Dharam Sansad at Maha Kumbh: Seers seek formation of Sanatan Board, grand temple at Krishna Janmabhoomi

Seers from across the country held a ‘Dharam Sansad’ at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj

In the Dharma Sansad organised in Maha Kumbh on January 27, saints of various sectors passed a unanimous resolution seeking the construction of a grand temple at Lord Krishna’s birthplace Mathura on the lines of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

“Ram Mandir to little bit jhanki hai..Mathura ka poora function abhi baaki hai..Kashi bhi abhi adhi hai..Kashi mein baba ka poora damru bajna baki hai” (Ram Mandir is just a trailer. Mathura and Kashi still need to be done. Only half of the task has been accomplished),” Preacher Devki Nandan Thakur told Indian Express.

They also passed a resolution to form the “Sanatan Hindu Board 2025” and gave a call for taking “Mathura, Sambhal and Kashi in one go”, referring to the ongoing disputes between the Hindu and Muslim sides over religious structures in the three Uttar Pradesh towns.

The petition in Sambhal is similar to the ones made in the cases of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque and Mathura’s Shahi Idgah. The Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal has become the epicentre of a significant controversy following violent clashes over a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque.

Meanwhile, in Mathura, the Shahi Idgah mosque was reportedly built on the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb adjacent to the Krishna Janmasthal — believed to be the place where Lord Krishna was born. Hindu parties to the litigation claim that the 17th-century Mughal-era Mosque was built after demolishing a temple at the birthplace of the Lord Krishna.

At the heart of the matter is the interpretation of the Places of Worship Act, 1991. The Places of Worship Act of 1991 prohibits the conversion of places of worship and maintains their religious character as it was on August 15, 1947. This act applies to all places of worship, including temples, mosques, churches, and gurdwara.

The seers urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to give them two gifts before the culmination of the Maha Kumbh — formation of the Sanatan Board and “kalyan’” of the Waqf Board.

According to the resolution, the “Sanatan Board” will work as an independent body for “freeing temples from government and stopping religious conversion among other issues, according to a report by IE.

Stressing upon the need for the “Sanatan Board”, Jagatguru Swami Vasudevacharya said "Mathura, Sambhal and Vishwanath will be taken at one go" once it is formed.

According to Thakur, once the Sanatan Board is formed they would not have to trouble courts on issues like Krishna Janmabhoomi. “Once the Sanatan Board is formed then we will not have to bother the high courts or the Supreme Court… Our own court will decide whether Mathura is ours or not,” he said.