'Temples' wealth be used for Hindus only; review, reformulate Population Policy'

Nagpur: Speaking at the annual Vijayadashmi address at Reshimbagh here, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday called for a review and reformulation of the National Population Policy by keeping the next 50 years in mind along with the availability of resources. Expressing concern over the state of affairs of some temples in the country, he said the operating rights of such entities must be handed over to Hindus and its wealth be utilised for the welfare of the Hindu community only.

He observed that temples of south India are fully controlled by the state governments, while in the rest of the country some are managed by the government, some others by devotees. "We find instances of a good and bad management," he said.

Few temples completely lack any system of governance. Instances of misappropriation of movable and immovable assets of temples have come to light, he added.

"The wealth of Hindu temples is used for non-Hindus - who have no faith in Hindu Gods. Even Hindus need it, but it is not used for them," Bhagwat said.

In his written speech shared by the RSS, Bhagwat said a non-discriminatory ease of access and opportunity for seeing, worshipping God's shrine, to all devotees irrespective of caste and creed is also not practised everywhere and this should be ensured.

It is apparent for all that many decisions regarding the religious code of conduct of the temples are "whimsically made" without any consultation with the scholars and spiritual teachers and within difference towards the sensitivities of the Hindu community, Bhagwat's written speech observed.

"The injustices such as the exclusive appropriation of Hindu religious sites for decades and centuries, handing over of the operations to the non-devotees/irreligious, unethical heretics despite the state being secular must be expunged," it said.

It is also necessary and only reasonable that the "operating rights of Hindu temples be handed over to the Hindu devotees and the wealth of the Hindu temples is utilised for the worship of the deities and the welfare of the Hindu community only", he said.

The written speech said it is also necessary to devise a scheme to once again make temples the epicentre of our social-cultural life while ensuring appropriate management and operation of the temples based on the strength of the Hindu society.

The RSS chief reiterated the demand for a population policy to correct the "growing demographic imbalance caused by differential population growth rates". He called for curbing the illegal infiltration from across the borders and preparing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to prevent the infiltrators from acquiring citizenship rights and purchasing lands in the country.

Bhagwat also said the share of population of people belonging to religions of "Bharatiya origin" which was earlier 88 per cent, has come down to 83.8 per cent, while that of the Muslim population which was 9.8 per cent in the past has increased to 14.23 per cent between 1951 to 2011.

"Ours is a nation of youths having about 56 to 57 per cent young population, who will become old 30 years later and many hands would be needed to feed them. How many hands would needed to feed them?...All these aspects need to be contemplated. Similarly, whether our enviroment would be able to sustain this population and whether our mothers are capable and empowered needs to be contemplated," he said.

"A population policy keeping in mind the next 50 years should be formulated and which should be implemented uniformly for everyone. Because as population can become a problem its imbalance can also become a problem," he added.

He also said terrorists are resorting to targeted killings of minorities in Jammu and Kashmir to instil fear in the minds of people, and asserted that military preparedness on the borders needs to be alert and sound on all ends and at all times.

Flagging serious concerns over the "unregulated" content being shown on OTT platforms, "uncontrolled" Bitcoin currency that has potential to "destabilise economy of all countries" and use of narcotic drugs by all classes of the society, Bhagwat urged the government to take steps to address these issues.