The Uttar Pradesh Government has its eye on Banke Bihari’s money, allege Sevayat Goswami priests at the Banke Bihari temple in Mathura. They are fighting a case in the Allahabad High Court on the issue of crowd management at one of the most famous Krishna temples in north India.
The BJP government in U.P. has submitted an affidavit in the High Court that it’s planning to build a corridor similar to the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor (in Varanasi) around the Banke Bihari temple, and for this, the State has proposed to form a trust for the temple in which the government will be the “major stakeholder,” said Goswami. The government also said that the land to build the proposed corridor would be purchased from the temple’s funds.
View of Banke Bihari, a 550 year old temple of lord Krishna in Vrindavan, Mathura. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Currently, the Banke Bihari temple is owned and managed by the hereditary community of Sevayat Goswami priests, who are Saraswat Brahmins and descendants of Swami Haridas, who built the temple over 550 years ago.
On prominent festivals such as Krishna Janmashtami and Holi, the famous temple receives five to 10 lakh devotees in a day, while one or two lakh devotees visit regularly.
The State claims the temple has the maximum capacity of 150 visitors at a time, whereas thousands enter it, leading to fears of stampedes on several occasions. On Janmashtami (August 19) this year, two persons died at the temple. A public interest litigation (PIL) related to crowd management was also filed in the Allahabad High Court, in one of the aforementioned cases in which a man died of suffocation.
Sources in the State government said the temple’s funds currently stand at about ₹480 crore, apart from gold and other valuables. Over 500 Sevayat Goswami priests perform the sacred rituals for the deity.
“The government is not interested in managing the crowd or helping the pilgrims. A corridor can be built without forming a trust for the temple. If crowd management is a concern, they can easily place barricades at various entrances to the temple, and allow a second group of devotees to enter only when the first exits. This petition is just a conspiracy to take over the temple and the money of Lord Banke Bihari,” Gaurav Goswami, 18th generation descendent of Swami Haridas, said.
Crowd at Banke Bihari temple on the occasion of Janmashtami. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Ashok Goswami, another priest at the temple, echoed similar sentiments. He added that the proposed corridor would destroy the “kunj galiyan” (narrow lanes) of Vrindavan, which are mentioned in every literary reference to “Radha-Krishna leela” on the Lord’s childhood.
“In 2015, when the Samajwadi Party government had proposed to take over the Banke Bihari temple, both Congress and BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) raised objections. Even the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP spoke against the idea at that time. Now, the BJP is trying to take over the temple, in a way, by forming a trust and hence taking control over its treasure,” another member of the Goswami Seyawat community alleged.
Lawyers representing petitions by different priests told The Hindu that submission of the objections to the formation of the trust had been made before the Allahabad High Court, where a PIL is being heard on the safety of pilgrims visiting the temple.
Crowd at Banke Bihari temple on the occasion of Janmashtami. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In its affidavit submitted in the High Court, the Uttar Pradesh Government has said that there is no registered society at present to manage the affairs of the temple. It has also attached a draft proposal to form a trust for the temple, which according to the government will bring financial transparency, ensure better planning, and management of safety and security at the temple.
“The State government will build an adequate corridor, which will have a holding area of nearly 5 acres for felicitating ‘darshan’ and ‘poojan’ by the pilgrims. The temple funds will be utilised for the purchase of the surrounding land,” the affidavit says.
While proposing a trust for the Banke Bihari temple, the State said there would be no interference in the temple’s traditions of ritual and worship.
Crowd at Banke Bihari temple on the occasion of Janmashtami. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
It added that trustees of the proposed temple board would be appointed by the State government, which would have both nominated trustees and ex-officio members.
Apart from nine eminent personalities, two trustees would be from the Sevayat Goswami community. The ex-officio trustees would include the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mathura; Commissioner of Mathura; CEO of the U.P. Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad; an officer of the Dharmarth Karya Vibhag; a CEO appointed under the trust; and another member appointed by the State government.
Crowd at Banke Bihari temple on the occasion of Janmashtami. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“The nominated trustees will have tenure of 3 years. No trustee can be appointed successively and for more than two times,” the State said, adding that ex-officio trustees will be the persons currently holding the office.
The matter is being heard by a Bench of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice J. J. Munir. The next date of hearing is November 17, 2022.
