New Delhi: People from all walks of life including industrialists should come forward and aid in temple building in Punjab, Shankara Vijayendra Saraswati said here Thursday, while launching a ‘Sanjhiwalta’ campaign to strengthen Hindu-Sikh unity in the state. The pontiff of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Moolamnaya Sarvajnapeetham also voiced concern over religious conversions in the state and said Punjab’s security is central to the country’s security.
Speaking at a programme attended by Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Alok Kumar, Shankara Vijayendra Saraswati said Hindus and Sikhs share the same spiritual heritage. The programme also saw participation of entrepreneurs and business leaders from Delhi.
He also announced that a trust has been set up to work for unity and cohesion in Punjab. “Under this renovation of temples will be carried out,” Shankara Vijayendra Saraswati said as he urged corporates and industrialists to give space for building temples.
A new Ganesh temple will also be built in the state, he declared.
The Sanjhiwalta (sharing, or joint participation) campaign in Punjab is centered around the teachings of the Shankaracharyas, particularly focusing on the spiritual message of universal brotherhood and oneness.
The event also saw participation of former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, now a member of BJP’s Margdarshak Mandal (Council of Mentors).
Joshi stressed that Urdu is a ‘language of our country’ and originated on Indian soil.
Addressing a public gathering here, Joshi said during the Vajpayee government’s tenure they wanted to encourage Muslims to read the Quran in Urdu instead of Arabic.
The BJP leader further said that Urdu, which is the national language of Pakistan, is a language that originated in India and so did Bangla, which is spoken in Bangladesh.
The event, BJP sources said, was in line with BJP and VHP’s outreach ahead of Punjab elections.
A strategy, it is learnt, is being drawn up to revitalise temples, renovate ancient shrines, organise large-scale religious gatherings, strengthen Hindu-Sikh unity under the umbrella of Sanatan Dharma, check demographic shifts, and halt religious conversions.
In his speech Joshi also voiced concerns over the alleged encroachment upon Kalady—the birthplace of Jagadguru Shankaracharya—in Kerala. “In the village of Adi Shankaracharya, there is no place left for Hindus to live; it is all owned by Christians. I would urge the country’s business community to buy all the land there. Just as no one other than Muslims can reside in Mecca, and no one other than Catholics can reside in Vatican City, similarly, the village of Shankaracharya should also be like that,” Joshi said.
He further said that Sanatan Dharma is the world’s oldest religion, adding, “In reality, there is only one religion.”
In 2022, the National Commission for Minorities had written to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab seeking a report on allegations of conversions of Sikhs by Christian missionaries. ThePrint had reported how a number of “public and religious authorities” had written to the panel about a “campaign being run by Christian missionaries for extraconstitutional conversion of Sikhs to Christianity in Punjab”.
According to the 2011 Census, Sikhs constitute 57.69 percent of Punjab’s population, followed by Hindus (38.49 percent), Muslims (1.93 percent) and Christians (1.26 percent).
Joshi also came down heavily on how history was written earlier in India.
“It was claimed that the Vedas advocated the consumption of meat. It was also taught that the Aryans came from outside India. Later, when the government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to power, I was entrusted with the education ministry. We presented evidence regarding the existence of the Saraswati River,” he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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