INDIA, March 03, 2009 : India is a secular republic, and secularism commands separation of state and religion. Yet State governments have taken over all prominent Hindu temples and shrines. This is an anti-secular act–and it is clearly discriminatory and anti-Hindu, since no Christian church or Muslim mosque has been touched, only Hindu temples.
Article 25 of the Indian Constitution proclaims that all persons are equally entitled to the right to profess, practice and propagate religion; and Article 26 guarantees that every religious denomination “shall have the right (a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes; (b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion; (c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and (d) to administer such property in accordance with law.” The governmental takeovers of Hindu temples, therefore, are in clear violation of India’s Constitution. They constitute suppression of Hindus’ right of religious freedom guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.
All well-known Hindu temples–including those at Puri, Tirupati, Guruvayoor, Kashi, Mathura, Ayodhya, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Vaishno Devi, Mumbai (Shree Siddhi Vinayak Temple), Shirdi, Amarnath, Srisailam, Madurai and Rameshwaram–are now under governmental control. In the latest takeover, the ancient Shiva temple at Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu is being grabbed by the government.
The income from these state-run temples is no longer being used to benefit Hindus or Hinduism, but instead is taken by the government. State takeover has resulted in gross mismanagement and embezzlement of temple funds, closure of many smaller temples, encroachments, sale and alienation of thousands of acres of temple lands, and dismantling of temple infrastructure. Hindu temples are being governed by persons with no devotion and no knowledge about Hinduism, and even by non-Hindus. All of this is gradually undermining the Hindu religion.
Although Christian churches are the largest real-estate owner in the country, no church land has been controlled or alienated by the government. Indeed, thousands of acres of Hindu temple lands have been given or sold to Christian churches.
All over the country, serious allegations are being made regarding mismanagement and embezzlement of income and assets of the government controlled temples. (Many examples are provided; click “Source” above to read the whole article.)