AP High Court’s Verdict On Suryanarayana Swamy Temple Case Gives Hope For Hindus Fighting Against State Control Of Temples
Earlier this month, a significant verdict passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in favour of individual temple petitioners against the state government, didn’t garner much attention.
The case was filed in the Andhra Pradesh High Court on behalf of Budagavi village, in particular, the village’s temple trust for the Suryanarayana Swamy temple. The villagers suspected the political motives of a YSRCP leader in wanting to interfere in a historic temple’s management and affairs. The residents of Budagavi village held a special Gram panchayat meeting on February 18, 2022 and passed a resolution with the intent to continue the maintainance of the Suryanarayana Swamy Temple under the ‘Sree Suryanarayana Swamy Seva Samiti’ temple trust, with no interference from the A.P Endowments Department.
The village residents reiterated their right to maintain their small village temple under Article 26 of the Constitution of India. A copy of the Gram Panchayat resolution was also sent to the President of India, requesting the President’s office to allay the village’s fears of covert political interference and the forced takeover of the ancient temple by the Andhra Pradesh government. Prior to the arbitrary takeover, the temple was being maintained on a modest budget by volunteers with the help of private donations. The villagers had respectfully requested the President’s office to advise the Andhra Pradesh government to maintain the status quo regarding their request for temple maintenance.
The High Court granted relief to temple-petitioners of Budagavi village, by suspending the notice for a forced takeover of a historic temple by the Andhra Pradesh State Endowments Department, thereby allowing the villagers to continue the governance and maintenance of the temple’s religious and charitable activities on their own without interference from the government.
The Background And History Of Sri Suryanarayana Swamy Temple
The Sri Suryanarayana Swamy Temple of Budagavi village, Uravakonda Mandal in Andhra’s Anantapur district, is a historic temple from the 13th Century, said to have been constructed during the reign of the Chalukyas. It has been in continuous use for religious purposes by local devotees. It is the second temple dedicated to Lord Suryanarayana (the Sun) in Andhra Pradesh built a few centuries after the famous 7th century Arasavalli Sun temple near Srikakulam town in North coastal Andhra. The Budagavi Suryanarayana temple is reportedly the only sun temple in the world where the principal sun deity, Lord Suryanarayana, faces the South direction.
The temple’s modest budget and its management had never been questioned till recently, when a YSRCP leader made an arrogant, unilateral decision in asking the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Department to take over the temple. Despite the villager’s strong objections, the endowments department forcefully took control of the small temple’s affairs. This forcible takeover of a small temple run on an annual budget of less than ₹2 lakhs prompted the village to hold a plebiscite meeting and file a case against the government.
Although the temple had been declared an ancient monument and is under the maintenance of the Archaeology and Museums Department, the villagers had taken the initiave to actively contribute towards the maintainance of their historic temple. Back in 2010, the villagers who are proud of the temple’s illustrious history and antiquity, consulted with the Andhra Pradesh Department of Archaeology & Museums and received an NOC (No Objection Certificate) to undertake some much needed development and maintenance work with their own resources, taking special care of the temple’s needs, considering its age and history.
A temple trust ‘Sree Surya Narayana Seva Samiti’ was formed in 2011, to address the maintenance needs of the temple. An NRI, Mr. Kasibhatla Anantha Rama Sharma’s financial assistance along with contributions received from devotees and well wishers, was put to good use in maintaining the temple and conducting various forms of worship through out the year as well as charitable events such as “anna dhannam” (free food) on certain occasions for the benefit of all devotees and visitors.
Hope For Hindus
The court verdict brings hope to Hindus, who are asking for their ‘Article 26’ constitutional right to maintain small, local temples, conduct rituals of worship and engage in charitable activities within the provisions of Indian law. This recent High Court judgement also brings a much needed focus on ‘Article 26’ of the Indian Constitution.
Article 26 of the Constitution of India, states:
Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right—
(a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes;
(b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion;
(c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and
(d) to administer such property in accordance with law.
Article 26 (the freedom to manage religious affairs) speaks about the rights of Indian citizens to form and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes including the right to adminster and manage the religious/charitable entity’s own affairs, the right to acquire both immovable and movable property as well as the right to administer all acquired property for the said religious/charitable purpose, subject to the provisions of Law.
While churches and mosques have had a free reign over their affairs and are not subjected to government scrutiny and administrative or financial interference in the republic of India, the argument by many concerned Hindu citizens is that, several temples including smaller, local ones are often under arbitrary, indiscriminate government control, against the “secular” credentials of the nation.
Hindu religious institutions are often taken over without the required scrutiny and alleged to be mis-managed by state governments, while being at the mercy of political leaders with vested interests. What’s worse is that the financial contributions of Hindu devotees are often unscrupulously utilized for financing the state’s “secular” schemes. This amounts to blatant discrimination (some argue, state sponsored) against the Hindus and results in an unfair advantage for non-Hindus.
The recent A.P High Court’s stay against an arbitrary, ill informed government takeover of the temple, until further arguments based on factual information, can be made, is a welcome verdict for Budagavi village and all other temple petitioners in Andhra Pradesh! The villagers are now hopeful of maintaining the temple on their own, by a group of dedicated volunteers on a modest budget, providing a variety of religious and charitable services and worshipping at their temple on their own terms without unnecessary political interference in a matter of religious rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India.
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