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Letter to Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh
Subject:
The A.P. "Dharmika Parishad " composed under the new Endowment Act will continue
to deprive autonomy to Hindu religious institutions and strengthen illegal Govt.
control of temples:
Hon'ble Chief Minister Rajasekhara Reddy,
The recent law approved by the AP Legislature
i.e., The "Andhra Pradesh Dharmika Parishad" (APDP) Act 33 of 2007, has deeply
disappointed the entire Hindu community as it simply assures the continuation of
the illegal Govt. control of temples and their endowments under a restructured
arrangement. It completely fails to restore the “hands off” policy of
the government vis-a-vis Hindu religious infrastructure. The central purpose of
the state control of temples is the suppression of Hindus freedom of religion
and the new law does precious little to alter that situation. Consequently the
Hindus of your state continue to be treated as during the Mogul and East India
Company eras.
Restructuring of the system of control is purely
a deception aimed at creating a false and baseless impression as if the AP
authorities had acceded to the demand by the Hindu community for freeing the
temples and their estates from the tentacles of Govt. However, under the
provisions of the new law the entire membership of the governing body will be of
present or retired Govt. officials. The Minister of the endowments, without
regard to his religion, will be the Chairman and the Endowments Commissioner
will be the member Secretary while other members will also be nominated or
appointed by the government.
Under the new control system the Hindu community i.e., the
real owners of temples, has no representation whatsoever. This monopoly of power
in a Govt. composed Parishad defies all examples of democratic character and
expresses out right contempt for democracy, secularism, rule of law, equal
treatment for all religions and respect for the traditional freedom of religion
in India. It also underscores the blatant trickery of the establishment in
showing its utter disrespect, if not contempt, towards the Hindu community by
continuing the subjugation and exploitation of its religious infrastructure.
Only dharma Acharyas and
saints have the religious and spiritual background and authority to guide
religious shrines. Here are some basic questions the state govt. must ponder
upon in the public interest: What authority, background and special
training the government operative’s posses for controlling every aspect of the
cultural centers when the concept of secularism - neutrality towards religions -
is enshrined in the Indian constitution? Why to rob autonomy of Hindu Boards to
govern temples under the guidance of religious leaders, just as it is
permissible in the case of other religions? The Waqf Board of Muslims and the
management of Christian religious institutions have vast funds, properties and
endowments, in addition to the immense flow of foreign funds - yet their
independence and autonomy is left intact! Why deny this freedom to Hindus who
are India’s majority community?
1) Govt. meddling in shrines
is unacceptable to all religious communities:
Hon'ble Chief Minister, may we bring to your kind attention the resentment in
Kashmir on repairs of mosques by the Indian Army, under a "sadbhavana"
(goodwill) project. The army had to abandon a goodwill drive to repair old
mosques in Jammu and Kashmir, days after the state's top cleric’s threatened
mass action if it did not stop the controversial program.
Similarly, when the GOI repaired the
holy Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, after the so- called Blue Star operation in
1984, the renovations were undone by religious Sikhs and they made repairs on
their own, with their own labor and resources.
These two instances should suffice
to indicate that Govt. meddling is deeply resented, counter productive and could
result in such counter reactionary violence that we see in Kashmir, and that
resulted in PM Indira Gandhi's assassination. Furthermore, such initiatives
clearly amount to official patronage and control of religion which is not
permissible under the provisions of India’s secular constitution.
2) AP Govt. is oblivious of
their duty and subverting the Constitution:
The state authorities seem oblivious that under the provisions of the Indian
constitution, controlling, discriminating, managing, reforming or patronizing
religions is completely and fully out side the parameters of government
jurisdiction.
It is baffling to note how
the AP legislature adopted unconstitutional laws on temples :
The Govt. is charged with the responsibility of upholding the law but in the
present case the state has seriously violated the constitution by:
a) denying Hindus their
fundamental 'Religious Rights’ guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Indian Constitution
(which guarantee public the right to establish and maintain religious
institutions; allows temples to own and acquire movable and immovable
properties; and to administer such properties in accordance with law); and b)
gross misuse and abuse of state powers under Concurrent List (Article 246 (2) ,
Seventh Schedule) on religious institutions by unwarranted acquisition of
temples and squarely discriminating against Hindu religious institutions;
The Indian Parliament adopted
a law in 1991 specifically
requiring that –“the status of religious places, as on August 15, 1947 shall be
retained". This pre-emptive measure was taken by the national legislature
anticipating possible dishonorable designs of trouble makers and anti- national
elements in various administrations. A faithful implementation of these laws
will require removal of unconstitutional govt. control upon Hindu temples and
their estates and the restoration of the community based management.
3) One wonders if the CM's
personal faith influences him to ignore his oath to uphold the secular
Constitution. This negative behavior has transformed AP into
the leading state in the country to target Hindu infrastructure for demolition.
On the basis of the clear cut verdict by the Karnataka HC, the AP Govt. has no
alternative except to hand over temples and endowments to an autonomous Hindu
board. Such practice is already in vogue and permissible in the case of other
religions. The Waqf Board of Muslims and the management of Christian churches
and religious institutions have vast funds, properties and endowments, in
addition to the immense flow of foreign funds - yet their independence and
autonomy remain intact!
AP Patronizes Churches:
Democratic and secular governments do not patronize or penalize religions: By allocating the taxpayers funds to patronize a
particular religion and its places of worship, the AP Govt. is committing
flagrant violation of the secular constitution of India and utterly disregarding
the policy of separation of state and religion. Whether AP ministerial team
realizes it or not, this is exactly what is happening in Andhra Pradesh. The
govt. has issued a specific GO Ms No. 21, stating that Rs. 80,000 will be
provided to each church for repairs and renovation purposes, and Rs.1.50 lakh as
grant-in-aid per church for constructing new churches. Thus a pivotal
requirement of a secular Govt. system that the churches (religion) will
constitute no part of official domain has been blown into thin air.
Shocking Reverse
Discrimination: How corrupt, dishonest and disgraceful it is
that on the one hand the Indian Govt. subsidizes the "Hajj" pilgrimage of the
Muslims to the tune of Rs. 400 crores annually, provides Rs. 1,000 crores per
year for Imams salaries, churches are supported on taxpayers expense in AP,
reservations are offered on the basis of minority status, but on the other hand
the AP authorities are crusading to stealthily destroy the self- supporting
foundations and structures of Hindu places of worship through state control.
Such extra legal actions constitute a reverse discrimination against the
religion of India’s majority community which must be done away with.
4) The World Famous Tirupathi
Tirumala Temple is under thorough siege by the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.
The
criminal destruction of centuries old historic Mandapam at TTD with official
participation and proposal to build a ropeway at TTD for turning the sacred
shrine into a tourist attraction thus commercializing and desecrating the deeply
revered shrine and vitiating its religious sanctity are highly provocative,
unsettling and expeditious measures amongst many others that are being taken
without any public debate or the approval of the Hindu community, who are the
real owners and that has been universally condemned by all Hindu ranks and
generated enormous resentment
The huge resources of TTD are
utilized for many non-Hindu purposes, without any constitutional authority. The
Temple receives an annual income of Rs. 31,00,00,00,000 (Three Thousand one
hundred Crores) in the form of direct cash collected from Hundi collections and
other sources at TTD. (Attachment B)
In the Financial year 2005-06, the TTD collected 2400 Kilograms of
Gold 2,33,000 Kgs of Silver and 543 Kgs of other Precious Stones including
Diamonds, Rubies etc. from Devotees. How such enormously large amounts were
used for the benefit of the community has never been revealed? In the absence of
any factual explanation how can one trust the authorities?
5) Andhra Pradesh Govt’s
continuing blitzkrieg against Hinduism with massive sale of temple lands seems a
policy of looting temples for bringing down Hinduism.
The fact that even with huge
battalions of staff for oversight, the Govt. cannot protect the temple lands
simply proves either incompetence, indifference or both of the authorities in
performing their responsibilities. Such an irresponsible establishment cannot
and must not be trusted to handle these centuries’ old estates and temples
belonging to Hindu community.
There are infrequent reports in the
media that have come to our attention about the massive sale of temple lands
meant for sustenance in perpetuity by their donors (attachment C):
1) Sale of the remaining 50 % of
lands in East Godavari district on a war footing, after selling 50 % lands
earlier;
2) State Govt. has decided to sell
off such lands located in the urban areas. In the first phase 7000 acres of
lands located in other States will be sold. From this the Govt. is trying to
raise Rs.20, 000 crores. The officials claim that such sale proceeds will be
deposited by them in the accounts of the respective Mandirs and see that the
interest will be put at their disposal for their expenditure.
However, Govt. sources themselves are not ruling out the possibility
of diverting such liquid amounts to irrigation or some such projects.
3) Over 6,000 acres of urban lands
belonging to the “gods” are being put up for auction by the endowments
department. This decision was taken after the department realized that land
sharks had no fear of the gods and were grabbing even “divine” property. After
the endowments department expressed its inability to protect the lands, the
Govt. gave the green signal for the auction. This is the silliest argument you
have ever heard from a trustee Govt.
4) The endowments department has
proposed to the Govt. to entrust temple lands in urban areas to urban
development authorities -- Huda (Hyderabad Urban Development Authority), Vuda (Visakhapatnam
Urban Development Authority) and the like,” to develop them into plots and
auction them, an official said. .. The endowment department took this decision
in view of the increasing encroachment of its lands in urban areas and its
inability to stop it.
6) The same Govt.
has become a co-conspirator in the campaign of proselytization and in
transferring temple endowments lands to Christian institutions.
Here are a few examples of some famous temples that are, under the pressure of
draconian controls of the state, being choked to death.
a) out of 1289 acres of endowment lands of the famous Lord Ram's
Bhadrachalam temple, 884 acres of land surrounding the temple have been
allocated to Christian institutions for churches, schools, etc.;
b) In the case of Lord Narsimha's Simachalam temple atop a hill in the
coastal region, some 300 acres have been allocated for churches and convent
schools for Christians - who even exercise an illegal authority to stop devotees
from visiting the temple atop the hill;
c) Pathetic conditions of the ancient and historic temples at: i) Arasavalli
(temple of Lord Surya), ii) Srisailam (abode of Lord Mahadev ), iii)
Mangalgiri (Panakala Nrusimhaswamy temple); and iv) Ahobilam (9 shrines of
Lord Narasimha ) that are neglected by the Endowments department, and are under
aggressive assault and temple land occupation by Christian missionaries
(attachment D).
The illegally disposed off properties of these
shrines must be restored and they must also be compensated against the unlawful
actions by the state so their facilities and development are updated. The
alliance of the state Govt. and churchmen in their predatory role against
Hinduism and Hindus must end before it is too late.
7) Hindus are being driven
against the wall.
There is a silent but subtle underground movement underway to tamper with
Hinduism and its ancient culture - the basic integrating factor in the country,
by some individuals and organizations, which have arrogated to themselves the
right to decide what is good for Hindus. Hindu sensibilities and icons are
attacked freely in the name of 'reforms', 'progress' etc. Altering the age old
Hindu traditions through well recognized Govt. control, knows no bound, while
other religious communities are untouched, as if they need no reform.
In your state, under the cover of freedom of religion, democracy
and secularism, the Hindu religious faith is under intense attack as never
before.
8) Govt. control denies
temples of their vital Functions:
The temples are not just for rituals by purohits but also the centers of
community's socio-cultural and religious life, a place of learning with Acharya,
for community sewa, dharma prachar and for character building. The exposition of
the grandeur of Hinduism - its Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, the
Bhagwad Geeta - its glorious ancient culture, spirituality and values that the
community would like to project and propagate - would not only be denied by the
control of a secular state, but the deliberate and irreversible Govt. actions in
liquidating and diverting resources of endowments meant for sustenance in
perpetuity could stop these all together.
9) Hindu Advisory Councils
should be created: Such Councils could play a role in oversight and decision
making process of the endowments department and temple Trusts.
Additionally,
these Councils elected or nominated by the community, state and national
religious leaders could shoulder these responsibilities. They could also stop
desecration and decimation of the religious infrastructure under Govt. control,
pending denationalization, and till autonomous Boards are constituted for taking
over the charge.
Government
must realize that the temples and their endowments have been built over
centuries by our forefathers and it is the community which is the real owner and
which must have the final say in the management and utilization of temple
resources.
10) Any thing short of
transferring the complete control and jurisdiction of these religious entities
back to the Hindu community is totally unacceptable. The new law neither vacates
the illegally imposed Govt. control nor transfers the management to the real
owners i.e., the Hindu community; as such we reject and oppose the attempt by
the authorities to keep Hinduism and its institutions under Govt. domain.
11) Therefore, Hon'ble Chief Minister Reddy - we suggest that the
Govt. follow a politically feasible and legally viable path of honoring the
autonomy of Hindu temples
and
reconstitute the Dharmika Parishad and open it up for community Guidance,
Participation and governance:
The abundance of available evidence has proved beyond any doubt
that under non- transparent government control, without community oversight or
accountability, the Hindu temples have not only been terribly exploited and
abused but are also being driven to their ultimate extinction. The following
changes as interim steps are suggested during the transitional period toward a
completely autonomous Dharmika Parishad:
a) Chairman: must be a devout Hindu
with experience of and commitment to improve the Hindu Temple system and
represent the community. Such a person must be nominated/ elected by the
community. He/She could be the Co-chair with the Hon'ble Minister for endowments
till denationalization of temples is completed.
b) Other members: a Chartered
accountant, a legal luminary, two philanthropists, two agama Pandits , two
Mathadhipathis, a High Court judge and the senior retired officer of Govt. as
stipulated in the Bill (attachment A) must be appointed by Hindu community,
Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha and Dharma Sanasad, etc. to make the Parishad
legitimately representative of Hindus.
To provide immediate and much needed
relief to the Hindu community, may we also request you to right away co-opt
Advisory Hindu Councils, nominated or elected by the community and religious
leaders as discussed earlier, which may be feasible with an executive order.
Such councils could guide and oversee the management of the endowment
department, Dharmika Parishad, and temple Trusts, and assure transparency and
fulfill the vital religious functions according to the wishes of religious
organizations and the community till denationalization is realized. In view of
the urgency we hope you will act on these suggestions without further loss of
time.
Looking forward to your response.
Sincerely yours
Dr. Jagan Kaul
Krishan Bhatnagar
Hindu Jagran Forum (USA)
January 18, 2008
Attachment A:
"Constitution of Andhra Pradesh Dharmika Parishad"
The following Act
of the Andhra Pradhesh Legislature received the assent
of the Governor on
the 11th December, 2007 and the said assent is hereby
first published on
the 14th December, 2007 in
the ANDHRA PRADESH
GAZETTE for general information
ACT No. 33 OF 2007
AN ACT FURTHER TO AMEND THE ANDHRA PRADESH
CHARITABLE
AND HINDU RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AND ENDOWMENTS
ACT, 1987.
Excerpts:
38. For section 152 of the principal Act the
following section shall be substituted, namely:-
Constitution of Andhra Pradesh Dharmika Parishad
"152. (1) The Government shall, by notification in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette
constitute the 'Andhra Pradesh Dharmika Parishad' for the State consisting of
the following members, namely:
(i) Minister for Endowments who shall be the Chairman;
(ii) The Principal Secretary/Secretary to Government, Revenue Department in
charge of religious and Charitable Institutions and Endowments;
(iii) The Commissioner of Endowments who shall be member secretary;
iv) The Executive Officer, Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams.
(v) one representative each from the Chairmen of Boards of Trustees from section
6 (a)(i) and (ii), section 6 (b)(i) and (ii), section 6 (c)(i) and (ii) and two
Mathadhipathis published under section 6(d) of the Act.
(vi) Retired Senior officer of the Government who is a devout Hindu and has
experience of and commitment to improve the Hindu Temple system, to be nominated
by the Government
(vii) a retired senior officer of the endowments department
(viii) Retired judge of the High Court who is a devout Hindu and has commitment
to improve the Hindu Temple system.
(ix) a legal luminary/Advocate aged more than 62 years who is a devout Hindu and
has experience and has commitment to improve the Hindu temple system.
(x) two prominent philanthropists who have a track record of establishment,
maintenance and supporting various endowments, Charitable and Hindu religious
institutions to be nominated by the Government.
(xi) Two agama pandits to be nominated by the Government
(xii) One chartered accountant who is a devout Hindu and has a commitment to
improve the Hindu temple system, to be nominated by the Government
(2) The Parishad may for the purpose of consultation, invite any person having
experience and specialized knowledge in any subject under its consideration to
attend its meetings and every such person shall be entitled to such allowances
as may be prescribed.
(3) The powers, functions and term of office etc of the members of Andhra
Pradesh Dharmika Parishad shall be such, as may be prescribed.
(4) The Government may by order delegate its powers and functions to the Andhra
Pradesh Dharmika Parishad.
Attachment B
Andhra Pradesh Govt.'s continuing
blitzkrieg against Hinduism with misuse of temple funds seems a policy of
looting temples for bringing down Hinduism.
Injurious Governance: There prevail serious charges that 85% of
temple revenues are illegally transferred to the state exchequer for funding a
fat-filled ministry with 77,000 bureaucrats to supposedly manage 33,000 temples
while leaving many pujaris penniless and starving. Some time ago, the AP Govt.
engineered the entry of JRG Wealth Management Limited, an organization owned by
Christians, into the decision making and procurement process of "Prasadam"
materials for use in Tirupati temple. Furthermore, the criminal destruction of
centuries old historic Mandapam at TTD with official participation that has been
universally condemned by all Hindu ranks and it has generated enormous
resentment!
Shrine at TIRUPATHI
(AP)
The World Famous Tirupathi Tirumala Temple is
under complete control by the ruling government of Andhra Pradesh. The Temple
is receiving an annual income of Rs. 31,00,00,00,000 (Three Thousand one hundred
Crores) in the form of direct cash collected from...
a) Hundi Collections
b) Donations towards Annadanam
Scheme
c) Large amount of donations
collected from Devotees who have donated more than 5 Lakh of Rupees
d) Thula Bharam
e) Renting out 12,000 Cottages
to devotees on Daily basis
f) Sale of Prasadam (including
Ladoos)
g) Leasing of premises to
commercial establishments including shops & Hotels on the Hills
h) Profit from Export of
Tonsured hairs of Devotees
i) Profits from TTD
Publications
j) Income generated from sale
of Sewa Tickets
k) Television Rights
Apart from this The TTD is also generating
income in the form of collecting & Pledging the same for Government schemes
In the Financial year 2005-06, The TTD
collected 2400 Kilograms of Gold 2,33,000 Kgs of Silver and 543 Kgs of Other
Precious Stones including Diamonds, Rubies etc. were collected from Devotees.
Unwarranted & illegal Actions :
Against the spirit of the law, strong opposition and wishes of the Hindu
community the AP government wants to: a) take away Rs 500 crores from TTD (Tirupathi
Tirumala Devasthanam) supposedly for irrigation projects on top of the Rs.1,500
crores it already owes them; b) build a ropeway at TTD for turning the sacred
shrine into a tourist attraction thus commercializing and desecrating the deeply
revered shrine and vitiating its religious sanctity; These highly provocative,
unsettling and expeditious measures amongst many others are being taken without
any public debate or the approval of the Hindu community, who are the real
owners
Attachment C
Andhra Pradesh Govt.'s continuing
blitzkrieg against Hinduism with massive sale of temple lands seems a policy of
looting temples for bringing down Hinduism.
The fact that even with huge battalions of staff
for oversight, the Govt. could not protect the temple lands simply proves either
incompetence, indifference or both of the authorities in performing their
responsibilities. Such an irresponsible establishment cannot and must not be
trusted to handle these centuries’ old estates and temples belonging to Hindu
community.
Here are excerpts from some media reports:
Some instances of Sale of Temple Lands in AP
1)
Temple lands ready for sale
Deccan Chronicle; March 14, 2006
http://www.deccan.com/
Rajahmundry, March 14: The Endowments department will be going for an open
auction of its lands to the tune of 3,000 acre from April to June in East God-avari
district to safeguard temple lands and improve its sources of revenue.
Addressing a meeting of officials here on Tuesday, Endowments assistant
commissioner B. Venkatasw-amy said that they had auctioned 50 per cent temple
lands in the district, raising revenue to the tune of Rs 2 crore, based on the
Supreme Court's judgement with
regard to the Tenancy Act especially for the State.
He directed the temple officials to make efforts on a war footing to auction the
remaining 50 per cent lands in the next three months and said that they could
fulfil the ideals of donors by doing so. He asked the officials to give
exemption to farmers who had taken about 2.5 acre land on lease in delta areas
and those who had taken five acre of land on lease in upland areas as they were
landless poor. He directed them to carry out open auction of lands which did not
fall under these categories.
2) AUCTION OF MANDIR LANDS
EENADU, PAGE 1; 30/03/2006;
:
(Faithful translation from Telugu)
7000 ACRES
IN PHASE I. SALE TO FETCH Rs. 20,000 CRORES.
GREEN FLAG BY THE CHIEF MINISTER. PROCESS TO START IN APRIL:
HYDERABAD: NEWSTODAY
Even though numerous Mandirs in the State have no one to light Deepam, some have
plenty of landed properties. State Government has decided to sell off such lands
located in the urban areas. In the first phase7000 acres of lands located in
other States will be sold. From this the Government is trying to raise Rs.20,000
crores. Government says such sale proceeds will be deposited by them in the
accounts of the respective Mandirs and see that the interest will be put at
their disposal for their expenditure. However, Government sources themselves are
not ruling out the possibility of diverting such liquid amounts to irrigation or
some such projects.
Chief Minister YS has reviewed the proposal to sell the Mandir Lands on
Wednesday, in the presence of Endowments Minister J.C.Diwakar Reddy. J.C.Diwakar
Reddy told the newspersons that the CM has ordered to sell Mandir lands in 'open
auction'. It is now known that in Hyderabad city itself about 2000 acres of land
would be sold and in similar scale, lands of Simhachalam Devasthanam located in
Visakhapatnam District too would be sold. The lands listed for auction include
lands near Tirupathi and Vijayawada. It is simultaneously decided to regularize
the sale of Ghatkesar Trust lands of Hyderabad sold some time ago as per the
market rate. Several VIPs including Hero Nagarjuna feature in the people who
purchased the above lands. This Trust still has a land of 300 acres. Government
wants to auction these lands too. However, it is noteworthy to see that Revenue
Department claims this land is their property since they recognized it as
'surplus land'..................
3)
State puts divine property up for sale
Deccan Chronicle, April 8, 2006
Hyderabad, April 7: Over 6,000 acres of urban lands belonging to the “gods” are
being put up for auction by the endowments department. This decision was taken
after the department realised that land sharks had no fear of the gods and were
grabbing even “divine” property. After the endowments department expressed its
inability to protect the lands, the government gave the green signal for the
auction.
In Hyderabad district alone, temples under the endowment department own 4,559
acres of land. Similarly, Sri Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam in
Visakhapatnam has 400 acres in urban areas while Hathiram Matam at Tirumala has
about 100 acres. The department has already auctioned 9,201 acres of temple
lands in rural areas..............
4)
Let Huda sell our land: Endowments
Deccan
Chronicle, Sept 11, 2006
Hyderabad,
Sept. 10:
The
endowments department has proposed to the government to entrust temple lands in
urban areas to urban development authorities to develop them into plots and
auction them, an official said.
“We have land and they have expertise. We have requested the
government to permit handing over urban lands to expert institutions like Huda
(Hyderabad Urban Development Authority), Vuda (Visakhapatnam Urban Development
Authority) and the like,” endowments commissioner Dinesh Kumar told this
correspondent.
One official estimated that the department could earn over Rs 800
crores from the auctions. The endowment department took this decision in view of
the increasing encroachment of its lands in urban areas and its inability to
stop it. The department has previously sold some lands through public auction to
encouraging results, but the experiment was limited..........................
Attachment D
Pathetic Condition of some ancient Temples under endowments in AP
A)
SIMACHALAM (AP)
Situated 15 Kilometers from the Port city of Vishakapatnam, Simachalam is the
Ancient Temple of Narasimha Swamy. Very Recently the Temple has come under siege
by Christian Missionaries, who have illegally occupied over 300 Acres of temple
land with the help Christian land Mafias and local Congress Leaders. The
Devotees are restricted at the foothills by the Christians who abuse our God as
demons and physically try stopping Hindus by luring them by providing them basic
day to day needs. On many occasions the devotees have complained to the local
administration, who are watching all this helplessly. In a span of 20 Months,
four churches and 3 convent schools have come up in the vicinity at the
foothills and a small temple of Hanuman has also been demolished overnight.
B) BHADRACHALAM
(AP)
BHADRACHALAM is a famous temple dedicated to Lord Sri Ramachandra and situated
on the banks of the sacred river Godavari. Today this temple is also under the
siege of Christian Missionaries who have influenced the government to donate 884
Acres out of 1289 Acres of Temple land for their Activities. The Temple which
had a passage of 8 entrances has been left with a narrow passage for the
devotees to enter the temple.
C.
ARASAVALLI (AP)
AT ARASAVALLI, which is practically the same as Srikakulam, the headquarters of
the northernmost district of Andhra, there is a temple of Lord Surya.
Temples dedicated to the worship of Lord Surya are rare in our country.
Seventh Day Adventist Church has constructed a church right in front of both the
entrances. No. of Devotees visiting the ancient temple has come down by 85% in
just one year.
D. SRISAILAM
(AP)
SRISAILAM is situated in the thick and inaccessible forests of the Nallamalai
hills, in the northeastern portion of the Nandikotkur Taluk of Kurnool District.
It lies on a straight line west of Vijayawada, right as it were in the centre of
South India. It is 73 miles north of Nandyal Railway Station.
Puranas have described this abode of Mahadev as Prantha Jyothirlinga which is
situated all sides by mountains which legend says that our great Rishis and
Munnis did penance.
The Endowment department has sold over 1600 Acres of Temple Land surrounding the
temple to various Christian Organisations including Tribal Gospel
E.
MANGALAGIRI (AP)
MANGALAGIRI is situated on the Bezwada-Guntur road and is about 8 miles by road
from Vijayawada. On the top of the Mangalagiri hill there is a famous temple
called the Panakala Nrusimhaswamy temple, which has been attracting pilgrims for
a very long time, and from all parts of the country. The nearest railway station
is Mangalagiri on the Guntur Vijayawada line but to visit the temple, the better
course would be to get down either at Vijayawada or at Guntur and take bus
connections.
This anicent Temple which has the largest Gopuram approximately 14 Floors
constructed by King Yudhistra has been under the attack from Christian
Missionaries. Due to Poverty stricken over 35% of the population are forced to
convert to christianity and others are forced to leave in fear. Hindus are
forced to visit the temple between 10 A.M - 1.P.M because of fear of attack
from Christians who are residing in large number at the foothills.
F.
AHOBILAM (AP)
Ahobilam is located in Karnool district of Andhra Pradesh in the hills of the
eastern ghats, about 400 KM northwest of Chennai. The temple consists of nine
shrines to Lord Narasimha located around a 35 KM circle in dense forest
surrounded by wild Animals.
Not many know, Ahobilam is the same place where Lord Narasimha had taken
Incarnation and had killed the Demon Hiranayakashayapu. Lot of evidence is
available even today - e.g. : a) Place where Lord Narasimha Appeared, b) Cave
School of Prahalad, c) Vascul (door entrance) on which lord killed the Demon;
d) Palace Remains of Demon Hirayanayakashayapu.
Unfortunately, no Government of Andhra Pradesh took any interest to develop or
provide facilities to the oldest temple on this Earth. Poojas and aratis is
conducted in only 3 temples daily and annually once for the remaining 9 temples
which are in thick forest.
The Negligence on the part of the government is helping Christian Missionaries
to illegally occupy Temple land and are slowly taken up the task to destroy the
ancient remains of Hindus temples.
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