Free Our Temples - J Sai Deepak -

In this talk, the speaker tells us about the age-old tradition of temple administration by local Hindu communities. In doing so, he shatters the myth that the temple is a Brahmanical institution. The speaker informs us that the temple is not just a religious centre, but also a social and economic organization that takes care of the livelihood of local communities. Therefore, the temple is central to the functioning of Hindu society and it is due to its multi-faceted nature that the temple has been the target of Islamic invaders and Christian missionaries. The speaker then explains the concept of temple legislation and how it has been misused to justify government takeover and subsequent abuse of thousands of temples in the state of Tamil Nadu. Surprisingly, only the temples of the Hindu community are controlled by the ‘secular’ government of India.
The speaker reveals how state officials, who are charged with the task of ‘protecting’ temples, work in concert with police officials and thieves and idol smugglers. On the whole, the speaker builds the case that there is an urgent need for a massive overhaul of the structure of temple administration by the government.

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