BJP Tamil Nadu chief speaks at ITCX 2025 on temple economy and revitalizing Sanatana Dharma
The second day of the International Temples Convention & Expo (ITCX) 2025 started on a very passionate note with speaker K. Annamalai, Chief of BJP in Tamil Nadu, taking the stage to talk about temple economy and autonomy. In his speech, he highlighted the need to provide autonomy to the temples for the acceleration of Bharat’s economic growth while abolishing the governing bodies like the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Acts (HR & CE), and emulating the economy of the bigger, autonomous temples.
At the start of his speech, he appreciated the efforts of ITCX and Temple Connect to bring different generations of the followers of SanataK. Annamalai stresses the need for temple autonomy and the abolition of the HR & CE Act, highlighting temples as economic powerhouses for Bharat's growth at ITCX 2025 in Tirupati.na Dharma together. He said, “I am very happy and delighted. Temple Connect program last year in Varanasi, and this year in Tirupati is able to bring our swamijis, our adinams, our gurus.”
He continued, “On the other end, young, enthusiastic people are present. They are passionate about taking the temple economy to another level, making sure Sanatana Dharma keeps prospering, and at the same time, rediscovering what we lost and bringing it to the mainstream. At the same time, the elders are guiding us, helping us to rediscover what we have lost over the 250 years, making it a unique gathering.”
In his speech, the BJP head of Tamil Nadu asserted that the key denominator that connects all the temples is the temple economy. Annamalai stated that the market cap valuation of Tirupati Temple alone is around 2.5 lakh crore, larger than many international and national organisations.
Annamalai presented a critique of how the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Acts (HR & CE) are posing a threat to the economic boost of the temples, and in turn, the economy of the country as a whole. He announced that in the Central Manifesto of the party, one of the promises is to abolish the HR & CE if NDA comes into power in Tamil Nadu.
He stated his vision, saying, “When Lord Venkateshwara gives us the opportunity for the NDA to come to power, we want to remove this illegal act, and free all the 44,121 temples from HR & CE. Imagine the kind of temple economy and money we will generate, helping the schools around the temples run, taking care of the civic infrastructure of a particular city, running engineering schools, and also running the centres for excellence for science. That is the kind of revenue; even if the temples are mismanaged, it can generate.”
Annamalai also went into the history of Dharamanomics, underlining the meticulous and complex economic planning that Chola kings executed. Referring to that, he said that these temples can not only be centres for Dharma but also a bridge between the privileged and the underprivileged. Temples are uniting Bharat, reviving the spiritual fraternity that is essential for the sustenance of Sanatana Dharma.
