INDIA, January 7, 2018 (India Today): The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) which manages the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateshwara in Tirumala of Andhra Pradesh has issued notices to 44 non-Hindu employees asking them to submit their explanation [of how they as non-Hindus got hired] before removing them. Till the year 1989, there was no restriction on recruitment process in TTD, but between 1989 to 2007, the recruitment of persons professing Hindu religion was applied only to non-teaching category. However, after the amended rule of 2007, non-Hindus can’t be employed in either teaching or non-teaching categories of TTD.
The rationale behind this amendment is that Tirumala Tirupati does not allow anyone from alien faith inside the temple without making a signed declaration that they believe in the deity Lord Balaji. Recently, the TTD vigilance and enforcement head Ake Ravi Krishna submitted a report which found that 44 non-Hindu men and women were working in different wings of the temple. Now TTD is planning to deploy them to other Andhra Pradesh government departments in the equivalent cadres and scales.
INDIA, January, 20, 2018 (Outlook India): The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre over a plea that questions the compulsory recital of Hindi and Sanskrit prayers with folded hands and closed eyes in state-run Kendriya Vidyalaya schools. The Public Interest Litigation filed by an advocate alleges that school prayers in the Kendriya Vidyalaya schools propagate Hinduism, which should not be allowed as they are run by the government bound by the Constitution, which is secular. ”All the students irrespective of their faith and belief, have to compulsorily attend the morning assembly and recite the prayer,” the petitioner said.
The apex court has now sent a notice to the Central govt, seeking to know if the 1,094 schools that are run by the Central Government promote a particular religion and violate the constitution. The constitution of India, it may be noted, allows the citizens to follow religion of one’s choice or remain an atheist. Article 28 of the Constitution says ”No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds.” ”It is a very important constitutional issue,” The Hindustan Times quoted a bench headed by Justice RF Nariman as saying.
HPI Note: It should be pointed out that Christian schools and Muslim madrasas can receive Indian government funding but are free to propogate their respective religions. See, for example, http://www.indiaspend.com/making-sens … -1000-cr-in-7-years-94183.
Chanakya Niti
Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions: Why am I doing it? What might the results be? Can I be successful? Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, then proceed.
— Chanakya (350-275 bce), Indian politician, strategist and writer
