You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - Jul 2005

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00020 Jul 2005

 
Jul 2005 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


                        Call for Papers
                                and
                Participation in a Seminar
                                on
 
        "A Framework for Temple Management in India"
                (Moderated by: Prof. Subhash Kak)
 
 This is a Call for Papers on the issue of Temple Management in India. 
 A seminar and a workshop on this subject will be held as part of the 
 Human Empowerment Conference in Houston during Sept 16-18, 2005.  The
 submissions and the ensuing debate at the conference among the 
 thinkers present is expected to culminate into a position paper on 
 this topic. The position paper alongwith the proceedings of this 
 seminar will be made available widely, and it is hoped that would 
 have a bearing on public policy in India.
 
 A government should have no role in the management of temples, as is
 presently the case all across India. The current situation is 
 responsible for corruption, looting of temple properties and income, 
 and lack of attention to the mission of education and social renewal 
 of the Hindu community.
 
 Traditionally, many temples were run by families, and there were
 complaints that they were not doing enough to improve facilities for
 pilgrims and to allow access to all Hindus. These arguments have been 
 used by the government in the last half-century to take-over the 
 management of temples by forming temple trusts where the control 
 vests with the IAS functionary and the members are nominated by the 
 government.
 
 The government-controlled temple system needs to be given back to the
 public. This would require that the government come up with an 
 appropriate legal framework so that the governing trusts are elected 
 and managed by the community. Perhaps the model of the SGPC for the 
 Sikh temples could serve as the initial draft document to create a 
 Devasthana Prabandhak Parishad (DPP) for each state. Perhaps such DPP 
 could work at the district, tehsil and neighborhood/village level, so 
 that there is no concentration of power at the state or the national 
 level. It should be realized that the issue of temple management is a 
 national problem and not a partisan one. No political party has taken 
 initiative to bring reforms, including the two national parties, the 
 Congress and the BJP.
 
 All organizational, legal, social, spiritual, cultural and religious
 issues pertaining to this topic needs to be debated, culminating into 
 a consensus position paper that could become an ideological basis for
 socio-political action by the Hindu community in India.
 
 Academics, intellectuals, and thinkers are invited to submit papers
 covering various aspects of temple management, including historical 
 and traditional aspects. How were the temples managed in ancient and 
 medieval times? What could be incorporated from those times, and what 
 needs to be discarded? Who should decide what rituals can be 
 performed in temples, and why? Who should conduct the management of 
 the temples, and whether there should be a strict separation of 
 powers for religious and temporal authority. Such issues need to be 
 thoroughly debated, before a socio-political movement can be launched 
 in India at the mass-level for the liberation of Temples.
 
 Intellectual churning is required for any ideological development. 
 Hence, contrarian views are most welcome in this intellectual debate.
 
 For background, see:
 
 Hinduism and the Contest of Religions 
 http://www.sulekha.com/expressions/column.asp?cid=305994
 
 The Assault on Tradition 
 http://www.sulekha.com/expressions/column.asp?cid=305983 
 
 A Looming Disaster 
 http://in.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/08kak.htm 
 
 The Seminar will be moderated by Prof. Subhash Kak, LSU, Baton Rouge, 
 LA, USA. 
 ( http://www.ece.lsu.edu/kak/kak.html )
 
 **********************************************
 
 How to participate:
 
 Abstracts or a brief statement of interest can be sent to :
 
 Anand Rajaram
 Session Coordinator
 E-mail: temple-seminar@xxxxxxxxxxx
 
 Academics, intellectuals, thinkers, legal professionals, accountants,
 bureaucrats, journalists, businessmen, and community leaders alike are
 invited to send in abstracts of their submission by 2nd week of 
 August. Final papers are due by 1st week of September. Prospective 
 participants are cordially invited to be present at the conference 
 during Sept. 16th-18th, 2005, in Houston, Texas, USA. Details of the 
 Human Empowerment Conference can be obtained from the Session 
 Coordinator. All prospective participants living in the U.S. and 
 Canada are highly encouraged to attend the seminar and workshop in 
 person. Participants from India and elsewhere can participate via 
 teleconferencing. Appropriate facilities for remote participation 
 will be provided by the conference organizers.
 
 This is an invitation-only seminar, therefore all participants must 
 submit a Statement of Interest, in a few lines, explaining why they 
 are interested in this topic.
 
 Further information about the conference is available from:
 
 Third Annual Human Empowerment Conference 2005
 Organizing Committee
 
 Shri Dilip Mehta
 Tel. 281-491-7299
 
 Shri Vijay Kumar
 Tel. 615-646-1875
 
 Dr. Raj Dave
 Tel. 847-274-0459
 
 E-mail: temple-seminar@xxxxxxxxxxx
 
 
 
 





 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list