ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA, March 17, 2008: Recently, on January 25, ten thousand Hindus gathered at Tirupati to show their opposition to the governmental control of temples.
For years, Hindus had been watching how the government of Andhra Pradesh had been taking over management of their temples, and then selling thousands of acres of land that belonged to these temples, thus leaving them with little or no economic basis. This was being done without the permission of the local Hindu community. The endowments department, whose duty is the preservation of old temples, had turned a blind eye to these activities and encroachments. Furthermore, about 34,000 temples had been taken over for government control. Only 18 per cent of the revenue of these temples is said to be given back for temple purposes, while the remaining 82 per cent is used for other things by the government at their discretion.
Due to public demand, about 30,000 temples have been given back, but those that had the largest economic income were kept by the government. To make the government more aware of the Hindu community’s outrage and demand for change, a huge public forum was arranged on January 25 in Tirupati.
Several Hindu leaders addressed the thousands present. They all emphasized the need for Hindus everywhere to be strong enough to preserve and protect their tradition, starting with their temples.