National Council of Hindu Temples

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The National Council of Hindu Temples (NCHTUK) is an umbrella body of Hindu temples (mandirs) in the United Kingdom. [1] It connects a network of over 200 temples in the country. It supports the temples, their management, employees and operations in order to enable public access to some of the oldest heritage sites of Hinduism. [2] NCHTUK is also involved in areas of interfaith dialogue at forums like The Interfaith Network UK. [3]

Contents

History

It was established in July 1978, [4]

In 2013, NCHTUK announced the formation of the British Board of Hindu Scholars in order to provide an alternative, authoritative, scholarly source for Indology studies. [5] In December, Sharma represented the council during the Ambassadors reception where he presented Prince William a copy of the ancient Indian epic of Valmiki Ramayana on behalf of the council. [6]

In May 2016, NCHTUK and HFB were requested by DCLG for improving the crematorium provisions in line with the Hindu traditions for cremating the dead. [7] Later in December, the council protested the issue of £5 notes by Bank of England that contained tallow (a form of animal fat). Several temples across UK refused to accept the £5 currency as donations. NHCHT secretary Pt. Satish Sharma explained this was against the ethos of Hindu dharmic perspective and that printing currency and using substances derived from acts of violence upon vulnerable, non-aggressive creatures was not the behaviour of civilised beings. [8]

Celebrations

In August 2021, there were simultaneous prayers held across 150 temples as NCHTUK marked the laying of the foundation stone of the Ram mandir at Ayodhya. [9]

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References

  1. Zavos, John (2012). "Chapter 6. Hindu Organisation and the Negotiation of Public Space in Contemporary Britain". In John Zavos; et al. (eds.). Public Hinduisms. New Delhi: SAGE Publ. India. ISBN   978-81-321-1696-7.
  2. Vertovec, Steven (2013). The Hindu Diaspora: Comparative Patterns. Routledge. pp. 98–101. ISBN   9781136367052.
  3. "IFN member list - The Inter Faith Network (IFN)". www.interfaith.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  4. Altglas, Véronique (2014). From Yoga to Kabbalah: Religious Exoticism and the Logics of Bricolage. Oxford University Press. pp. 167–168. ISBN   9780199997633.
  5. "NCHT UK Announces Formation of the British Board of Hindu Scholars | Spiritual Bangalore" . Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  6. "Prince William to Read the Ramayana to Baby George". ISKCON News. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  7. ABPL. "Review of crematoria provisions and facilities..." www.asian-voice.com. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  8. "Dolls representing human beings; toys representing animals or non-human creatures". 2018-07-31. doi:10.18356/113e6381-en.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. Aug 5, PTI / Updated; 2020; Ist, 20:28. "Prayers mark Ayodhya Bhoomi Pujan in UK - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2022-03-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Further reading