UAE's second Hindu temple inaugurated in Dubai
Dubai(PTI):: A majestic new Hindu temple that blends Indian and Arabic architectural designs has been inaugurated here in Jebel Ali Village, with a powerful message of tolerance, peace and harmony.
Located in a neighbourhood referred to as the emirate's 'worship village', the temple formally opened its doors to worshippers across the UAE on Tuesday.
"Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance & Coexistence & Amb @sunjaysudhir inaugurated the new Hindu Temple in Dubai. On the occasion, Ambassador Sunjay Sudhir thanked the UAE Government for their support to the 3.5 million-strong Indian diaspora in the UAE," the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi tweeted.
A powerful message of tolerance, peace and harmony, bringing together people from various faiths, marked the official opening ceremony, the Khaleej Times newspaper reported.
Priests chanted Om Shanti Shanti Om in a peace salutation and musicians playing the tabla and dhol Indian drums greeted people as they entered.
The 'worship village' in Jebel Ali now houses nine religious shrines, including seven churches, the Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh Gurudwara, and the new Hindu house of worship.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was organised in the main prayer hall.
Sheikh Nahyan was joined by Ambassador Sudhir, CEO of the social regulatory and licensing agency for the Community Development Authority (CDA), Dr Omar Al Muthanna and trustee of the Hindu Temple Dubai, Raju Shroff.
Ahmed Abdul Karim Julfar, director-general of the Community Development Authority, was also present at the event.
Over 200 dignitaries, including the heads of diplomatic missions, religious leaders of several faiths, business owners and Indian community members were also present at the glittering opening ceremony.
Sudhir said: "It is welcome news for the Indian community that a new Hindu temple is being inaugurated in Dubai today. The temple's opening serves the religious aspirations of the large Hindu community living in the UAE.
"The new temple is adjoining a Gurudwara, which was opened in 2012. We are honoured that Sheikh Nahayan inaugurated the new Hindu temple in Dubai. We thank the graciousness and generosity of the Dubai Government for providing land for the temple and facilitating its construction," the Indian envoy said.
Plans to construct the 70,000-square-foot house of worship were announced in 2020, shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic struck the city.
The temple features detailed hand carvings, ornate pillars, brass spires and striking lattice screens that blend Indian and Arabic architecture.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, Shroff said: "The temple opening in Dubai is a dream come true not just for Hindus, but for Indians all over the UAE. The temple is a true representation of how we perceive religion bringing cultures together."
"Despite COVID-19, construction timelines were not hampered because of the support of the Dubai government. The Hindu Temple Dubai is truly a remarkable icon of how receptive and compassionate Dubai and the Government of the UAE are. Whether it was in 1958 to launch the first 'temple' in the country to the Hindu temple now, the Emirati generosity remains."
Pre-registration is required to visit the temple and devotees can register online before arrival.
By the end of the year, there will be a spacious community centre where Hindu ceremonies, rituals and prayers can take place, including weddings.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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