Under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, Tata Sons will spend Rs 650 crore to construct The Indian Temple Museum in Manjha Jamthara village in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The Museum will reportedly exhibit the history and architecture of renowned temples across the country. A sound-and-light show is on the cards. The state government has approved the proposal. The company will, in addition, spend Rs 100 crore on setting up basic infrastructure at the site, stated news reports. State tourism minister Jaiveer Singh was quoted in news reports that the land for the Museum will be provided on a 90-year lease by the tourism department at one rupee a year.
Ram Temple Photo: Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust shared on X
While the move has been welcomed by many there has been some criticism on social media with one person commenting on Instagram "Time was when the Tata group was known for building institutions like TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) and TISS (Tata Institute of Social Science).” Now the priorities have clearly changed. While another counselled: "Please do something for those who lost homes, shops, businesses for this holy cause,” referring to the removal of homes and businesses to facilitate the inauguration of the Ram Mandir.
Chief executive officer of the Centre for Advancement of Philanthropy and charity law expert Noshir Dadrawala said, "By a liberal interpretation, this does qualify as CSR activity.” CSR is mandatory under section 135 of the Indian Companies Act 2013 for all companies having net worth of Rs 500 crores or more, or a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more or a net profit of five crore rupees or more. The range of specified CSR includes "protection of national heritage, art and culture… setting up public libraries, promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts.” Dadrawala noted that public sector oil companies have contributed over Rs 121 crore as part of their CSR activities towards the building of the massive Statue of Unity (of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) in Gujarat.
The Act states that "the company shall give preference to the local area and areas around it where it operates,” for its CSR activities. Quoting from a set of frequently asked questions issued by the union ministry of corporate affairs, the CEO said: "With the advent of information technology and emergence of new age businesses like e-commerce companies, process-outsourcing companies, and aggregator companies, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine the local area of various activities. The spirit of the Act is to ensure that CSR initiatives are aligned with the national priorities and enhance engagement of the corporate sector towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus, the preference to local area in the Act is only directory and not mandatory in nature.”
Dadrawala bemoaned, "Earlier the House of Tata believed in investing their funds in the ‘temples of modern India’ and gave to this country the first Institute of Science, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Tata Memorial Hospital. Their philanthropy has always been secular. This seems to be an interesting change in philanthropic policy.”
A tripartite agreement between the union ministry of culture, the UP government and Tata Sons has been signed to build and run the Museum. "According to the state government, the involvement of Tata Sons will help build the Museum under skilled observation,” reported The Indian Express (IE) of June 28. The Economic Times of June 25 noted that the idea of a temple museum has been under discussion since last year and that UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath presented the proposal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2023.
In January this year, the Ram temple in Ayodhya was inaugurated in a ceremony led by Modi (see "Tempest over temple,” Parsiana, February 7-20, 2024).
Built on the site of a previously existing mosque that was destroyed by Hindu militants, some expressed angst at the inauguration before the completion of the temple’s structure. Chairman of the Ram Mandir Construction Committee, Nripendra Misra was quoted in the Hindustan Times of June 25 as saying that "the construction of the entire Ram temple complex was expected to be completed by March 25 next year while the first floor of the temple would be completed by the end of next month.” F. J.