\Samvad

Paush Krishna 14 Vik. Samvat 2078, Yugabda 5123 : 1 January, 2022:SM 3019 (For Private Circulation only)


1. FESTIVALS: MAKAR SANKRANTI

2. PROGRAMS OF SARSANGHCHALAK DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT

3. SOUL OF BHARAT IS HINDU — DATTATREYA HOSABALE

4. BHARAT CELEBRATED SWARNIM VIJAY DIWAS

5. NEED TO INDIANISE EDUCATION SYSTEM: VENKAIAH NAIDU

6. MAHAMANA MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA UTILIZED SCIENCE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE BRITISH

7. RASHTRIYA SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH PRAHAR DIWAS

8. SURYANAMASKAR MAHAYAGYA: MYANMAR

9. SE SAMBHAG PRATHAMIK SANGH SHIKSHA VARGA : USA

10. HSS UK: 5 YEARS OF UK PARLIAMENT WEEK PARTICIPATION

11. HINDU SEVAI SANGAM MALAYSIA RELIEF WORK

12. SEWA VOLUNTEERS HELP TORNADO VICTIMS

13. BLOOD DONATION DRIVE BY HSS JAPAN

14. HINDU COMMUNITY IN MADAGASCAR HELPS FIGHT DROUGHT

15. NATIONAL MEETINGS OF VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

16. UK HINDUS TO GET FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT CREMATORIUM

17. ‘DURGA PUJA IN KOLKATA’ ON THE REPRESENTATIVE LIST OF INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY

18. FARMING RETURNS TO LOC AFTER 20 YEARS

19. DRDO CONDUCTS MAIDEN LAUNCH OF NEW GENERATION SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILE

20. BHARAT TOPS MEDAL TALLY AT JUNIOR SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

21. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Articles: TIME TO DEVELOP A MODEL FOR MANAGEMENT OF HINDU TEMPLES 


1. FESTIVALS: MAKAR SANKRANTI  is a harvest festival dedicated to Surya Bhagwan. It is observed each year on the day (January 14) the Sun enters Capricorn zodiac. Makar Sankranti is also known as Magh Bihu in Assam, Maghi (preceded by Lohri) in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Maghe Sankranti (Nepal), Songkran (Thailand), Thingyan (Myanmar), Mohan Songkran (Cambodia), and Shishur Sankrat (Kashmir).

Different rituals and activities are carried out in different communities to celebrate the festival, including kite flying. Preparations made from til or sesame seeds and jaggery are common on Makar Sankranti. The festivities mark their respect for the earth's bounty and celebrate the end of winter. -GoTop

2. PROGRAMS OF SARSANGHCHALAK DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat was the keynote speaker at the ‘Godavari Sangamam’ programme held on December 26 in Palakollu, West Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. The program was attended by 12,736 swayamsevaks. On the occasion, he said that attending the Sangh Shakha every day will make a positive change in our lives and enhance the qualities of swayamsevaks. Head of the Nagarjuna Construction Company Shri Alluri Venkata Narasimha Raju was the Chief Guest and Kshetra Sanghachalak Shri Doosi Ramakrishna and Prant Sanghachalak Shri Nagareddy Hari Kumar Reddy were also present on the occasion.
On December 15, Dr Bhagwat attended the Hindu Ekata Mahakumbh conclave in Chitrakoot and administered the Hindu unity oath to the attendees. The attendees pledged to work for the upkeep and enrichment of the Hindu culture, Hindu dharma and Hindu society. The emphasis of the saints and seers, who participated in the conclave, was on the unity of the Hindu society. Founder of ‘Art of Living’ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and many other personalities from several sections of the society also attended the event.
On December 20, Dr Bhagwat met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at McLeodganj in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.
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3. SOUL OF BHARAT IS HINDU — DATTATREYA HOSABALE: While addressing a kutumb prabodhan program at Dr. MPS School in Sikandra, Agra, Uttar Pradesh on December 23, RSS Sarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale said that the identity of Bharat is that of Hindu Rashtra and the soul of Bharat is also Hindu.
He added that the unit of the society is the family and there can be no nation without the family. He also said that that in our families we learn culture, values etc which is useful throughout our life. 
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4. BHARAT CELEBRATED SWARNIM VIJAY DIWAS: On December 16, Bharat celebrated the 50th anniversary of Swarnim Vijay Diwas - its victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war that led to redrawing of the political map of South Asia.
Rashtrapati Shri Ram Nath Kovind was the "Guest of Honour" at the Victory Day Parade in Dhaka. A 122-member strong tri-services contingent from Bharat also took part in the parade. Addressing the Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka, Rashtrapati Kovind said that the 1971 struggle for freedom of Bangladesh has a special place in the hearts of every Bharatiya.
Four Vijay Mashaals, which were taken to various parts of Bharat during the last one year - including villages of the awardees of Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra of the 1971 war - were merged into the eternal flame of National War Memorial in Delhi by Pradhan Mantri Shri Narendra Modi. The event was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the three service chiefs.
Bharatiya parliament also paid tributes to Bangladeshi freedom fighters and Bharatiya armed forces with Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla remembering the exemplary courage displayed by them.
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5. NEED TO INDIANISE EDUCATION SYSTEM: VENKAIAH NAIDU: Rishiwood University, which aims to prepare leaders in the coming generations for social impact and nation-building, held its inauguration ceremony on December 18 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. On the occasion, Uprashtrapati Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu called for Indianising the education system based on Bharat’s great wealth of ancient wisdom, knowledge, traditions and heritage. Suggesting that the colonial education system has created an inferiority complex and diffidence in people, he called for a value-based transformation in the education system, as envisioned by the National Education Policy 2020.
The inauguration ceremony was hosted by Founding Chancellor & Rajya Sabha member Shri Suresh Prabhu. Founding members like Motilal Oswal, Dr Chinmay Pandya and Ashok Goel also expressed their thoughts at the event. Books authored by Rishiwood faculty members and founders were released by Uprashtrapati Shri Naidu.
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6. MAHAMANA MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA UTILIZED SCIENCE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE BRITISH: On January 26, an event was organized by Mahamana Malaviya Mission to commemorate the 160th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya at NDMC convention center in Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, National Organising Secretary of Vijnana Bharati, Jayant Sahasrabudhe said that Mahamana Malaviya was a warrior of Bharatiya freedom struggle and he utilized science as a way to fight against the British.
Chief Guest of the event Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah expressed his feelings about Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya and said that the credit of laying the foundation of modern Bharatiya nationalism in the Bharatiya independence movement goes to Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya .
He added that Pt. Malaviya was not just a person but an institution.
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7. RASHTRIYA SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH PRAHAR DIWAS: On the occasion of Vijay Diwas - Bharat’s victory over Pakistan in 1971 - Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organized Prahar Diwas across its shakhas on December 16.
36,063 shakhas and 4938 weekly milans organized such events all over Bharat. More than 4.5 lakh swayamsevaks participated in it and performed around 250 million prahars.
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8. SURYANAMASKAR MAHAYAGYA: MYANMAR: Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh, SDSS Myanmar is conducting a round the year Suryanamaskar Mahayagya from July 21, 2021 to July 20, 2022. During the first 21 weeks of this nationwide drive, 555 registered swayamsevaks and sevikas organised Suryanamaskar Mahayagya at different places and participants performed more than 5 lakh Suryanamaskars.
On reaching the milestone of 5 lakh Suryanamaskars, Sanghachalak of SDSS Myanmar Shri Bajrang Lal Sharma congratulated the swayamsevaks, sevikas and other yoga lovers and urged them to continue this endeavour in the coming days.
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9. SE SAMBHAG PRATHAMIK SANGH SHIKSHA VARGA : USA - The South East Sambhag of USA conducted the Prathamik Sangh Shiksha Varga (SSV) from November 25 to 28. 43 shiksharthis from all 4 vibhags of the sambhag participated in the SSV along with 14 shikshaks and 4 prabandhaks. Shiksharthis were divided into 4 ganas based on their age and gender. All the shiksharthis got trained in shareerik activities - niyuddha, samata, danda, yogchap, shikshan vidhi, acharpaddhati and ghosh (vamshi). Boudhik activities included chintan satra, boudhiks, charcha, samvad etc. Planning started 5 weeks before the SSV dates. A week before the varg, shareerik e-abhyas varg was conducted to review the syllabus with shikshaks. Boudhik team also conducted separate calls for charcha, samvad, prarthana and boudhik with the assigned shikshaks. This resulted in the smooth execution of the varg and left a positive imprint in the minds of the shiksharthis.
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10. HSS UK: 5 YEARS OF UK PARLIAMENT WEEK PARTICIPATION: 5 years ago Finchley shakha held the only UK Parliament Week (UKPW) activity by any Hindu organisation in the UK. Swayamsevaks and sevikas of this shakha - aged 9 to 90 - and three local members of parliament became a springboard for the success story of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS UK at UKPW. In 2018, nine shakhas and in 2019 six shakhas took part in UKPW. In 2020, in spite of the pandemic, 39 shakhas took part in the virtual UKPW. After a slow start in 2021 there are 46 registrations and 34 activities were conducted in hybrid format.

Over the 5 years HSS UK has seen an exponential increase in participation and had conversation with 58 politicians which includes MPs, Peers, Councilors and Mayors. There were several milestones during this journey: HSS UK became Official Partner of UK Parliament week and was awarded UK Parliament Week Official Partner of the Year Award 2020. HSS UK also participated in a Podcast called 'Why Parliament Works' with the Leader of The House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg and swayamsevaks & sevikas were prominently featured on UKPW Kit and in the official promotional video. -GoTop

11. HINDU SEVAI SANGAM MALAYSIA RELIEF WORK: On 16 December, a tropical depression made landfall on the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia, bringing torrential downpours throughout the peninsula.
The non-stop heavy rainfall lasted for a few days resulting in floods, affecting eight states across Malaysia. The National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) has reported 33 districts in 8 states as flood affected and around 63,000 persons have been evacuated to 430 evacuation centres. Hindu Sevai Sangam with the support of few NGOs organised relief work in three areas namely, Hulu Langat, Sri Muda Shah Alam and Kapar.
HSS has organised temporary shelters, is providing cooked food, helping in cleaning the houses and temples, providing clothes and other basic necessities and arranging medical camps.
HSS is also coordinating with some well-wishers and NGOs to procure and distribute basic household necessities such as towel, blanket, mattress, mat, pillow, stove, rice cooker, blender, electric kettle, medicines, and groceries to the flood affected families.
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12. SEWA VOLUNTEERS HELP TORNADO VICTIMS: On December 10, 2021, a violent tornado moved across Western Kentucky, USA, producing severe to catastrophic damage in numerous towns, including Mayfield, Benton, Dawson Springs, and Bremen. Volunteers of Sewa International and Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS USA travelled to the epicenter of the damage in Mayfield and visited AME church, Scientology Ministries and Mayfield Fairgrounds.
As per the request of the church, they donated diapers and extension cords to Scientology ministries and chain saws, extension cords, tarps, diapers, cleaning supplies, brooms, plastic cutlery, soap, toiletries, sanitizer, canned food, cookies, cereal, other non perishable food etc to the AME church.
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13. BLOOD DONATION DRIVE BY HSS JAPAN: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Japan regularly organizes blood donation drive at various locations in Japan, twice a year. Last year due to COVID-19, demand of blood increased more than ever.
In November-December 2021, HSS Japan conducted drives to approach many individuals and requested them to donate blood. At some places, where blood donation centres are not nearby, a bus facility was also made available to the donors. The blood donation drives were conducted in Ojima (Tokyo), Funabori (Tokyo), NishiKasai (Tokyo), Kawasaki (Kawasaki), Kirigaoka (Yokohama), Saitama and Kobe. Around 150 people donated blood at each of these centres.
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14. HINDU COMMUNITY IN MADAGASCAR HELPS FIGHT DROUGHT: On December 22, The Hindu Samaj Association of Antananarivo donated 25 tonnes of rice and 10 tonnes of beans to fight drought in Madagascar.
In partnership with NGO Fraternidade sem Fronteiras, the Hindu Samaj has distributed those donations to 5000 families from 11 villages in the worst affected District of Ambovombe.
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15. NATIONAL MEETINGS OF VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS: AKHIL BHARATIYA ADHIVAKTA PARISHAD: National Council Meeting of Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP) commenced with Lightning of Lamps and rendition of National Song Vande Mataram on December 25 at Bhagyanagar.
The theme of the two day meet on December 26 and 27 was “De-Colonisation of Indian Legal Systems”. On December 26, Supreme Court Justice S Abdul Nazeer said that the way to free administration of justice in Bharat from the colonial psyche is to teach law students about ancient yet advanced Bharatiya legal jurisprudence. He said the legal norms developed by great personalities like Manu, Kautilya, Brihaspati and others were worth studying and emulation. During the meet, Shri K. Srinivas Murthy was declared as the President of ABAP and Shri D. Bharat Kumar was declared as the General Secretary.
VISHWA HINDU PARISHAD: The meeting of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Board of Trustees and Governing Council was held in Junagadh, Gujarat from December 24-26. Around 350 officials and saints attended the meet.
Two resolutions regarding constitutional provisions to stop the benefits being given to the tribals who convert to other religions and freeing of Hindu temples from government control were passed during the meeting.
SANSKAR BHARATI: The Akhil Bharatiya General Assembly of Sanskar Bharati was held in Karnavati, Gujarat on December 4-5. More than 225 members and workers of Sanskar Bharati from across the country attended the meet. Noted painter Vasudev Kamat was unanimously elected as the National President of Sanskar Bharati. Educationist and culturalist Dr Hemlata S. Mohan, renowned violinist Shri Mysore Manjunath and actor Shri Nitish Bhardwaj were nominated as Vice Presidents.
Renowned surbahar player Shri Ashwin Dalvi will discharge his responsibility as General Secretary. Last year’s report presented in the meet highlighted that Sanskar Bharati through its ‘Peer Parai Jaane Re’ programme gave financial assistance to folk artists who were affected by lack of work during COVID-19. To commiserate with the plight of 771 artists, Sanskar Bharati disbursed financial grants to them. Along with this, more than five thousand artists have been assisted across the country as per their need.
AKHIL BHARATIYA VIDYARTHI PARISHAD: The 67th National Conference of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad was held in Jabalpur from December 24-26. 655 delegates were present at the event and more than 70,000 students participated virtually.
Three resolutions were passed in the meet regarding improving the standard of education, increasing sports activities in schools and celebration of birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda as “Tribal Pride Day”.
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16. UK HINDUS TO GET FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT CREMATORIUM: The proposal to create the first purpose-built crematorium for Hindus in the UK has been approved, fulfilling the community’s long-standing wish to be able to bid a dignified farewell to the departed with traditional rites.
On December 16, the Planning Inspectorate gave planning permission to Anoopam Mission UK for the crematorium on the 15-acre campus of Shree Swaminarayan Spiritual Cultural and Community Centre site near Denham in the southeast of England. The crematorium will have a large ceremony hall, two private ritual rooms, shower facilities, a crematory hall, and a separate canteen building. The facility will accommodate up to 500 attendees and will have a dedicated parking space.
Over 2,000 signatures of support were received for the proposals, with Lord Jitesh Gadhia and Bob Blackman MP speaking in favour of the application during the appeal process.
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17. ‘DURGA PUJA IN KOLKATA’ ON THE REPRESENTATIVE LIST OF INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY: In an important announcement, the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has inscribed ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its 16th session being held at Paris, France from December 13 to 18.
In its statement, UNESCO said that Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers.  With the inscription of Durga Puja in Kolkata, Bharat now have 14 intangible cultural heritage elements on the prestigious UNESCO Representative List of ICH of Humanity. In recent years, the ICH elements that saw inscriptions are Kumbh Mela (2017) and Yoga (2016).
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18. FARMING RETURNS TO LOC AFTER 20 YEARS: Farming along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Hira Nagar sector in Jammu & Kashmir was discontinued 20 years back because of heavy firing from the Pakistani side.
Over 200 acres of the farmland was lying vacant ever since. On December 20, the Border Security Force (BSF) escorted the farmers so that they could plough the land and sow the seeds. Along with other efforts, this will help restore confidence of the people of J&K and bring normalcy to the erstwhile state.
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19. DRDO CONDUCTS MAIDEN LAUNCH OF NEW GENERATION SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILE: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the maiden flight test of indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile ‘Pralay’, from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha on December 22. The mission has met all its objectives. The new missile followed the desired quasi ballistic trajectory and reached the designated target with high degree accuracy, validating the control, guidance and mission algorithms.
All the sensors deployed near the impact point across the eastern coast, including the down range ships, tracked the missile trajectory and captured all the events. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO for the fast-track development and successful launch of modern surface-to-surface missile.
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20. BHARAT TOPS MEDAL TALLY AT JUNIOR SCIENCE OLYMPIAD: Six Bharatiya students have pushed team Bharat to the top of the medals table at the 18th International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) 2021, held in Dubai, UAE, from December 13 to 20. 
All the six students participating in the contest from Bharat bagged gold medals. This is the third occasion, after 2014 and 2019, that Bharat has achieved a full cache of gold medals in IJSO. 
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21. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Visitors: Dr. Yashwant Pathak - USA, Anggraini Utari, Krishna Hari - Sanskrit students from Indonesia. -GoTop


FOOD FOR THOUGHT: In life and in death, in happiness and in misery, the Lord is equally present. The whole world is full of the Lord. Open your eyes and see Him.
- Swami Vivekananda. -GoTop

JAI SHRI RAM
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TIME TO DEVELOP A MODEL FOR MANAGEMENT OF HINDU TEMPLES

It is time we developed a model for management of Hindu temples wherein the greater responsibility is vested in the Hindu citizens and institutions.

Kashi is an ancient city, “older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend” as American writer Mark Twain described it. Sage Vyasa had compiled the Vedas sitting on the banks of river Ganga in this holy city. The Pandava brothers had visited this city founded by Lord Shiva. Skand Purana gives elaborate description of this holy city. From Buddha, to Shankara to Guru Nanak - every spiritual leader had his footprints etched on its sacred soil.
The Vishwanath temple is utmost sacred, a “Jyotirlinga” Lord Shiva in the form of a radiant light - considered by millions as a “crossing place” - Tirtha - “between this world and the ‘far shore’ of the transcendent Brahman” as eminent American scholar Diana Eck puts it.
The temple had witnessed destruction repeatedly during the iconoclastic invasions of Muhammad Ghori, Sikandar Lodhi and finally Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb’s destruction also saw a mosque rising over the ruins of the ancient temple.
Like a sphinx, the temple had bounced back to life after every demolition. Raja Man Singh and Raja Todar Mal, the two generals in Akbar’s court, were credited with rebuilding the temple towards the end of the 15th century. After Aurangzeb’s destruction, Maharaja Malhar Rao Holkar, the ruler of Indore and Maharaja of Jaipur had attempted to restore it unsuccessfully in the middle of the 18th century. Finally, Malhar Rao’s daughter-in-law and the famed ruler of Indore, Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar had succeeded in rebuilding the temple next to the mosque in 1780.
Since then, this magnificent temple has been serving the seekers uninterruptedly.
People of all faiths, from world over, come to Kashi seeking spiritual bliss. Famed poet Ghalib was there proclaiming that Kashi was “the Kaaba of Hindustan”.
“Ibadat khana e naqoosian ast - hama na kaaba e Hindustan ast”
(This is a place of worship where people make music from conch shells; This truly is the Kaaba of Hindustan), he said.
Allama Iqbal had found in Ganga the pride of our civilisational caravan.
“Ai aab rooy e Ganga, woh din hain yaad tujhko, utra tere kinare jub karavaan hamara?”
(O Ganga, our very pride is bound with you; Do you remember our caravan, which rested on your banks forever?), he wrote.
Who can forget the soothing tunes of Ustad Bismillah Khan’s mesmerising shehnai in the temple precincts!
Medieval Islamic iconoclasm had subjected many temples to vandalism. Most sacred among them were in Kashi, Mathura and Ayodhya. Ayodhya temple was handed back through a judicial process recently, where a magnificent temple is coming up. Demands for restoration of the remaining two also come up consistently from Hindus. Like the Holocaust-deniers in the West, there are iconoclasm-deniers in India too. Historian K N Panikkar had come up with the whitewashed narrative that Aurangzeb’s destruction of Vishwanath temple had “political motives”, while B N Pande peddled the bizarre theory that Aurangzeb had done it out of rage because the temple priests had
kidnapped and dishonored a Hindu princess of his entourage in the basement “beneath Lord Jagannath’s seat”. Proof? Certain manuscript in the possession of an unknown Mullah of Lucknow. Neither the manuscript nor the Mullah ever surfaced. In fact, history shows that Aurangzeb had never traveled to the East and never visited Varanasi. Moreover, the entry in Masir-i-Alamgiri, the court chronicle of Aurangzeb, on September 2, 1669 categorically states: “News came to court that in accordance with the emperor’s command his officers had demolished the temple of Vishwanath in Benaras”.
In response to these negationist narratives of the ‘eminent historians’, some insist that the historical wrongs must be avenged in the same way. In 1740s, Raja Malhar Rao had attempted to remove the mosque and build the temple exactly on that location. But the intervention of Nawab of Avadh had prevented it. Should that 18th century path be applied in the 21st century? In the case of Ayodhya, none had supported the demolition in 1992, although it paved the way for a resolution three decades later. Babri was a non-functioning mosque structure under which a functioning temple had existed. Also, after the Babri demolition, a Places of Worship Act came into existence, which prohibits raising of any other such disputes.
In such a scenario, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s path of restoring existing temples - from Dwarika to Char Dham to Kashi - to their pristine glory, while waiting for an amicable moment to resolve other issues, could be a reasonable approach.
Gandhi was in Varanasi in February 1916 for the foundation laying ceremony of the Benaras Hindu University. Anguished at what he witnessed during a visit to the Vishwanath temple, he poured out his heart saying: “Is not this great temple a reflection of our own character? I speak feelingly, as a Hindu. Is it right that the lanes of our sacred temple should be as dirty as they are? If even our temples are not models of roominess and cleanliness, what can our self-government be?”.
Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar had not been able to replace the mosque but built a glorious temple in the vicinity. What we had done to that temple in just a century’s time calls for urgent introspection. It needed the resolve of Prime Minister Modi to bring back its order and glory after 240 years. Gandhi had suggested that the temples must be transformed into “abodes of holiness, cleanliness and peace” immediately after independence. What happened to many temples was just the opposite.
Hindu temples are the abodes of spiritual solace for the entire humanity. Managing them in a pristine and tranquil manner requires an important reform. The British had introduced endowment laws taking over the control of the temples and their assets. Those laws continued after independence with governments having total control over Hindu religious establishments. Besides being grossly discriminatory, these laws also go against the secular credentials of the Indian state.
It is time we developed a model for management of Hindu temples wherein the greater responsibility is vested in the Hindu citizens and institutions. (https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion-columns/story/develop-model-management-hindu-temples-1891795-2021-12-24)
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