Houston Hindus oppose Church on Tirumala Hills

Lalit K Jha
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: July 18. 2005
http://www.hindustantimes.com/2005/Jul/18/5967_1434098,001600060016.htm
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, Ashtal 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.