Justice restored, not charity

Much-awaited demand to relieve Hindu temples from the clutches of government seems to have begun. Though the BJP-headed Karnataka government has made an attempt but held back for reasons best known to it, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh is set to implement it. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai took that initiative and announced in December 2021 that a law would be introduced soon to free temples from government control, but it did not happen. He seems to have put it on hold due to some glitches as Hindu temples in his state are under different types of control. Interestingly, he observed that only temples that have suffered at the hands of bureaucrats will be freed. A significant number of temples in Karnataka, however, are regulated by the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department, or the Muzrai Department. But, that may not be the case in Madhya Pradesh, one of the biggest states, where the Chief Minister opts to go all out. He made a formal announcement at a public event last Saturday. Surprisingly, the so-called national media looks the other way. No editorials either in prominent national dailies or prime time debates during prime time in major English TV news channels. But, the promise to relieve Hindu temples from government control had been on the election agenda of the BJP. Of course, it’s the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS), which has been pushing hard for quite some time. There are more than three million temples across the country and they are under the firm control of the concerned state governments. Although, this endowment act was framed by the colonial Britishers in 1863, what surprises many is that even after attaining independence, the Congress which was in power over six decades at the Centre as well as in many Indian states did not bother to do away with it. Maybe, for obvious reasons as it is believed that in a secular country like India, only the majority has to make sacrifices. That it was the Congress philosophy is also evident from none other than Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi, several statements even after the partition. And his legacy to appease minority Muslims was continued and not so long ago it was Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Ministerwho hadparroted the same in 2006. He,in unequivocal terms, made it clear that Muslims enjoy the first right to India’s assets. Perhaps, neither he nor his party realized that such a statement will cost them so dearly. The party not only lost power but also got decimated losing state after state and becoming irrelevant in national politics. Contrary to this, the BJP is growing by leaps and bounds and expanding its base since 2014 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That the rightist party which emerged as the biggest political entity in the world, has also conquered what many felt impossible to and that was the northeastern states, which were neglected by the successive Congress governments at the Centre, resulting in the Left parties having a sway till recently. That the demand to relieve Hindu temples from the purview of the government’s endowments department has started gaining momentum ever since a petition was filed in the Supreme Court, in the public interest. Yet, the Supreme Court questioned the justification of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2022 which pressed for Hindus to have the same right as Christians and Muslims to manage religious places like temples without government interference. The apex court bench headed by former CJI U Lalit and Justice Ravindra Bhat, who heard the petition filed by a practicing lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay felt that the temple earnings come from society, can as well be returned to the people by way of establishing colleges and universities. But, the petition raised the issue of Hindus being “singled out”, with the state governments overseeing temples and their earnings. But, the top court questioned the need to revisit the 1863 Religious Endowments Act, noting that the statute has facilitated temples to cater to “larger needs of the society.” To justify their counter to the petition, the bench cited the example of Tirupati, the abode of Lord Srinivasa (Venkateswara or Balaji), judiciously utilizing the money received from Hundi offers, by establishing and running universities and hospitals. “What’s wrong with that?” wondered Lordships. Well, they may not be aware of accusations against the temple trust (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam), the custodian temple, over misusing devotees’ offers as they are obliged to the party in power of the day. Anyway, the issue cannot be resolved by the Courts as it is not in their domain. Hence, the initiative has to come from the state and it has come. Now, one has to wait and see, how many of the BJP states, take a leaf out of Madhya Pradesh, set the ball rolling, and help the majority of Hindus realize their long pending demand. None should be surprised, if the BJP makes this issue its political plank, while the divided Opposition continues to pursue their appeasement politics. Thus far, Chauhan chose to bell the cat in restoring justice and put a stop to charity.