The VHP said on Thursday that the increasing number of applications claiming Hindu ownership over Muslim monuments could be the result of Hindu anger at the Muslim community’s refusal to freely give Hindus disputed sites in Ayodhya, Mathura, and Kashi.
“In 1984, a Dharm Sansad had been organized. It was said, ‘Give us these three (Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura), and there will be no noise on other issues.’ It is almost 2025 now. That what was proposed in 1984 has not materialized may have led to certain situations. So, the anger visible in society is probably among the important reasons,” VHP general secretary Milind Parande was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
Parande responded to Bhagwat’s statement by saying, “Mohan Bhagwat ji had previously discussed Kashi and Mathura, and his (latest) statement should be understood in that context.”
At a gathering in Pune on December 19, Bhagwat said that the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was a “matter of faith” for Hindus. However, he also said that it was “unacceptable” to bring up “such new issues on a daily basis” due to “extreme hatred, malice, enmity, and suspicion.”
The VHP also discussed the problem of temples being under government control. “On January 5, 2025, we will begin a national public awareness campaign about this,” Parande stated. “At a unique and sizable gathering of thousands of people in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, at Haindava Sankharavam, the call for this campaign will be made.”
In order to speed up the process of transferring temples to the community and their administration, the organization has also drafted legislation. According to Parande, an organization delegation met with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu last week and gave him this draft law.
The VHP has issued a list of demands before temples are opened to the public. These include removing non-Hindu employees from temple endowment departments, hiring only Hindus for religious services, prohibiting political party members from being appointed to temple management, restricting temple shops to Hindu operators, and removing non-Hindu structures or encroachments on temple property.
Parande also brought up the subject of a “demographic imbalance”.
“The country’s demographic imbalance has four causes. The first is illegal immigration from Bangladesh and Myanmar. Hindus’ declining reproductive rate comes in second. The third is Christian conversion, and the fourth is Muslim love jihad. The demographic imbalance can only be corrected after these problems are resolved,” he stated.
