News Brief
Arjun Brij
Dec 27, 2024, 04:47 PM | Updated 04:47 PM IST
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The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Thursday (26 December) announced a nationwide public awakening campaign to free Hindu temples from government control.
The initiative will commence on 5 January 2025, from Vijayawada, according to VHP Organizing General Secretary Milind Parande.
“Under the leadership of the revered seer community and the leading figures of Hindu society, we are going to start a countrywide public awareness campaign for the liberation of temples from government control,” said Parande, addressing the media in Delhi.
The VHP has formed a think tank comprising retired Supreme Court and High Court judges, lawyers, and religious leaders to draft protocols for temple management and dispute resolution.
“The draft has also kept in view the protocols that would be put in place when governments return the temples to Hindu society,” Parande added.
The organisation also called for the removal of non-Hindus employed in temples and endowment departments. “Only practising Hindus with faith should be employed in the worship, offerings, and service of God,” Parande stated, emphasiding that no politician or politically affiliated individual should be appointed to temple trust boards or management roles.
To oversee temple management, the VHP plans to establish a ‘Dharmic Council’ at the state level, comprising individuals holding constitutional posts.
These councils will elect district-level councils, which will, in turn, select trustees for local temples. “Various sections of society, including scheduled castes and tribes, would participate,” Parande said.
He also demanded that shops within and outside temple premises be owned only by Hindus, and that encroachments or illegal constructions on temple lands by non-Hindus be removed.
“The income of temples should be spent only for the propagation of Hindu Dharma, for the service to society, and related issues, and never for government work,” he asserted.
The VHP stated it is committed to addressing the “discriminatory” control of temples and returning their management to devout members of Hindu society.
Arjun Brij is an Editorial Associate at Swarajya. He tweets at @arjun_brij