Articles
Memo to His Excellency, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh
Dt: 26/5/20
Memo to His Excellency, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh
To
His Excellency Sri Biswabhusan Harichandan
Governor of Andhra Pradesh
Raj Bhavan
Vijayawada Rd, Buckinghampeta,
Vijayawada,
Andhra Pradesh 520002
Sir,
Sub: Government of AP –Payment of salaries to priests of certain religions Subversion of constitutionally obligated secularism.
Beginning in the time of the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh and now continuing in Telangana and in an enhanced form in the post-2014 AP, the tax and debt revenues of the governments are being used for support and promotion of Islam and Christianity while not spending a single rupee of the government for support, promotion and defence of Hinduism, which is under subversion by programs of conversion undertaken by Christian and Islamic missions. In this petition we are bringing to your kind notice some measures in support of this submission . Here are these:
2. Government of AP in its GORT No: 38 dt 20-5-20 (copy sent herewith) is proceeding to pay 29,841 Pastors, 7000 Imams & Muezzins and 31,017 Archakas, a total sum of Rs. 33, 92, 90,000/ as one time scale of assistance from government describing the pays as “ religious service renderers”.
3. a) The Christian population in the undivided AP has been declining both in absolute numbers and as a proportion of the total population in census after census as given in the table below.
|
Decade ending |
1971 |
1981 |
1991 |
2001 |
2011 |
|
Christian population |
1.8 |
1.43 |
1.2 |
1.1 |
1.34 |
|
% of Christian population |
4.19 |
2.68 |
1.83 |
1.44 |
1.38 |
3 b) An overwhelming majority of MLAs, MLCs and PMs; members of Zilla and Mandal Parishad and Panchayats elected from constituencies reserved for Hindu SCs are in fact converts to Christianity. They managed to get false caste certificates as SCs . This must be investigated to establish truth.
3 e) That there are 29,841 Pastors in AP alone for a Christian population of 1.34 mln in the combined state of AP as per census 2011 (see para 3(a) , while there are only 31,017 Archakas for about 45 mln Hindus in 2020 in AP shows the magnitude of fraud - the converted not disclosing the fact of conversion for government records ( we pray to Jesus Christ and Yahweh to pardon the sin of the fraudsters and request the government to prosecute them)
3 b) However, it is seen that in village after village churches of several denominations have come up. In the last 20 years; it appears that not less than 50,000 churches and Christian prayer halls in the nature of churches had been planted . The overwhelming majority of them are in what is now AP. Several denominations of Christians have planted their churches in the same village. For example: in village Angaluru, in Gudlavalleru Mandal in Krishna district while the 2011 census shows no Christians in the village, there are 12 churches of different denominations. These churches are understood to have been planted under the international missionary plan going by the name Project Joshua of planting churches first within every10 kmts that is, cycling distance in the targeted territory; next within 5 kmts that is within walking distance an finally within hearing distance that is, among the residences of people themselves in a village or town.
3 c) It appears that the converted mostly SCs are being instructed not to disclose the fact of conversion in the census or in any record of any government or educational institution. As this instruction became more and more widespread and intensive, the Christian population enumerated has been diminishing in numbers. The converted go to the churches they retain Hindu/ Indian language names . They manage to get SC caste certificate to avail of reservations and other benefits that the Indian state gives to SC people ( and to ST). This fraud has resulted in the diminishing population of Christians as recorded in the census .
3 d) Inquiries reveal that almost all the churches planted in the villages have no approval from the designated organs of government which have to give approval for any construction. It is also not known how much and where from the money has come. So most of these churches or Christian prayer halls of different denomination are all illegal structures which according to laws are to be demolished. Persons or bodies in whose name they are standing are to be prosecuted for illegal construction .
4. Governments of Telangana & AP have been giving a gift of Rs. 3 lakhs for the construction of churches . It is raised to Rs. 5 lakhs by the Government of AP after 2014. Hundreds of churches have been thus helped to be constructed from the funds of the governments.
5. Imams and muezzins are paid monthly salaries ; and now in AP Pastors also are paid monthly salaries . The GOAP donated Rs. 10 cr to the Tablighi conference in Kurnool in December 2018. The Chief Minister laid the foundation for a government funded 8-storeyed Haj House in Vijayawada.
6. According to the Constitution of India, we are a secular state. The governments of the Union of India and States are not to promote any religion by use of state funds. However, in the two Telugu states for the last few years Christians are given a subsidy for their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This is Rs. 25,000 per person in Telangana and it has been enhanced from Rs. 25,000 to s. 50,000and just before the elections in 2019, to Rs. 75,000 !
7. While the functionaries of Islam and Christianity are thus being given funds of the states for the preservation and promotion of their religions , GOAP does not spend any of its money on Hindus’ temples Archakas and other functionaries in the temples under management and administration of GOAP through its Endowment Department and TTD Trust Board are paid from contributions of Hindus to their temples.
8. It is therefore clear that the secular character of the state is subverted by :
a) spending govt money for the preservation and promotion of Christianity and Islam
b) not spending any government amount for similar purposes of the Hindu dharma. This amounts to discrimination against the Hindu dharma and favour to Christianity and Islam . What is worse; while the churches and mosques are left to be managed by bodies of the people professing those religions, the places of worship of Hindus namely temples alone are under the management and administration of government . In these bodies that is, the Endowment Department and in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Board , many persons who are not Hindus are employed ; some openly that is, if their religion is known to be other than Hindu and some fraudulently by submission of false certificate as SCs.
c) The monies of the government are funneled into the construction of churches, Urdu Ghars, Shadi Khanas, mosques, Haj Houses, payments to Imams and muezzins and the Pastors are done sometimes through the allocation made in Budgets to Minority Welfare Department , to the State Christian Minority Finance Corporations , to the State Minority (Muslim) Finance Corporation and sometimes the Wakf Board . These are some dubious ways in which the minority religions are helped by the secular state in contraversion of the Constitution which requires the governments to be secular – that is not help and promote some religions and control and disadvantage some other religion/faith. The injustice and adverse discrimination meted out to Hindu Dharma; the favours shown to Islam and Christianity are subversive of the secular (ideal) of government . The government of AP has already been paying since several years. Imams and Muezzins from the revenues of the government . That is support to Islam. The archakas in temples are paid by the TTD and Endowment Department from the funds they et, in the form of Hindu devotees’ offerings to the temples; in other words Achakas are paid by Hindu devotees.
d) Imams and Muezzins of Islam and Pastors of Christianity are paid from taxes and loans - raised funds of the government budget. The TTD and Endowment Dept officers and staff including Archakas are paid from monies Hindu devotees offered to their temples. This is discrimination against Hindus and favour to the proselytizing Christians and Muslims.
e) There is already provision in the budget 2020-‘21of the Government of AP for monthly payment to Pastors . A PIL against this unsecular actions of the GOAP is pending in the High Court of AP.
9. There appears to be undeclared but prompted support from certain organs of government to promote Christian interests and discriminate against people of Hindu dharma. The situation is becoming more and more acute leading to disquiet among the people of the majority community and an atmosphere of strife is arising .
10. We therefore request the His Excellency, Governor of AP to cause the following :
a) Stop payment of government funds either as gifts or as salaries or by other name to Pastors Imams and muezzins
b) Not give any subsidies for Christians’ pilgrimages to the Holy Land or construction of churches, Urdu Ghars, Shadi Khanas and mosques
c) Enumerate / take a census of churches, mosques and Christian prayer halls as well as temples in the entire state and find out as to which of them are constructed with permission, /without permission where from the money has come and who are the owners of them and what is the income of each and everyone of them and take steps to demolish the unauthorized churches, mosques, prayer halls and temples .
d) Take steps to disengage the government from administration and management of Hindus temples just as it is not engaged in similar function in respect of churches and mosques.
e) Do justice and end adverse discrimination meted out to Hindu Dharma; end favours shown to Islam and Christianity .
Yours Sincerely,
Signatories:
Sri I Y R Krishna Rao , IAS (Retd)
Former Chief Secretary, GOAP
M: 9494369595
Sri Aravinda Rao, IPS (Retd)
Former DG Police, GOAP ( undivided)
M: 9441552555
Dr T H Chowdary
Former Dy Dir General, DOT &
Chairman & Managing Director of VSNL
I.T Advisor, GOAP
M:9849067359
Sri Sudheesh Rambhotla
M: 9849028222
Copy to:
1) Hon’ble Chief Justice of High Court of AP
2) Hon’ble Chief Minister, GOAP