Atrocities on Hindu Temples in the State of Madhya Pradesh
We are familiar with various news of atrocities against the Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha etc. But silently, such atrocities are also taking place in the State of Madhya Pradesh. Following are some of such instances in Madhya Pradesh;
On Similar lines of Kashi, expansion and development works are going on in Sri Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain. As per the news, five old trees were cut (including a neem tree) and brought down creating outrage among the Hindu devotees. These trees were present within the temple premises for years and now have been brought down. Shops and houses of people were demolished. Ancient temples in the temple premises/near the temple were demolished/shifted for development purposes. Also, the ancient Rudra Hanuman temple was demolished in name of development where the Hanuman idol has been removed. Ancient Sati Mata temple was demolished in name of development. There have been protests by VHP and Bajrang dal along with Hindu devotees calling for Ujjain Bandh/Shutdown on 10th February along with submitting a Memorandum to the State Government.
Temple taken over by Government: Sri Kedareshwar Mahadev temple, Indore was taken over by Madhya Pradesh Government on 12th March 2021 where a committee was formed by Govt which included Ex-officio SDM President and Secretary, Ex-officio, Tehsildar, Naib Tehsildar, Ex-officio sub-divisional officer PWD, Revenue inspector and Government appointed priest. Except for priests, all members of Government appointed committee are Government officers. The reason for taking control of this temple is an allegation of financial fraud by private parties. If there is an allegation of financial fraud against private parties, there needs to be a process that includes the Government providing proof of financial fraud by private parties. After Providing Proof, Government can take control of the temple for a limited period only to set things in order/proper mechanism and then return the temple back to the Community. This is as per Supreme Court Chidambaram temple Judgement. The period of takeover and extant financial fraud by private parties in Sri Kedareshwar Mahadev temple is not known.
Mahadev temple in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh was taken over by Government as the private party was careless about managing the temple properties as 250 crores worth of temple lands were almost gone. But still Government as per Chidambaram Temple Judgement need to set up a mechanism for a limited period and ensure no private parties repeat the financial frauds in this temple. But still, a takeover of the temple is not known. The government as per law cannot take control of a temple for perpetuity even if there is proof of financial fraud by a private party
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