No meat, liquor shops near temples: Hindutva body.

Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh to ban meat, liquor shops near temples within 500 meters.

The members will start the drive on the twin ban soon focusing on prominent Vaishnav temples, Jyotirlingas (Shiva temples; there are four to five in the state) and Shakti Peethas (temples of various goddesses in the Hindu pantheon). This, they said, is along the lines of a similar ban prevailing near Jain pilgrim sites

Saurabha Kulshreshtha | HT Online | Mumbai | June 24, 2023::  A month after it imposed a strict dress code on devotees across 300 temples in the state, the Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh – an apex body of various temple managements across the state – is all set to put a ban on the sale of meat and liquor within 500 meters of prominent places of pilgrimage. The decision was taken by Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh, at the seven-day Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Rashtra Convention (Renamed as Vaishvik Hindu Rashtra Mahotsav), which concluded in Goa on Thursday.

The members will start the drive on the twin ban soon focusing on prominent Vaishnav temples, Jyotirlingas (Shiva temples; there are four to five in the state) and Shakti Peethas (temples of various goddesses in the Hindu pantheon). This, they said, is along the lines of a similar ban prevailing near Jain pilgrim sites.

“Temples are sacred. Selling meat and liquor close to places of worship compromises their sanctity. The central and local state governments have banned the sale of these goods near Jain temples. This emboldened us to start a drive to secure all pilgrimage sites,” said Sunil Ghanwat, coordinator of Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh.

He said their delegation will meet respective district collectors in the state to submit their written demand. They will also seek an audience with chief minister Eknath Shinde to discuss this. Ghanwat put focus on prominent Vaishnav pilgrimage sites in the state like Pandharpur, Alandi, Dehu and Paithan, apart from Jyotirlingas like Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar, Nagnath Vaijnath and Shakti Peethas like Saptshrungi devi, Renuka devi etc.

“The administration can shift the shops outside the 500-meter periphery of the temples,” said Ghanwat, who is also the convenor of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, which is active in organising the Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha by Sakal Hindu Samaj. The body is not averse to consumption of the goods in the cities or towns where the places of worship are located, but frown upon the sale close to the places of worship.

According to current rules of the excise department in municipal council or corporation, liquor shops are not permitted within 50 meters from educational institutes, religious places and ST bus depots. The body seeks to widen the distance.

Reacting to the proposed ban, scholar and publisher of ‘Kalnirnay’ Jayraj Salgaonkar observed that there is no absolute rule for such practices Hinduism, as it is a diverse religion with many sects and rules. “Practitioners of the Shakta sect are known to offer meat and liquor to some deities. On the other hand, Vaishnavites do not allow this. There is no one-rule-fits all in Hinduism,” said Salgaonkar.

Meanwhile, less than a month after the imposition of the dress code 131 temples have carried forward the Mahasangh’s diktat.

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Courtesy: Hindustan Times.