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250-yr-old Alwar Temple Razed in Rajasthan

praveen

Life is a dream
Staff member
Political slugfest has ensued in Rajasthan after three temples in Alwar were recently bulldozed to ‘remove enchroachments’. The opposition BJP has slammed the Congress government for demolishing the temples in the ‘name of development’ and a case has also been filed against a ruling party MLA.

Priest of the temple and the Brajbhoomi Vikas Parishad have registered a case against three people, including Rajgarh Congress MLA Johri Lal Meena and the SDM, at the Rajgarh police station, for ‘demolishing the temple in collaboration with the administration.’

The complaint alleges that a two-and-a-half hundred year-old temple was bulldozed but that its dome was demolished and the Shivling was destroyed with a cutter on April 17.

 
At a time bulldozers allegedly targeting a section of people in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi are at the core of a huge political controversy, demolitions in Rajasthan have triggered tit-for-tat allegations.

A 300-year-old Shiva temple, 86 shops and homes were demolished with bulldozers in Rajasthan's Alwar district on Sunday, to clear the way for a road.

This is the first Congress-ruled state caught in the controversy over demolitions; so far, the BJP had faced allegations of fuelling communal clashes and then targeting riot-accused from one community.

According to Rajasthan's ruling Congress, it was the BJP that had promised a road called the "Gaurav Path" at the spot where the demolitions took place. Vasundhara Raje was the Chief Minister at the time.

The Congress alleges that the municipal council of Rajgarh town, which is controlled by the BJP, passed a resolution to construct the road after removing encroachments in September last year.

The Congress says the Rajgarh municipal council has 35 members, of which 34 are from the BJP.

The Congress government in Rajasthan says the BJP ordered the demolition, since Rajgarh town's municipal council is ruled entirely by the BJP, and it's an autonomous body that calls the shots in town planning issues.

"This was their (municipal council's) decision. The state government had nothing to do with it. They never asked the government for any direction and they never got any direction from us," Rajasthan Urban Development and Housing Department Minister Shanti Dhariwal said.

"In fact, when a temple is to be removed, it's to be considered carefully. But the Rajgarh municipal council never asked for directions; it is ruled entirely by the BJP, which passed a resolution for demolition," Mr Dhariwal said.

Notices were reportedly issued to the affected residents in April by the municipal council.

Two temples were part of the anti-encroachment drive, including the Shiva temple. The priests of the temple were asked to remove the idols before the demolition, according to officials.

The civic body reportedly asked for police forces and other help from the administration.

On Sunday, when the demolitions took place, the local Congress MLA Johari Lal Meena reportedly opposed it.

The Rajasthan government has sent notice to the municipal council for the anti-encroachment drive, accusing the BJP of trying to spark trouble.

The BJP, which is the state's opposition, has in turn accused the Congress of double standards. "I have constituted a five-member committee for the factual investigation of the Rajgarh (Alwar) temple case. This committee will go to the spot, prepare a factual report and submit the report to me," said Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia.

The BJP says the district administration helped in the demolition drive and the state government cannot wash its hands off so easily from the entire exercise.

"Yes, the municipal council gave the directions in 2013 and it again passed a resolution, but the government and the district administration identified the encroachments, so they were careless about it. They should have been careful when they saw a temple was involved. We want a judicial enquiry into this matter," Rajasthan Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said

 
Should a Temple, Mosque, or Church encroach on public land?

Unfortunately, a lot of them do encroach. Near my house, there was a temple under a tree for several years. Recently I started noticing construction was happening next to the tree on public road for a mid-sized temple.
 
The temple is 250 years old. That is right there in the headlines. It has been in existence before India got independence and before any such land identified as "public" land. So how is that encroachment?! If shops around the temple were encroaching, then only the shops should have been removed.
Useless fellows cannot create anything worthwhile. Only good for destroying stuff...

That not one media could ask this basic question shows where we are and how gullible people are in lapping up whatever media writes. This is what happens when people lose their ability to think independently and cannot discern propaganda from truth. But yeah I get it. This is "free flow of information"....
 
Land records are older than Independent India. If I had built a house on Marina beach in 1900, and it worked through the court system till 2022, it still is illegal and the government can tear it down.

Why are land titles unclear?

Land ownership in India is presumptive: Currently, the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 provides that the right (or title) to an immovable property (or land) can be transferred or sold only by a registered document. Such documents are registered under the Registration Act, 1908. Therefore, in India, the registration of land or property refers to the registration of the transaction (or sale deed), and not the land title (Ministry of Rural Development, 2008). A registered sale deed is not a government guarantee of land ownership. This implies that even bonafide property transactions may not always guarantee ownership as an earlier transfer of the property could be challenged. During such transactions, the onus of checking past ownership records of a property is on the buyer, and not the registrar.

Further, since no one document guarantees ownership in India, land ownership is established through various documents. These include registered sale deeds, record of rights (document with details of the property), property tax receipts, and government survey documents. Therefore, land ownership in India, as determined by various documents, is presumptive in nature, and subject to challenge.




 
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The temple is 250 years old. That is right there in the headlines. It has been in existence before India got independence and before any such land identified as "public" land. So how is that encroachment?! If shops around the temple were encroaching, then only the shops should have been removed.
Useless fellows cannot create anything worthwhile. Only good for destroying stuff...

That not one media could ask this basic question shows where we are and how gullible people are in lapping up whatever media writes. This is what happens when people lose their ability to think independently and cannot discern propaganda from truth. But yeah I get it. This is "free flow of information"....
There are broadly two kinds of encroachments being done in the name of religion, one is the conversion of historical monuments into places of worship or the grabbing of land abutting historical monuments. The other is the blatant grabbing and conversion of public property into a place of worship, a shrine or something similar. In this piece, we will address the second category.
This kind of encroachment on public land in the name of religion is most commonly found on pavements. The procedure is rather simple: find a peepal tree (Ficus Religiosa) growing close to pavement and begin by tying strings of kalawa – also known as mauli, a string of red, yellow and white cotton threads – around it.


Once the peepal tree has kalawa strings around it, and some vermillion has been sprinkled on the trunk, the process of making a temple has begun. Some days later, you can nail an old calendar to the tree with an image of a god or goddesses, or you can place a framed image at the base of the tree. A clay idol, which can easily be found lying around after Diwali or Durga Puja, can then be installed at the base of the tree.

All you need now is a signboard saying it is an ancient temple.

This author has come across a temple claiming origins 50 years prior. Soon, more zeros were added, taking the temple’s origin date to during the time of the Pandavas. Close scrutiny of municipal records of the Chanakyapuri area would, however, show that the structure did not exist till the 1960s.

Such recently-constructed ancient temples can be found all over the city. One of the author’s favourite is a temple on Aruna Asaf Ali Marg atop an elaborate signboard. The board is placed on a pedestal with the name of the road carved on a large granite slab polished to a mirror finish. The metallic frame that encloses the temple, in fact, rests on the signboard and one can clearly see that it is not older than the sign.

The signboard was unveiled by the then chief minister Shiela Dixit at a time that cannot by any stretch of imagination be described as anything other than contemporary. The temple, however, claims antiquity.

There is a temple close to Samachar Apartments that came up when construction began around the Yamuna river in an area that came to be known as Mayur Vihar. This temple, however, does not rely on a peepal tree. It has come up without any external crutch. In fact, it is so organically rooted in the environs that it seems to have sprouted from one of the natural drains that used to carry rainwater into the Yamuna before DDA ‘developed’ the area, and now ‘post-progress,’ the channel has become a conduit of untreated sewage to the same receptacle.

All these temples occupy land meant for pedestrians, and since the pedestrian has no voice, no one cares.

Aside from the peepal tree supported temples, there are many that have been erected to commemorate sadhus, babas and mendicants of various hues. Their antiquity, the miracles they performed and the good deeds associated with them are all part of an orally transmitted mythology, though the shrines associated with them are a material reality. Most of these are to be found in forested tracts of land and continue to flourish and grow under the watchful eyes of the DDA and the forest department.

This ‘grab as much as you can’ tendency is not unique to any particular faith or sect, this is a lucrative business, and business is a secular activity.

Meanwhile, a BJP MP, Parvesh Verma in his campaign against ‘encroachments,’ has chosen only to target what he calls ‘illegal mosques’ – a clear case of selective targeting. The disease is all-pervasive. In fact, there are many more temples that are encroaching on public land than there are mosques, churches and gurudwaras. This selective targeting will only vitiate the atmosphere and allow the actual encroachers to escape scot-free.

 
On 22 April, bulldozers were seen demolishing some shops and three temples in Alwar, Rajasthan, a Congress led state but in the BJP held municipality of Rajgarh. Local administration said that consensus had been achieved in the destruction of the shrines, including one which had been built on a drain, and that it was part of an anti-encroachment drive and the shrines would be rebuilt on "non-controversial land". During another anti-encroachment drive the next day a gaushala was part of the removed structures and cleared land.
 
You need to define "encroachment", because how can a 250 year old temple be an encroachment?
You could have googled it.

Property encroachment is a serious concern in India. Civic authorities across India are finding it difficult to curb this menace. It not only puts additional pressure on infrastructure but also increases the burden on the Indian legal system. While property owners are mostly caught unaware, when their property is encroached upon, handling such cases requires an abundance of caution and legal help.

Encroachment is a situation where a person violates the property rights of the owner. It could mean putting up a structure in someone else’s property or land. Usually, vacant or unattended properties are easy targets for property encroachers. Encroachment is usually intentional, where a person chooses to violate the boundaries of the property owner’s property or land, knowingly.

Meaning of Encroachment:

Encroachment can be further explained as a situation in real estate where a property owner violates the property rights of his neighbour by building on or extending a structure to the neighbour’s land or property. It can be intentional or by ignorance.An encroachment may be either on a privately owned land or on a government land.

According to law, Section 441 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 encroachment is when someone enters into or upon property in possession of another with an intent to commit an offence or to threaten, insult or annoy any person in possession of such property, and illegitimately remains there.Penalty for the same is provided under Section 447, which includes imprisonment for up to 3 months or fine up to Rs. 500 or both.

___________________________________________________________________________


The temple is 250-300 years old, but the encroachment was recent. and only that portion was razed, The original post and the media got it wrong.
 
Alwar district collector Nakate Shivprasad Madan had said that the proposal for the anti-encroachment drive was unanimously passed by the Nagar Palika board in a sadharan sabha led by its chairman Satish Duharia last year.

He had said that the notices were issued to the persons, whose structures were part of the encroachment, on April 6 this year. Subsequently, after following due process, the anti-encroachment drive took place on April 17 and 18. “No legal structure was demolished in the drive. There were no protests, and no law and order situation then,” he had said.

The meeting of the Municipality Board on September 6, 2021, unanimously decided to remove the obstacles according to the master plan, added the press release.

During the removal of encroachments, action was taken on two pre-built temples. Out of which one temple, which was built recently, was completely built on top of the existing drain.

During the removal of encroachments on April 17, 2022, and April 18, 2022, no valid construction of any person was demolished. During the removal of the encroachment, no protest was expressed nor did any law and order situation arise, stated the press release.
 
You could have googled it.

Property encroachment is a serious concern in India. Civic authorities across India are finding it difficult to curb this menace. It not only puts additional pressure on infrastructure but also increases the burden on the Indian legal system. While property owners are mostly caught unaware, when their property is encroached upon, handling such cases requires an abundance of caution and legal help.

Encroachment is a situation where a person violates the property rights of the owner. It could mean putting up a structure in someone else’s property or land. Usually, vacant or unattended properties are easy targets for property encroachers. Encroachment is usually intentional, where a person chooses to violate the boundaries of the property owner’s property or land, knowingly.

Meaning of Encroachment:

Encroachment can be further explained as a situation in real estate where a property owner violates the property rights of his neighbour by building on or extending a structure to the neighbour’s land or property. It can be intentional or by ignorance.An encroachment may be either on a privately owned land or on a government land.

According to law, Section 441 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 encroachment is when someone enters into or upon property in possession of another with an intent to commit an offence or to threaten, insult or annoy any person in possession of such property, and illegitimately remains there.Penalty for the same is provided under Section 447, which includes imprisonment for up to 3 months or fine up to Rs. 500 or both.

___________________________________________________________________________


The temple is 250-300 years old, but the encroachment was recent. and only that portion was razed, The original post and the media got it wrong.
There are pictures of the Shiv Linga being destroyed and of the idols being thrown in the ditch. Is that not true?
 
There are pictures of the Shiv Linga being destroyed and of the idols being thrown in the ditch. Is that not true?
Show proof, a youtube propaganda is not proof.

Two temples were part of the anti-encroachment drive, including the Shiva temple. The priests of the temple were asked to remove the idols before the demolition, according to officials.

The civic body reportedly asked for police forces and other help from the administration.

On Sunday, when the demolitions took place, the local Congress MLA Johari Lal Meena reportedly opposed it.

The Rajasthan government has sent notice to the municipal council for the anti-encroachment drive, accusing the BJP of trying to spark trouble.

The BJP, which is the state's opposition, has in turn accused the Congress of double standards. "I have constituted a five-member committee for the factual investigation of the Rajgarh (Alwar) temple case. This committee will go to the spot, prepare a factual report and submit the report to me," said Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia.

The BJP says the district administration helped in the demolition drive and the state government cannot wash its hands off so easily from the entire exercise.

"Yes, the municipal council gave the directions in 2013 and it again passed a resolution, but the government and the district administration identified the encroachments, so they were careless about it. They should have been careful when they saw a temple was involved. We want a judicial enquiry into this matter," Rajasthan Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said.

 
After the Rajasthan government got bulldozers to run on a 300-year-old temple in Rajgarh of Alwar, District Magistrate Shivprasad Nakate on Friday released a statement, saying that the decision was unanimously taken by the Municipality Board and that notices were given personally to all the 'trespassers'. He also said that demolition took place legally with the cooperation of the local police officials.

District Magistrate Shivprasad Nakate also spoke exclusively to Republic Media Network, and stated, "I had joined as the DM on 18th of this month, a day after the incident. But I will provide some information on the incident which one needs to understand. The Municipality is an independent body and in our general Board meeting, the descision of demolition was taken to broaden the roads. To execute the decision, the police officials were asked to cooperate. After the order was passed, all the obstacles were legally removed from the roads including the temples, but the idols in the temples were taken care of with full respect and have been kept in other places."
In the official press release, DM Shivprasad Nakate explained, "In the second meeting of the newly elected Municipality Board, the proposal to remove the obstruction in the master plan from the main road from the intersection of the fair of Rajgarh to the roundabout and illegal encroachment in the Garaiv Path, was unanimously passed by Chairman Mr. Satish and others. The decision was taken unanimously on 08.09.02 for the removal of obstacles from the main road from Mela Ka Chauraha to Gol Chakkar in Rajgarh Municipality area. On 06.04.2022, notices were given personally to all the trespassers by marking the obstacle coming in the above mentioned road by the Municipality Rajgarh."


"The Executive Officer of the Municipality of Rajgarh through letter number 250 dated 2.04.2022, demanded police force to maintain law and order during the removal of encroachments. Equal contact was established with the delegation of trespassers. Legal solution to all their demands as far as possible was also done by the Municipality of Rajgarh," he added.

 
After a 300-year old temple was bulldozed in Rajasthan’s Alwar, District Magistrate Shivprasad Nakate on Friday said that a “consensus” decision was taken during the municipality meeting to remove the illegal encroachments present on the roadside.

He further claimed that before the encroachment drive, the temple priests shifted the idols to another place.

“A consensus decision was taken during the municipality meeting to remove the illegal encroachments present on the roadside. Before the encroachment drive, the temple priests shifted the idols to another place,” Nakate told ANI.

A 300-year-old Shiva temple was demolished using bulldozers in Sarai Mohalla, Alwar district. A complaint has been registered at Rajgarh Police Station in connection with the matter.

A 300-year-old Shiva temple, 86 shops and homes were demolished with bulldozers in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Sunday, to clear the way for a road.

 

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