CRL Commission launches Hindu Section 22 Committee
The section 22 committee was officially inaugurated at the Sri Radha Radhanath Temple (ISKCON) in Chatsworth, Durban
The Hindu Faith Community has become the latest faith organisation to establish a Section 22 Committee as part of the CRL Rights Commission’s drive to reign in abuses within religious groups.
The committee was officially inaugurated at the Sri Radha Radhanath Temple (ISKCON) in Chatsworth, Durban, following a national consultative process that culminated in the appointment of ten representatives from various Hindu organisations.
CRL Rights Commission Chairperson Thoko Xaluva Mkhwanazi said the establishment of the committee reaffirmed the Commission’s constitutional mandate to promote and protect the rights of the country’s cultural, religious and linguistic communities.
“The Committee represents an important mechanism for participatory democracy and community engagement,” she said
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The mandate of the committee is is to facilitate nationwide consultations with the religious sector to develop self-regulatory frameworks, a code of ethics, and accountability mechanisms to stop abuse within faith organisations.
Some religious groups have raised concerns that the establishment of such a committee encroaches on the independence of religious groups
However, Xaluva-Mkhwanazi denied that the committee interfered in religious affairs.
“The Committee is consultative and advisory in nature. It will not regulate religion, prescribe doctrine or interfere in the internal affairs of religious organisations, but serves to facilitate structured engagement that will in due course develop a code of conduct and an accountability framework relevant to this Community,” she said.
The establishment of the Hindu Section 22 Committee follows consultations held in Chatsworth in March this year, after which Hindu organisations across the country were invited to nominate representatives.
Following a selection process, ten community leaders were appointed to serve on the inaugural committee.
CRL Commissioner Dr Rajendran Govender – who will oversee the committee’s work, said its immediate priority would be to embark on extensive consultations with Hindu communities across the country.
The Committee will undertake an extensive national consultative process beginning in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape.
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“Through engagements with temples, religious organisations, cultural bodies, language organisations, youth structures and other stakeholders, the Committee will identify priorities affecting the Hindu community,” he said.
The consultations, Govender said, would later be expanded to other provinces to ensure the process was “broad, inclusive and representative of Hindu communities across South Africa”.
Govender said the findings would be consolidated into a comprehensive report containing recommendations to the Commission.
The committee will be chaired by Krsangi-Radhe Dasi of ISKCON South Africa, with Pavan Maharaj of the Chinmaya Mission of South Africa serving as deputy chairperson.
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Other members of the committee were drawn from various organisations including the Arya Samaj, South African Hindu Dharma Sabha, South African Hindu Maha Sabha, Natal Tamil Vedic Society, Sathya Sai Organisation.
