Houston Hindus oppose Church on sacred Tirumala-Tirupati Hills
Posted July 20, 2005
Lalit K Jha (HindustanTimes.com)
Minneapolis, July 18. 2005
Opposing the construction of a church at the sacred Tirumala Hills, as many as
23 Indo-American organizations based in Houston has urged the Prime Minister,
Manmohan Singh, to ask the Andhra Pradesh Government to maintain the sanctity
of the religious place, which is a holy shrine for the Hindus world over.
Agitated by media reports emanating from India that the Andhra Pradesh
Government was actively considering the application of a religious society to
build a church atop the Tirumala Hills, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, these
Indo-American organizations held an emergency meeting at Houston on Saturday
(July 16) to discuss the issue.
Even though the news has been denied by the Andhra Pradesh Government that no
such thing would be allowed at the Tirumala Hills, the Indo-American, mostly
Hindu organizations, at the meeting decided to send a representative to
Washington D.C. to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister during his visit
this week.
Another representative of these Houston-based Hindu organizations would be
flying to Hyderabad on Tuesday (July 19) to meet the Chief Minister, Y S
Rajasekhar Reddy, to apprise him of the sentiments of the community in the
United States.
"We are all agitated and upset following the series of news regarding the
Tirumala Hills which is coming from Andhra Pradesh. We want to make sure that
such a anti-Hindu thing does not happen," Geetha Donthi, of Prajna - JET USA,
which is one of the signatories to the memorandum, told the HindustanTimes.com.
Donthi would meet Reddy in Hyderabad on behalf of these 23 organizations
including Gujarati Samaj of Houston, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Chinamaya Mission,
Arya Samaj, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Hindu Worship Society, Kerala Hindu
Society, Shri Radha Krishna Temple, Ashta Lakshmi Temple, Hindu Student
Council, Vallabh Priti Samaj, Esha Vasyam, Param Shakti Peet, Indian Senior
Citizens Association, India House, Bhakta Samaj, Friends and Family of Houston,
Santhan Hindu Center, LPSH, Houston, Bhram Samaj, Houston Natya Kala Vrund and
Center for Global Studies.
"It shocks the conscience of the Hindu-American community of Houston that the
Government of India can so cavalierly demolish a structure with a history of
550 years, as if it were yesterday's newspaper being tossed into the rubbish
bin," said the petition signed by these organizations on Saturday, which would
be submitted to both the Prime Minister and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister.
Stating that the Seven Hills of Tirumala, in their entirety, have been
considered to be a tirthasthanam and a devasthanam since time immemorial, the
petition said: "It affronts the sanctity of the place for the Government to
permit the construction of a Christian church." "Consequently, it is incumbent
on you, as the Prime Minister of India, to direct the Government of Andhra
Pradesh to ensure that the sanctity of Thousand Pillar Temple and the entire
Seven Hills of Tirumala remains intact," it said.
The organizations said given the fact that the Central and State Governments,
rather than private trusts, controlled the Hindu structures, they have the
solemn obligation to maintain these places.
"Despite this, the Andhra Pradesh Government has knowingly permitted the
demolition of the 550-year old Thousand Pillar Temple and was considering
constructing a Christian church on Tirumala Hills," the petition said adding
that this was in direct contravention of the interests of the worldwide Hindu
population, including the Hindu-American community of Houston.
Different countries, including the United States, may be the homelands for the
worldwide Hindu population, only India serves as their matrubhumi and
dharmabhumi, in said.
As such, the Hindu-American community of Houston has a vested interest to
ensure that thousands of tirthasthanam and devasthanam which cover the
landscape of India remain preserved and accessible to devotees from across the
globe, the petition said.
---------------------------------
Apakah Anda Yahoo!?
Sekarang dengan penyimpanan 1GB
http://id.mail.yahoo.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page
http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
