HC & CE Act and Appointment of The Only Hindus

Job Appointment For ‘Only for Hindus’ Spurs Outrage In Tamil Nadu 

Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (H&CE) published an ‘only for Hindu’ advertisement for various posts in its college has spurred outrage in the state among several individuals and organizations taking a stand against this action.

Arulmigu Kapaleeswarar Arts and Science College in Kolathur had published advertisements for various teaching and non-teaching posts on October 13th, which appeared in several publications noting that the seats are Only for Hindus.

The Details in the Matter

HR & CE (Hindu Religion and Charitable Endowments Department) is a department in the Government of Tamil Nadu that manages the administration of the temples within the state.

1959, Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act XXII governs 36,425 temples, 56 mutts or religious orders, 1721 explicit endowments, and 189 trusts (and 47 temples belonging to mutts).

Hindu Religion and Charitable Endowment Department are going to open four new colleges of Science and Arts that include the Kapaleeshwarar College in Kolathur from 2021-2022.

The controversial advertisement invited Hindus for the walk-in-interview for the assistant professor of the course Librarian, Physical Education Director, Mathematics, English, Tamil, BCA, Computer Science, BSc, BBA, Bcom.

The invitation for the walk-in-interview for the post of non-teaching staff included office assistant, junior assistant, sweeper, and watchman.

Although P. K. Sekar Babu, HR & CE Minister, was not available for the comment, the former president of the Association of University teachers, K. Pandyan, spoke to IANS on the matter, stating how The HR & CE department has several schools and colleges, but such incidents have never appeared before.

He further condemned the action, noting how a government body cannot discriminate on any grounds of religion.

1. Pandyan disapproved of the reservation, saying how the government could run the college only based on the written constitution. He also gave examples of Muslim colleges having non-Muslim members by bringing the name of Madurai’s Muslim Service Society Wakf Board College.

The Current Dilemma

The department officials have pointed to Section 10 of the HR & CE Act to justify their actions and argue that the Act says the Commissioner, servants, or other officers who are appointed to carry the purpose of this Act shall profess the Hindu Religion.

Furthermore, it states that every person who is appointed or who is deemed to have been appointed needs to sign a pledge that states the person is a Hindu by birth and professes the religion.

A Senior Official from the department brought up Section 6(5), Section 66(1)(g), and Section 10, saying that the Religious Educational Institutions was established as a ‘Charitable Endowment’ for the benefits of the Hindu Community and it will do the same.

Section 6(5) defines the Charitable Endowment as the property given or endowed for the benefits or use of, by the Hindu, for supporting and maintaining objects relating to the community members. This includes houses, schools, colleges,

medical relief, etc.

Section 66(1)(g) states that the funds from the endowment can be appropriated for the maintenance and establishment of educational institutions where Hindu Religion’s instructions are given.

Counter Argument

T Veeramani, The head of the Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers Association, has said that the appointment of solely Hindus will be unacceptable.

Former Judge of the Madras High Court, Justice K. Chandru, has pointed at Section 16(5) in response, saying that the government could use the exemption under the Article as the vacancies were not for religious activities.

Justice Chandru also recalled his 2011 verdict against a Christian security company that had knocked the court’s door to terminate its contract with Tiruchendur Murugan Temple.

“Religious reservation should be followed for posts directly connected to temple administration and religious practices, and not for posts unconnected to temple activities,” Justice K. Chandru had asserted.

Opinion –

India is the second most populated country globally, having the second rank in the list of the densest population.

The unemployment rate in India is rising continuously. With a lack of good job opportunities and costly higher education, the youth of India has to settle for a lesser paying job.

Among such situations, Religious Biases and discrimination in the hiring processes could create massive anger among the population, creating more stressful circumstances and conditions.