[Reader-list] "Return Hindu shrines to Dalits, Buddhists"

[Javed]

Before Hindus and Muslims can decide on this matter, the dalits or
neo-Buddhists may like to stake their claim, since they believe all
major Hindu temples have been built after destroying ancient Buddhist
sites.

Why didn't Mayawati think of building a memorial to Kanshi Ram on the
disputed Ayodhya site.

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Return Hindu shrines: Dalits
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, Oct. 8: Call it the Babri verdict fallout: a group of Dalit
rights activists has decided to approach the government demanding that
Buddha and Jain viharas that have been converted to Hindu temples
should be returned to the original owners.

The group, made up of Ambedkar followers, academics, advocates and
activists, has also decided to approach the Supreme Court with the
demand.

Several Buddha and Jain viharas were there in the country from sixth
century BC to 13th century AD, which were later converted into Hindu
temples by placing idols in them, the group said.

Now that Allahabad High Court has given Hindus two-thirds of the land
on which Babri Masjid stood on the ground that there was a temple at
the site before the mosque was constructed, all those viharas should
also be returned, they argued.

According to M.S. Jayaprakash, a historian, the temples at Tirupati,
Kashi, Sabarimala, Guruvayoor and Palani were once Buddhist temples.
Even Swami Vivekananda had revealed that the Puri Jagannath temple was
originally a Buddhist temple, he said.

Hundreds of Buddhist statues, stupas and viharas were destroyed in
India between AD 830 and AD 966 in the name of Hindu revivalism,
Jayaprakash said. Literary and archaeological sources within and
outside India speak of this, he added.

Other members of the group include “Dalit Bandhu” N.K. Jose, Bhim
Jayaraj and Vijay Shekhar.

The group is planning to meet BSP chief Mayavati. “We hope that
Mayavati, whose vote bank is largely made up of Dalits and
neo-Buddhists, will be receptive to the idea. The issue is both
political and religious — a deadly concoction which no politician can
afford to neglect,” said one activist.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101009/jsp/nation/story_13037587.jsp