Besides appointing retired Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Wednesday inducted three new trustees, including its first woman member.
The appointment of Dr Nirmala Yadav, advocate Madan Mohan Pandey and businessman-social worker Mahesh Bhagchandka is notable not only for broader social inclusion – induction of a woman OBC member – but also for roping in people from different professions and areas of experience in a bid to expand the Trust’s profile and people’s faith in it following the donation theft scandal.
The three will fill the positions that fell vacant following the death of Bimlendra Mohan Mishra last year and the resignation of former general secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra in the wake of the donation theft controversy.
The three new Trust members are
1. Dr Nirmala Yadav
The retired college principal from Shikohabad in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav is the first woman member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. A postgraduate in Hindi and Sanskrit with a PhD, the 66-year-old served as a college principal for 19 years and a member of the university executive council for 15 years, giving her substantial experience in academic and institutional administration.
2. Madan Mohan Pandey
The induction of Madan Mohan Pandey, 74, as a Trust member brings a different kind of institutional experience. A law graduate and advocate based in Ayodhya Cantonment, Pandey was associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi litigation for nearly three decades. According to the Trust, he represented Shri Ram Lalla Virajman and Mahant Shri Ramchandra Paramhans before the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court from 1990 to 2019. That period covered crucial stages of the dispute, culminating in the Supreme Court’s 2019 verdict, paving the way for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Pandey also served as Additional Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh for six years. His current associations include serving as vice-president of Shri Hari Satsang Samiti and patron of the Kathakar Yojana Training Centre in Ayodhya.
3. Mahesh Bhagchandka
The 68-year-old Delhi-based businessman and social worker, Bhagchandka, has been appointed as the new Treasurer of the Trust. He will replace Govind Giri, who was earlier elevated to the post of general secretary, replacing Champat Rai.
Associated with the Ashok Singhal Foundation, Bhagchandka is also a member of the executive committee of the World Hindu Economic Forum. He has also been associated with the installation of Ram Stambhs at 222 sites linked to the Shri Ram Van Gaman Yatra and took part as a yajman in the Ram Temple Bhoomi Pujan and Pran Pratishtha ceremonies.
Bhagchandka, a graduate, has penned the book “Hindutva Ke Prayog”. His association with the Ashok Singhal Foundation is significant in the context of the Ram temple movement, given Singhal’s prominent role in the campaign for the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.
