Free all the temples from any government control.

Image for representation. I do not own the copyright of the image.

I repeat, “Free all the temples from any government control. Let it be small temples on the side of a road unattended and that gets no donations to the huge temples which gets millions of donations like that of a Jaggannath temple. Either way, we do not want our temples to be controlled by our government but by us”.

“Freedom of religion” is a basic human right. Freedom of religion means that a person is free to “profess, practice and propagate” his/her own religion. The people profess, practice and propagate their religion either through their own initiative individually or collectively through going to religious temple and sites. Religious temples and sites are made so that a particular person can practice his/her faith with utmost liberty and under no coercion from the state.

The state cannot ask you to follow a particular religion because the state itself doesn’t have a particular religion because the state is secular in nature. Therefore, the issue of religion is matter of private rights which is enforced by the constitution because it guarantees the freedom of religion.

We should not let the state or the governments enter into the premises of our temples because secularism means the separation of state and religious institution. If the state should be immune from the interference of the religious institution, the reverse also holds true that the religious institution should also be immune from unnecessary state interference.

If today we let the government take control of our temples then it shall collect the donations and based on socialism it shall use the donations to strengthen the religion that labels us as “descendents of Satan” and “idol worshipper”. Letting state control your temples is letting your religion, values and culture deteriorate. Today they shall ask the non-hindus to enter into the premise of the temple, tomorrow the court shall give a decision that since every person irrespective of their faith goes to the temple, therefore there should also be statue with the symbol of cross and holy book. This will not build social bond but weaken the social bond because it will ignite the fire of religious tensions.

Hindus go to the temples and Christian to the churches and Muslims to the Mosque because it is where they can practice their own faith without having to appease or compromise their faith with any persons. The court asking interference in the religious life and institution is the government’s way into fascism because they will first take your faith away from you and then will ask you to replace the faith with their political agenda.  So, we should not let state interfere in our private matters. The state has no right to dictate how we should conduct our religious institutions if we have not infringed the rights of any other person’s right.

By not letting other faiths enter into our temples premises, how is it infringing their rights? Why would other faiths want to enter into the religious institution of any other faiths? Religious institutions are not public parks where everybody can go and sit on the bench. Religious institution is an extended version of your home. You go there with a hope to connect with the supreme power. You do not go there for entertainment and time pass. It is a personal matter. The state has no right to interfere on your personal matter when you have not infringed the rights of others.

Secondly, the temple committee should be made an autonomous corporate body. The only duty a government can employ is tight scrutiny of the accounts so as to mitigate leakages and corruption. The funds of the temples should be used to propagate the name and service of the temple by organizing social activities and in return benefitting the society.

Therefore I repeat, “Free all the temples from any government control. Let it be small temples on the side of a road unattended and that gets no donations to the huge temples which gets millions of donations like that of a Jaggannath temple. Either way, we do not want our temples to be controlled by our government but by us”.