Pro-Hindu organisations have mooted a “Sanatan Hindu Board”, which will be set up to bring all Hindu temples in Karnataka under one umbrella, with the board managed by the Shankaracharyas and Hindu religious leaders.
The Karnataka Temples and Endowment Institutions Association, which co-hosted a two-day state-level temples convention in Bengaluru last weekend, passed the resolution to set up the Board and has sought support from the state government.
The convention, co-hosted by Karnataka Mandir Mahasangh and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and attended by 800 temple trustees, flagged issues affecting the temple administration and the practise and propagation of Hinduism.
“We have handed over the social, justice, family, and education systems to the government one by one. It is a humiliating situation for society to be subordinate to the government in matters of religion. Only if the temples are taken back from the government control, can the temple culture and traditions be protected,” opined Sri Sri Abhinava Shankara Bharathi Mahaswamiji of Kudali Sringeri Mahasamsthan.
“The temple can do the work of cultivating culture. Awareness should be created in temples and monasteries through chanting vedas, mass worship, and performing yajna homa). World peace is possible only when religion upholds the value of humanity,” said Sri Siddhalinga Swamiji of Skandeshwara Swamy Temple.
Sunil Ghanwat, national organiser of Mandir Mahasangh, said, “In India, the British started bringing the temples under government control in 1927, and even after India became independent, the temples could not be independent. We must fight unitedly to free the temples from government control.”
P. Ramananda Gowda, dharmaprasarakar at Sanatan Sanstha, said, “In ancient India, temples were the hub to preserve art, culture, religion, and healthcare systems. In 1835, the English Education Act was implemented, and the Gurukul education was stopped. So, the last four generations have been deprived of religious education. This has resulted in problems like conversion and assault on Hindu beliefs, attacks on Hindu gods, and Hindu pride. We need to revive religious education at our temples.”
“Temples should become centres imparting religious education and charity. The temples should form ‘Taruna Sangha’ (youth clubs) and involve them in social work and also teach them ‘Karma Yoga’, ‘Jnan Yoga’, and ‘Bhakti Yoga’, said Hindutva leader Chakravarthy Sulibele.
Convention sees more resolutions and some hardline demands
The convention passed resolutions seeking budgetary allocation from the government for the rejuvenation of neglected temples of historical and archaeological importance and demanded that the common pool of funds collected from 35,000 temples under the purview of the state endowment department should be utilised only for the betterment of Hindu religious purposes.
The convention attended by religious scholars, organisations and leaders sought that the endowment department should make provision to teach Hindu culture and religious education on temple premises, besides carrying out a survey of the temple lands, clear encroachment by private individuals and non-Hindu organisations and establishing of fast-track courts to resolve these disputes.
The meeting drew attention to the need for stricter implementation of the law banning the sale of meat and liquor in the vicinity of Hindu temples and religious sites, demanding that only Hindu traders be allowed near the temples to do business during the fairs and festivals.
The private temples taken over by the Endowment department despite the Supreme Court direction should be handed over to the original trustees; the ancient temples inside the forest areas should be registered and allowed to perform daily pujas and rituals by making necessary amendments to the forest laws, were the other demands.
“Sanatan Panchanga 2025”, an Android app, and an e-book of the Sanatan scripture, Follow Ayurveda and be healthy without medicines, were released on the occasion.
