and Cochin area. In the case of Hindu Religions
Endowment Board's administration of Malabar temples, less said, is the better.
In the famous temple like Thaliparambu Siva Temple, Annapurneswari Temple,
Trichambaram Srikrishna Temple and many others though, there are arbitrarily
appointed fit-men or chiefs of royal families likes Chirackal Royal family,
accounts of these temples are invariably manipulated under non-ethical and
corrupt practices under various pretexts and is well known to local Hindu
community. Imagine that very often Bhandarams kept inside Annapoorneswari
temple are reported to have only very few pieces of gold, silver and other
costly items besides coins-some times nothing at all even though one of the
main offerings there is alrupams-images of Gods-made of gold or silver metals.
It is also the practice of the concerned authorities of the endowment aboard
to somehow get the signature of the fit-man and nominal chiefs of the families,
sometimes under Coercion. All these are well-known to the local Hindu devotees
and are also well-documented and brought to the public through several inquiry
reports. Latest among them is the Sree Paripoornan Committee report regarding
the malpractices and rampant corruption in the case of temples administered
under Travancore Devaswom Board where according to inquiry report, even political
interference is also citied as one of the causes for the prevailing corruption.
Same is true in the case of temples under Conchin Devaswom Board also, though
not at that level.
