Thousands of devotees protest against demolition of temples

Thousands of devotees protest against demolition of temples

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Oct 18: The Hindu Janajagruthi Vedike (HJV) organized a protest march with the devotees of the Sharavu Mahaganapathi Temple, during which they demanded regularization of the illegal religious structures on public property, the demolition of which the Supreme Court had recently ordered. The huge protest march, which commenced at the Sharavu Mahaganapathi Temple, ended at the DC’s office, where a stage programme was organized. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laxmisha Gabbaladka, the district secretary of the HJV, delivered the keynote address in which he said that the Supreme Court order hurts the faith of people belonging to a major community. Pointing out that a number of bhajana mandiras and temples in DK are centuries old, he said that their demolition will hurt the religious sentiments of thousands of innocent Hindus.

Some of these ancient, historical structures are Iroli Somanatheshwara Temple, Bajlakeri Mukhyaprana Temple, and Maroli Sooryanarayana Temple, among others, he said. Since these are ancient temples with historical value, they should be legalized and regularized even if they fail to produce land documents.

Condemning the nationalization of temples, he accused DC V. Ponnuraj for attempting to demolish temples forcefully and expressed hope that the DC will undergo a change of mind for good.

I. V. Rao, the working president of the Somanatheshwara Temple Committee, expressed hopes that order will not be carried out because some of the temples in the list are over 400 centuries old.

Mohan Gowda, an active member of the vedike, claimed that 640 temples in the list have a history of over 1000 years, which means that they have been in existence even before the law was formed. Asserting that the attack on Hinduism is a well-planned plot, he urged the DC to regularize DK roads before attempting to demolish temples. He also condemned the red-tape in the DC’s office. Expressing his displeasure about the government’s leniency toward illegally constructed mosques and about the use of temple income for the development of madrassas, he warned that severe legal action will be taken if the vedike’s demands are not met.

Ramesh Nayak and Shashikanth, active members of the vedike; Muralidhar of Koragajja Seva Samithi; and devotees from bhajana mandirs and temples participated in this protest in spite of the heavy rain. Around 5,000 people participated in this protest rally.

A memorandum was later submitted to CM B. S. Yeddyurappa through DC V. Ponnuraj.