New Delhi: A week after the thumping majority in Bihar, the Nitish Kumar government is set to appoint Sanatan Dharma convenors in all 38 districts.
This is the first time any Indian state is appointing official convenors to promote ‘Sanatan Dharma’, which is another name for Hinduism.
The convenors will be nominated by the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT). The body keeps records of the assets of registered temples, mutts, and trusts in Bihar and reports to the state’s law department. The convenors will ensure that temples and mutts in their district hold Satyanarayan Katha and Bhagwati Puja on full moon and new moon days every month.
“They will ensure that all registered temples and mutts spread the message among the masses about the importance of these two pujas,” said Ranbir Nandan, chairman of BSBRT.
Nearly 2,500 temples and mutts are registered with the BSBRT. The appointed convenors will work in coordination with the chief priests of all registered institutions.
According to Nandan, the convenors will be selected from among the mahants (chief priests).
“The council is of the view that temples and mutts must also carry out social activities and measures of social reforms. There is a need to spread the importance of our festivals, pujas and values and Sanatan Dharma”, said Nandan.
Religious calendar, international conclave
BSBRT also plans to launch a dharmik (religious) calendar, which has all details of festivals, pujas, and religious activities of Sanatan Dharma.
“These calendars will be distributed among the people across the state through registered temples and mutts,” said Nandan.
The trust is also planning to organise an international conclave to promote Sanatan Dharma at Rajgir in the coming months. However, the trust has not released more details about the conclave yet.
The Bihar government’s decision is also facing criticism on social media.
“Is this the leader who founded the Socialist Samta Party to fight against Brahmanical Casteism for the Extreme Backward Castes? What a sellout for power,” former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar wrote on X.
Ex-Army officer and columnist Praveen Davar invoked Ram Manohar Lohiya and Karpoori Thakur.
“Shameful @NitishKumar ji. What has happened to you? Have you forgotten the teachings of JP, Lohia and Karpoori Thakur? Or are they fooling you that you will be the next Rashtrapati? Pl reverse your order. Don’t become an agent of RSS,” Davar wrote.
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Temples and mutts in Bihar
According to the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950, all public temples and mutts have to be registered with the BSBRT.
As per the trust data, there are around 2,512 unregistered temples or mutts in the state, which own more than 4,321.64 acres of land. On the other hand, the 2,499 registered temples own over 18,456 acres of land.
In 2024, the Nitish Kumar government initiated a survey to check for encroachments on land belonging to unregistered temples or mutts. The survey was conducted by the revenue department.
The highest number of unregistered temples and mutts is in Vaishali (438), followed by Kaimur Bhabua (307), West Champaran (273), Bhagalpur (191), Begusarai (185), Saran (154), and Gaya (152).
Kaimur Bhabua has 307 unregistered temples and mutts, which own around 813 acres of land, while Khagaria has 100 unregistered entities holding 722 acres.
“The state government is committed to ensuring that no sale/purchase of immovable assets, including land, belonging to the unregistered or registered temples and mutts, takes place,” said Samrat Chaudhary, deputy CM in the Bihar Assembly last year.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)