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It is alleged that the Maoist-led government appointed the Nepalese priests to the famous Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu while the Indian priests in the temple were forced to resign.
However, after a huge outcry against the move by major political parties in Nepal, including the Nepali Congress, by India’s Hindu party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and by a segment of the Nepalese public, Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, scrapped the decision and urged the Indian priests to continue with rituals at the temple.
It is not very often that I find much sense in steps taken by the Maoist government, especially when it comes to religious and culture issues. This time, however, I am with the comrades’ leader, albeit with some reservations.
If it is true that the Maoist-led government forced the Indian priests to quit, then it is a step against Nepal’s current identity as a secular state. The government should not intervene in religious issues, as the people should decide those.
If Nepalese have any problems with Indian priests conducting rituals at their beloved Pashupatinath Temple, then they should ask the temple management to amend their appointment practices, or seek legal intervention, or get help from the government. But direct and uncalled-for intervention by the government of a secular state over matters relating to a religious institution is a violation of the freedom of religion, and the Maoists must be condemned for that.
This issue has another side, however, which the popular media has ignored. The issue is whether the people of Nepal have the right and freedom to decide what goes on at their beloved shrine, rather than responding to maneuvering and imperialistic gestures from India, and whether anything can be done to stop rampant corruption from crippling the temple.
For the past 300 years or so, priests from the Brahmin caste from South India have been performing rituals at the Pashupatinath Temple. Until the fall of the monarchy in Nepal, the king was the temple’s patron and the priests were answerable only to him.
Pashupatinath Temple gets large amounts of offerings and donations in both cash and kind from devotees. It is a wealthy institution, but sadly, corruption and insider dealings in the temple have left it in a sad state.
A number of historic statues and artifacts in the temple premises are in a state of ruin. The river Bagmati, which flows by the temple, has been turned into an open sewer, and there are no words to describe the unhealthy state of sanitation in and around the temple.
For years attempts have been made to make the Pashupatinath Trust, which manages the temple’s affairs, and the priests accountable. However, nothing has worked and Nepal’s beloved shrine lies in ruins. There was no transparency in its daily affairs thanks to the royal palace, the temple’s trust and the priests.
The nationality of priests is secondary to the issues of corruption and mismanagement that plague the temple. Unfortunately, the Maoist-led government seems more focused on the nationality issue. In addition, India’s Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, has launched a tirade against Nepal accusing the nation of acting against the sentiments of Hindus.
Looking at the long history of the BJP’s activities against religious and communal minorities in India, they are not the ones who should be talking about “Hindu sentiments.” The way they leap at every opportunity to attack Muslims for a variety of social problems India is facing, and their activities against the tribal people in the Indian state of Orissa, are against everything that Hinduism teaches.
The way Nepal’s prime minister and government felt pressured to reassure India that everything was fine at Pashupatinath should be troubling for everyone who values Nepal’s independence.
The Maoists, with their over-the-line actions, have at least made various questions surrounding Pashupatinath public. Now the people of Nepal should decide whether they want Nepalese priests in the temple and what actions are needed to bring more transparency to the temple’s financial dealings.
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(Bhumika Ghimire is a freelance reporter. Her articles have been published at OhMyNews, NepalNews, Toward Freedom, Telegraph Nepal, Himal South Asian and ACM Ubiquity. She is also a regular contributor to News Front Weekly, in Kathmandu, and Nepal Abroad, in Washington D.C. She can be reached at bhumika_g@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Bhumika Ghimire.)
