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8 Jul 2026POLITY3 questions

A Donation Row at the Ram Temple Trust: The Unfinished Question of Governing Religious Endowments

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Article summary

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust accepted the resignations of its General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra after an emergency meeting, amid an alleged donation-embezzlement controversy that surfaced following the recovery of cash from the residence of a trust employee handling donations. Krishna Mohan was appointed interim General Secretary. The Trust, constituted by the Government of India in February 2020 to oversee construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, is a large donation-receiving body that operates without a dedicated statutory framework. The episode is significant less for the individuals involved than for the governance question it reopens: how India's major religious endowments — which collectively handle enormous inflows of cash and gold — are audited, made transparent, and held accountable. For UPSC, this is a live case study bridging governance-institutions design, probity in public and quasi-public bodies, and the constitutional balance between the freedom to manage religious affairs and the state's interest in administrative propriety.

What this tests

recallTests whether you read the article and retained key facts.
1Q
applicationTests whether you can apply the concept to a new scenario.
1Q
analysisTests whether you can reason across multiple related facts.
1Q

Sample questions — answers revealed after test

POLITYRecallEasy

Q1. With reference to Article 26 of the Constitution, which one of the following statements is correct?

AIt guarantees every individual the freedom to profess, practise and propagate religion.
BIt confers an absolute right to administer religious property, immune from any statutory regulation.
CIt prohibits the State from levying any tax the proceeds of which are appropriated for a particular religion.
DIt guarantees religious denominations the right to establish institutions, manage matters of religion, and administer property in accordance with law — the qualification on property administration being what allows courts to distinguish protected religious functions from regulable secular administration.
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POLITYApplicationMedium

Q2. A large religious endowment receiving substantial cash and gold donations experiences an alleged embezzlement. Which one of the following best identifies the governance gap such an episode typically exposes?

AThe absence of a constitutional provision permitting any regulation of religious endowments.
BThe absence of independent statutory audit, real-time accounting, and a clear separation between custodial and administrative roles — controls that are standard in comparable financial institutions but often missing in endowments.
CThe failure of Article 26 to protect the denomination's right to manage its own affairs.
DThe absence of any judicial remedy against the office-bearers of a registered trust.
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POLITYAnalysisHard

Q3. Consider the following statements: 1. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was constituted by the Government of India in February 2020, following the Supreme Court's 2019 Ayodhya verdict. 2. Several States administer major temples through Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments departments with statutory boards and audit powers. 3. The Trust is a statutory body established under a dedicated Act of Parliament, and is therefore subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Which of the statements given above are correct?

A1 only
B1 and 2 only
C2 and 3 only
D1, 2 and 3
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