By Stephen Knapp

[With the government take over of thousands of Hindu temples all over India now we know what happens to all the money collected by the temples. Forget Mahmoud Ghaznavi and other foreign invaders, now new looters have been invading temple riches. A charge has been made not by any Temple authority, but by a foreign writer, Stephen Knapp, in a book (Crimes Against India and the Need to Protect Ancient Vedic Tradition), published in the United States that makes shocking reading.]

Religious and Charitable Endowment Act of 1951 allows State governments and politicians to take over thousands of Hindu Temples and maintain complete control over them and their properties. It is claimed that they can sell the temple assets and properties and use the money in any way they choose.

Hundreds of temples in centuries past have been built in India by devout rulers and the donations given to them by devotees have been used for the benefit of the (other) people. If, presently, money collected has ever been misused (and that word needs to be defined), it is for the devotees to protest and not for any government to interfere. This loot is going on currently under an intrusive law.

It would seem, for instance, that under a Temple Empowerment Act, about 43,000 temples in Andhra Pradesh have come under government control and only 18 per cent of the revenues of these temples have been returned for temple purposes, the remaining 82 per cent being used for purposes unstated.

Apparently even the world famous Tirumala Tirupati Temple has not been spared. The temple collects over Rs 3,100 crores every year and the State Government has not denied the charge that as much as 85 per cent of this is transferred to the State Exchequer, much of which goes to causes that are not connected with the Hindu community.

Was it for that reason that devotees make their offering to the temples?

Another charge is that the Andhra Government has also allowed the demolition of at least ten temples for the construction of a golf course. Imagine the outcry, if ten mosques had been demolished.
[Andhra Pradesh is ruled by Congress - till under a Christian Chief Minister YS Rajsekhar Reddy).

It would seem that in Karanataka, Rs. 79 crores were collected from about two lakh temples and from that, temples received Rs seven crores for their maintenance, Muslim madrassas and Haj subsidy were given Rs 59 crore and churches about Rs 13 crore. Very generous of the government!

Because of all this 25 per cent of the two lakh temples or about 50,000 temples in Karnataka will be closed down for lack of resources. The only way the government can continue to do this is because people have not stood up enough to stop it.

Talking about Kerala, funds from the Guruvayur Temple are diverted to other government projects denying improvement to 45 Hindu temples. Land belonging to the Ayyappa Temple, apparently has been grabbed and Church encroaches are occupying huge areas of forest land, running into thousands of acres, near Sabarimala.

The previous Communist state government of Kerala wanted to pass an Ordinance to disband the Travancore & Cochin Autonomous Devaswom Boards (TCDBs) and take over the limited independent authority of 1,800 Hindu temples. This kind of move is afloat in Maharashtra where the government is eager to take over some 450,000 temples in the state which would supply a huge amount of revenue to correct the state's bankrupt conditions.

And, to top it all, in Orissa, the state government intends to sell over 70,000 acres of endowment lands from the Jagannath Temple, the proceeds of which would solve a huge financial crunch brought about by its own mismanagement of temple assets.

Why such occurrences happen so often but rarely known because the Indian media, especially the English television and press, are often anti-Hindu in their approach, and, thus, not inclined to give much coverage, and certainly no sympathy, for anything that may affect the Hindu community. Therefore, such government action that plays against the Hindu community goes on without much or any attention attracted toward them.

If my allegations and facts are incorrect, it is up to the government to say so. It is quite possible that some individuals might have set up temples to deal with lucrative earnings. But, that, surely, is none of the governments' business? Instead of taking over all earnings, the government surely can appoint local committees to look into temple affairs so that the amount discovered is fairly used for the public good?

Nowhere in the free, democratic world are the religious institutions managed, maligned and controlled by the governments, thus denying the religious freedom of the people of the country.

But it is happening in India.

Government officials have taken control of Hindu temples because they smell money in them, they recognize the indifference of Hindus, they are aware of the unlimited patience and tolerance of Hindus, they also know that it is not in the blood of Hindus to go to the streets to demonstrate, destroy property, threaten, loot, harm and/or kill.

Hundreds of millions of Hindus are sitting and watching the demise of their culture. They need to express their views loud and clear. However, this is also a fact that if they should do that they would be damned as communalists. But, it is time some one asked the Government of India and the State governments to lay down all the facts on the table so that the public would know what is happening behind its back.

This policy and behavior of the governments is not secularism. Temples are not for looting, under any name. Mahmoud of Ghazni has long been dead, and there is no reason to resurrect him now.