Author: Priyanka Roy
Publication: Niticentral.com
Date: February 3, 2016
URL:   http://news.niticentral.com/2016/02/03/340907-340907.html?utm_source=Offstumped&utm_medium=Offstumped&utm_term=Offstumped&utm_campaign=Offstumped

The famed Kamakhya Temple in Assam – that is widely popular for its Shakti Shrine and is a must visit religious destination for all Hindus, is facing major crisis as state government and the temple managing committee battle over its control.

The Sri Sri Maa Kamakhya Devalaya Management Bill, 2016, which was tabled by the Assam government in the Assembly on Monday has been stayed by the opposition members who strongly protested the bill pointing out “anomalies” concerning the provisions of temple management by Dolois (priests).

Objections were raised on the ground that certain rules in the bill violate the time-tasted practices of the historic temple. AGP legislator Phanibhushan Choudhury said that the Bill envisaged one Doloi for the Kamakhya shrine against the existing and time-tested practice of having two Dolois. Echoing the same AGP Keshab Mahanta urged that the Bill be kept in abeyance until the issue was sorted out with the temple authorities.

Ahead of introducing the bill in the Assembly, a government official had briefed the purpose of the bill by saying, “After the bill is passed in the Assembly, the legislation will govern the administration of the temple as it is done in Tirupati temple. Under this law, an autonomous body will be formed with an IAS officer as the member secretary and members from different sections of society, which will be empowered to control and administer the temple.”

History of the Temple:

This age-old temple which has its own historical and mythological significance, has lately caught attention of state government over disputes in its managing committee and repeated terror threats in its premises.

The temple is one of the most important among all Devi peethas in India, where the Goddess is worshipped as primeval Mother. It is also one of the most significant of all the ten temples for Dasa Mahavidya. Lakhs of devotees come from all over the world to worship at the temple during one of its famous festivals, Ambubachi Mela.

Enduring through several phases of rulings and periodic destructions by invaders (like one report tells how Afghan General Kalapahar invaded Kamrupa and destroyed a lot of Hindu temples, of which the Kamakhya temple was one), the temple continued to survive as the Hindu rulers took the onus to build or renovate it during their respective periods of reign. However, ages later the temple still faces crisis due to poor management and security issues.

Located at a vulnerable point atop the Nilachal Hills overlooking the Brahmaputra, this historic shrine is facing some serious problems.

Management issue:

The pre-10th century Kamakhya Temple have been run by the Bordeuri Samaj, since time memorial until 1998 – when the Kamakhya Debuttar Board was formed. The religious and administrative affairs of the temple have for centuries been in the hands of the Bordeuri Samaj, comprising five main families of priests. In 1998, a rival group comprising individuals from the families of the priests, as well as representatives of sections who have traditionally didn’t have a role in running the temple, formed the Kamakhya Debuttar Board, which took over the rights and privileges of the Bordeuri Samaj. The Samaj filed a petition alleging that the Kamakhya Debutter Board took over the authority from the then ‘doloi’ (head priest) forcibly. On February 3, 2012, the SC split responsibilities at Kamakhya, asking the Debuttar Board to run the temple administration, while restricting the role of dolois (priests) only to religious activities. On July 7, however the Supreme Court restored the administration of Guwahati’s Kamakhya temple to the Bordeuri Samaj, rejecting the board’s claims.

Encroachment issue:

Beside the management crisis, the temple is also hit by rampant illegal encroachment issue, which is threatening the very existence of this heritage site. Expressing concern over this rising crisis Naba Kanta Sarma secretary, Kamakhya Debutter board said,

“It goes without saying that being the foremost amongst the 51 Shaktipeethas, the deity of Kamakhya is one of the most venerated Goddess not only in the country but throughout the world, but today the Nilachal hills and the Durgasarobar areas wherein the very history of the entire region took shape is beleaguered.”

“The situation has become all the more complicated with the presence of innumerable temples scattered allover the Nilachal hills and according to an estimate by the Archaeological Survey of India there probably existed more than a hundered sometime in the past.”
He also cited corruption in handling of the land by the revenue officials who have resorted to fraudulent methods and thereby giving rise to unabated encroachments by illegal settlers. He said,

“Without demarcating the lands, which were lawfully to be retained by the Debutter, the revenue officials undertook the preparation of demarcation in a fraudulent way. The Kamakhya management has challenged the “highly arbritrary” manner of demarcation and approached the Gauhati High court which has passed an order staying settlement operations. Being unable to wriggle out of its predicament, the district administration is taking recourse to dubious means for keeping its misdeeds under wraps by forcible attempting to even take over the management of the Debutter.”
Another report talks of the agony of the residents of the Nilachal Hills, who sought solution to the rampant encroachment, which has led to frequent landslides over the past few years. The report quoted a resident as saying,

“We are concerned about the encroachment in the hill, especially in the western part. Several illegal settlers have occupied areas around Barah Kund. Hence, we want candidates in the poll fray to assure us that all illegal settlements in the Nilachal Hills will be cleared after the election.”
Terror threat at Kamakhya:

According to a report in 2006, five Muslim radicals visited the holy shrine, who were later arrested by police from the city. The report quoted a police official as saying, “The arrested persons checked in hotels using Hindu names and visited the temple.” The police suspected that the arrested persons had links with Pakistan’s ISI, the Laskar-e-Toiba or the SIMI.

Another report suggested how poor management system at Kamakhya premises have failed to ensure proper security establishment as we find in other famous shrines in the country. The report also tells how the location where the temple is situated has witnessed haphazard growth of population and several terrorists have been reportedly arrested by the police from the area.

Another report talks of how police foiled a big conspiracy of bomb blast by ULFA terrorist group at Kamakhya Temple in 2011, when the temple was gearing for another popular festival of “char divashiya mela”.

Assam turned into a safe haven for terrorists?

Reports suggest how Assam has incessantly been hit by insurgency-related issues for years that took the state to the status of the worst-affected state in India, with 305 fatalities in 2014. Former Director General of Police (DGP) Khagen Sarma in his farewell speech on November 30, 2015, observed,

“Militancy might be on the decline in the State but it was far from over. Though agreements have been signed with four militant groups and 13 others are in talks with the Government, some breakaway factions of these groups, which are yet to join the peace process, remain a worry for the security forces.”
Again, on December 26, 2015, he had noted, “Assam has religious fundamentalists and that has generated a lot of interest in the ISIS. Hits in the Internet photos of ISIS are very high in Assam.”

Raising similar concerns, the new DGP of Assam, Mukesh Sahay, stated on November 30, 2015,

“We cannot lower our guards or sit back and relax. Militancy can rise from the ashes and we have to come up to meet the challenges. Militancy may have declined but it has the potential to reignite. We have to be constantly on alert and formulate our response to any situation.”

Several areas of Assam are also plagued by the Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA) terrorists. A book written by Professor Ved Prakash on terrorism in India’s North-East talks of how Dhubri district of Assam has witnessed the maximum number of incidents involving MULTA terrorists. According to the book, “A MULTA cadre whose arrest was reported in the media on July 4, 2002 confessed to the police that the passage along the International Border in the Golokganj area of Dhubri district is used as a route to infiltrate into the state from Bangladesh.”

In this moment of crisis, as the temple struggles for its survival the need for a robust management system and adequate security arrangements is ultimate. Preserving the temple and its natural assets is of utmost importance. But is Tarun Gogoi led Congress government in Assam paying any heed to this?

History of the Movement to Free Hindu Temples from Government Control

While 2015 may mark the first small victory in the Long War to get the government out of Hindu Temples, it is also the year we mark the passing away of the foremost crusader of this cause – Swami Dayanand and also the year when we witnessed one of the worst incidents of government mismanagement of a Hindu Shrine in Odisha.

Prof. Madhu Kishwar while recalling Swami Dayanand’s efforts had voiced her views on the dismal state of temple administration in India, the movement to free Hindu temples from government control and touched upon the key issues that threaten the temple ecosystem in India.

In an earlier press conference Nagarajan of the Temple Worshipper’s Society (Chennai), Advocate Kiran Bettadapur and K Gopinath, Professor IISC addressed the audience, speaking on the shortcomings in the present temple management scenario and insisting on an exit policy by the government.

In June 2015, Namma Devasthana organized a seminar on “Autonomy for Hindu Temples”launching a nationwide campaign #savethetemples, in which key persons like Mohandas Pai, Padmashree Dr VR Gowrishankar and author/columnist Prof. MD Srinivas spoke.

In October 2014, KSR Menon raised how Temple Autonomy in Kerala was being eroded.

In September of 2014, Subramanian Swamy who has been the most consistent and lone political voice battling for autonomy Hindu Temples, spoke extensively for ending decades of Government control.

Shantanu Bhagwat writing in his blog back in 2013 chronicles the multiple efforts to advance the debate that called to question Government Control of Hindu Temples during the previous decade.

Drawing wider Social Media attention to how vast majority of Hindus have accepted Government Control of Hindu Temples by default, Shashi Shekhar wrote in the Pragati Magazine back in 2011, on the irony of the Secular Indian State running Hindu Temples.