Swaminarayan sect to remove controversial Hanuman murals tomorrow
Decision taken after a meeting was chaired with VHP leaders
Updated: Sep 4th, 2023
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| Sarangpur Hanumanji Mandir controversy (img: File) |
Updated on Sept 4, 9.30 p.m.
The Vadtal Swaminarayan sect has concluded that they will be removing the murals before the dawn of Sept 5. This decision comes after the Swaminarayan community leaders organised a meeting with Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders today.
The community leader from the Vadtal Swaminarayan sect came forward with a statement that the meeting with VHP leaders ended with a positive conclusion for both the parties involved.
Today Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel had also met the Swaminarayan sect leaders amid the growing tension regarding the controversial Lord Hanuman murals. The meeting concluded with the Swaminarayan sect leaders giving an assurance for the removal of the murals in the next 36 hours.
Updated on Sept 3, 2.40 p.m.
The controversial murals at Sarangpur Hanuman temple will be removed in two days by the Vadtal Swaminarayan branch.
This decision was taken in an impromptu meeting today between the Swaminarayan preists and a group of Sanatan Hindu religion priests was organised as nearly 500 Hindu preachers stormed the gates of Sarangpur Hanuman temple.
The Swaminarayan sect had urged for two days of time for the resolution of this issue, and thus they have decided to remove these murals.
The Swaminarayan faction also gave their affirmation that such incidents will not be repeated in the future.
Updated on Sept 3, 1.15 p.m.
A man has been arrested in Gujarat's Botad district for allegedly defacing the murals of Sarangpur Hanuman temple, the police said on Sept 2.
The arrested individual has been identified as Jitubhai Gadhvi. An official said Gadhvi managed to breach the barricades around the bronze statues and the policemen who were deployed.
He was swiftly apprehended by the police personnel present at the temple premises, and an investigation has been initiated into the matter.
In viral videos circulating on social media, he is seen wielding an axe and ink, blackening the murals and damaging them with the axe, all while vociferously proclaiming, "hail to the Sanatan dharma. None of you dare come near me or I shall kill you".
Many priests of the Hindu religion were enraged after ‘insulting’ murals engraved below Lord Hanuman’s statue in Sarangpur gathered traction on social media.
The ‘King of Sarangpur’ statue of Lord Hanuman in Sarangpur’s Kashtabhanjan Dev Hanumanji Mandir was recently inaugurated, where several murals caused friction between the Sanatan Hindu religion preachers and the Swaminarayan sect.
The murals depict Lord Hanuman serving and bowing towards the Swaminarayan sect’s Sahajanand Swami, which has not been received well by many Hindu community leaders.
The murals gathered moss on social media after their photos and videos went viral, and the Sanatan Hindu religion faction was quick to react to it.
Sanatan Hindu religion sentiments deeply hurt
This depiction of Lord Hanuman in the murals has been received as an insult to the God preached by many.
The priest of Sanand’s Lambe Narayan Ashram said, “If the murals on the statue are not removed, then we will carry out a major protest. This is a deliberate act to portray Sanatan Dharma’s gods inferiorly.”
Speaking on the issue, Bharti Ashram’s Hariharanand Maharaj, said, “Hanumanji living as a servant and touching the feet of Sahajanand Swami, these are offensive projections of the Lord.”
The head priest of Lord Jagannath Mandir, Dilip Dasji Maharaj said, “No religion should be showcased as inferior or superior to another. Everyone’s sentiments are attached to Hanumanji.”
Other than these, Junagadh’s Mahendranand Giribapu and spiritual leader Morari Bapu have also expressed their discontent with these murals.
Action against the ‘fallacious’ murals
The murals installed by the Vadtal Swaminarayan branch were eventually concealed ever since the controversy broke out.
On Sept 1, ‘Madhya Gujarat Virkat Mandal’ and ‘Sanatan Sant Samiti’ will submit a petition to the district collector and police commissioner regarding this issue, as well as against the ‘tilak’ of the Swaminarayan sect instead of the ‘Ram Bhadra tilak’ on the forehead of Lord Hanuman’s statue.
(With inputs from IANS)
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