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                        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







 
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