We see a new concern for temple restoration as part of a national cultural awakening. This extends to sacred sites of all of India’s dharmic and mystical traditions. It is not just a UNESCO-type approach but as a living restoration of an ongoing cultural creativity. – Dr. David Frawley
India has historically been a land of magnificent temples. Temples were not only important sites for religious worship but also served as centres of learning, art, community gatherings and festivals. Temples held great wealth and were the pride of the communities in which they were built.
Such temples became targets for foreign invasion or destruction. Conquering temples could be a source of wealth, social and political control. Yet when Hindus regained power, they restored conquered temples and renewed their own traditions.
After the Marathas defeated the Mughals and became the dominant power in India in the eighteenth century, they began an active campaign to take back important temples, or to restore those that had been damaged or neglected. Other Hindu communities did the same.
The British had no campaign to destroy or expropriate temples, but did not support efforts to restore them either. The result was when India achieved Independence in 1947 many important and famous ancient temples had not been reclaimed or restored though there was a strong sentiment to do so. There was an expectation that Independent India would continue the process that the Marathas and others had started.
Yet, though India was divided into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, the Nehru government, much like the British, did not allow Hindus to reclaim their sacred sites or offer government support in restoring them. Not much support was given to Jains, Sikhs or Buddhists or other dharmic traditions either.
This means that the policy of restricting Hindus from reclaiming or renovating their sacred sites continued unbroken through the Mughal, British and Nehruvian periods. Only Somnath managed to escape the Nehruvian restriction, but that was owing to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, not Jawaharlal Nehru who opposed it. Pakistan meanwhile was happy and proud to fund new mosques, renovate the old, and restrict or destroy existing Hindu temples.
A New India and a new view of temples
The question arises: Can India be India without honouring its civilisational heritage, including its magnificent temples? India’s independence movement followed the inspiration of modern Rishis and Yogis such as Swami Vivekananda, Lokmanya Tilak, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo. The need to restore India’s dharmic civilisation was their motivation, the awakening of Sanatana Dharma, not just modern political independence.
Today in 2022, 75 years after Independence in 1947, a new India is arising under the Narendra Modi government, which has a profound respect for India’s enduring civilisation and its diverse traditions. We see a new concern for temple restoration as part of a national cultural awakening. This extends to sacred sites of all of India’s dharmic and mystical traditions. It is not just a UNESCO-type approach or museum centre, but as a living restoration of an ongoing cultural creativity.
Modi is fulfilling the call for a spiritual and cultural revival made by the independence movement, to awaken India to its dharmic heritage including its numerous temples throughout the country, such as can be found from Kanyakumari to Kedarnath, from Kamakhya to Somnath, which he has been visiting and supporting.
Ram Janmabhoomi has been reclaimed and is being rebuilt in splendour. Kashi Vishwanath has been extensively renovated. Now Mahakal, yet another important Jyotirlinga temple of Shiva Mahadev like Kashi Vishwanath, is being renovated in a magnificent style. Yet throughout India there remain many additional great temples in need of restoration, which many people may not even know of.
This issue of temples requires a new in-depth examination on legal and cultural levels, starting with recognising all the numerous sites and complex considerations involved, which may require a variety of approaches.
Mahakal Jyotirlinga in Ujjain
Modi recently inaugurated the renovation and expansion of the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, for which he gave what has been regarded as one of his most inspiring speeches: A call to a New India which honours all its spiritual traditions and sacred sites, Gurus and Devatas. – Firstpost, 13 October 2022
› Dr. David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastri) is a Vedacharya and one of the leading exponents of Vedic knowledge in an interdisciplinary approach worldwide.The American Institute of Vedic Studies serves as a vehicle for his work, offering on-line access to go along with his many published writings.
Filed under: india, ujjain | Tagged: BJP government, hindu culture, mahakaleshwar temple, national cultural awakening, temple restoration |
BHARATA BHARATI 
“The British had no campaign to destroy or expropriate temples, but did not support efforts to restore them either.”
The above statement is not true.
The British cleared all the small temples within the Ft. St. George area of Madras (Chennai) at one point. They did the same in Mumbai to build the Victoria Terminus. But more important, they expropriated vast quantities of temple land and gave it to their new Protestant churches. This was especially evident in Kerala under Col. John Munro, British Resident and Dewan of the Travancore State ruled by Rani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi. This left many once-wealthy temples destitute and unable to function properly.
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