March 08, 2014: Various Brahmin organizations have hailed referring the Kashmiri Hindus Shrines and temples bill to the joint select committee of both houses of J&K legislature, for further detailed consideration of its pros and cons.

In a joint statement issued here today InderjeetKhajuria President Brahmins United Federation, Prof.Davinder Sharma former President All India Brahmin Federation and Former President Dogra Brahmin PratinidhiSabha, Om Prakash Sharma President Dehati Brahmin Sabha ,RampalShastri President DograPujari, Shastri and JyotshiSangh, K.K ParochRetd. Session judge Incharge Legal cell BUF, M.L Sharma Incharge Press Publicity BUF and Rajesh Sharma (Bittu),Incharge Rural and Youth wing of BUF have said that in view of lack of consensus in the State assembly over the bill, which was earlier referred to the select committee of the assembly where too the opinions of the select committee members belonging to various organizations were at variance, the passage of the bill in the state assembly in a haste, without taking into consideration and addressing the concerns of many stake holders, would have been very harmful for the Hindu society and SanatanDharam religion.

The signatories to the statement have hailed the legislators of Jammu, belonging to BJP, Panthers Party, JSM and some Congress leaders, including Cabinet minister Sham Lal Sharma and MLA ChenaniKrishanLalBhagat for foiling the conspiracy to divide the Hindu society, between Kashmiri Hindus and Jammu Hindus, by adopting the bill in this regard in the state assembly, where Kashmir based organizations had joined hands to push through the bill, disregarding the concerns of many stake holders in the matter.

The statement has added that after the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir valley, leaving their temples and shrines unprotected and at the mercy of unscrupulous land grabbers and encroachers, some religious bodies as well as the care takers and trusts of some temples and shrines continued protecting the religious places under them. Depriving these trusts and religious bodies of their responsibility to manage the affairs of these religious places would be a great injustice towards them.

Further, they have questioned how the Kashmiri Pandits who have enmass migrated from Kashmir, will protect these shrines and temples through remote control? Obviously, the situation developing will prompt the government to interfere in the religious affairs of Hindus and have official imprint on the Hindu religious places. Removing Dogra imprint on the Hindu religious places in Kashmir, where many temples and shrines have been constructed and created by Non- Kashmiri Hindus, by handing over the management of all these temples and shrines exclusively to the Kashmiri Pandits, is a dangerous proposal, having very wide ramifications, it was added.