New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) At least 3,000 Christians, Dalits and rights activists from across the country courted arrest here Tuesday while protesting against the "silence" of the government on the alleged rise in anti-Christian attacks.
At a rally, "Stop Violence on Christians", held at Jantar Mantar here, Christian and Dalit leaders, including All India Christian Council (AICC) president Joseph Dsouza, National Integration Council member John Dayal, Justice Party president Udit Raj and Mount Carmel School principal V.K. Williams, warned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that his silence could lead to killing of innocent people at the hands of communal forces.
"The protest is in the wake of attacks on Pastor Walter Masih in Jaipur, Rajasthan on April 19 and priests Ramesh Gopargode and Ajit Belavi on May 7 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, and a high incidence of communal assaults this year thus far," Madhu Chandra, an AICC leader, told IANS.
Chandra said that in 2006, the AICC recorded at least one incident of anti-Christian attack every third day, "but this rose to one attack every alternate day during the first four months of this year".
The participants, who were from several states including Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, shouted slogans against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, saying, "UPA government, wake up and stop atrocities on Christians."
Also present at the rally were victims of communal violence, including Masih and two Christians from Himachal Pradesh, Bernard Christopher and Ravinder Gautam, who were allegedly tonsured and forcibly "reconverted" to Hinduism in Kullu district May 23.
Dayal said Christianity had been reduced to a "daylight religion", because "the people of the community feel unsafe after sunset".
Expressing disappointment with the Congress party that leads the UPA, Dayal added that it was no longer only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that should be blamed for anti-Christian agenda. "Look at the Congress-government in Himachal Pradesh, which enacted the anti-conversion law," he said.
Dalit leader Raj told the Christians not to trust any political party including the Congress saying, "You must have hopes only from yourselves."
Offering Dalits' support to the Christian community, Raj added that they should "learn to identify their friends".
The crowd left the Parliament Street police station, where they courted arrest, at 2.15 p.m. after an official announced that there were not enough jails to keep such a huge number of people.
Christians in Mumbai also staged a rally at Azad Maidan to show solidarity with the protesters here.
read full news here : http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=44634
28.5.07
RSS calls Sikhism a separate religion in 'great Hindu samaj'
RSS calls Sikhism a separate religion in 'great Hindu samaj'
PTI
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has described the Sikh faith as a separate religion belonging to "one great Hindu samaj".
In a view that may not go well with BJP's ally Akali Dal, the Sangh says it sees a "problem" if minorities assume a 'political' character.
Spelling out its stand on minorities on its website rss.org under a mission header, it says it believes the Hindu Code Bill is applicable to Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists and that it should be applicable to all, including the Christians and the Muslims.
"The RSS believes in the plural structure of society. Therefore, it recognises that there is bound to be a majority-minority syndrome, and hence each group, whether in the majority or minority, will have a distinct identity and distinct character," it says.
But minorities, according to the Sangh, should restrain themselves from overstepping their basic character.
"... the majority-minority distinctions must be restricted to the bases on which the minority character is sought to be claimed. ... the problem arises when a particular minority transgresses the basis of its minority character and assumes a political one." it says.
In its stand on Sikhism, the Sangh has called it a separate religion but its followers part of Hindu samaj.
"We regard the Sikh religion as a separate religion, but we regard the Sikh people as belonging to our samaj. When we say that they are a part of the one great Hindu Samaj, we do not deny the existence of their separate religion and separate beliefs. The Hindu samaj is a commonwealth of many religions," it says.
The samaj, it adds, includes idol worshippers as well as those who oppose idol worship and those who accept the authority of the Vedas as well as those who do not. They are all included in the wider Hindu conceptualisation, the Sangh says.
"Many Sikhs attend RSS Shakhas, but nobody is asked to remove his beard or his pugree (turban). The RSS will never try to obliterate the identity of the Sikhs. That will be against the very grain of the RSS," it says.
PTI
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has described the Sikh faith as a separate religion belonging to "one great Hindu samaj".
In a view that may not go well with BJP's ally Akali Dal, the Sangh says it sees a "problem" if minorities assume a 'political' character.
Spelling out its stand on minorities on its website rss.org under a mission header, it says it believes the Hindu Code Bill is applicable to Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists and that it should be applicable to all, including the Christians and the Muslims.
"The RSS believes in the plural structure of society. Therefore, it recognises that there is bound to be a majority-minority syndrome, and hence each group, whether in the majority or minority, will have a distinct identity and distinct character," it says.
But minorities, according to the Sangh, should restrain themselves from overstepping their basic character.
"... the majority-minority distinctions must be restricted to the bases on which the minority character is sought to be claimed. ... the problem arises when a particular minority transgresses the basis of its minority character and assumes a political one." it says.
In its stand on Sikhism, the Sangh has called it a separate religion but its followers part of Hindu samaj.
"We regard the Sikh religion as a separate religion, but we regard the Sikh people as belonging to our samaj. When we say that they are a part of the one great Hindu Samaj, we do not deny the existence of their separate religion and separate beliefs. The Hindu samaj is a commonwealth of many religions," it says.
The samaj, it adds, includes idol worshippers as well as those who oppose idol worship and those who accept the authority of the Vedas as well as those who do not. They are all included in the wider Hindu conceptualisation, the Sangh says.
"Many Sikhs attend RSS Shakhas, but nobody is asked to remove his beard or his pugree (turban). The RSS will never try to obliterate the identity of the Sikhs. That will be against the very grain of the RSS," it says.
In India, 2,000 Hindus `reborn'
BUDDHISTS WELCOME LOW-CASTE CONVERTS
By Aijaz Ansari
Associated Press
Article Launched: 05/28/2007 02:48:30 AM PDT
MUMBAI, India - About 2,000 low-caste Hindu Indians bowed before orange-robed monks and recited prayers as they converted to Buddhism in a ceremony Sunday that they said would bring them dignity in a society that considers them "untouchables."
"I feel like I have been reborn," Mahi, a farmer who uses only one name, said at the ceremony in Mumbai. "This is my rebirth."
Organizers said the ceremony was conducted in the spirit of B.R. Ambedkar, an untouchable, or dalit, who fought British colonial rule and injustice in Indian society. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution that outlawed discrimination based on caste, renounced Hinduism for Buddhism in 1956 because he believed it treated people equally. He died that same year.
Buddhists form a small minority in mostly Hindu India. read full news here. http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_6004822
By Aijaz Ansari
Associated Press
Article Launched: 05/28/2007 02:48:30 AM PDT
MUMBAI, India - About 2,000 low-caste Hindu Indians bowed before orange-robed monks and recited prayers as they converted to Buddhism in a ceremony Sunday that they said would bring them dignity in a society that considers them "untouchables."
"I feel like I have been reborn," Mahi, a farmer who uses only one name, said at the ceremony in Mumbai. "This is my rebirth."
Organizers said the ceremony was conducted in the spirit of B.R. Ambedkar, an untouchable, or dalit, who fought British colonial rule and injustice in Indian society. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution that outlawed discrimination based on caste, renounced Hinduism for Buddhism in 1956 because he believed it treated people equally. He died that same year.
Buddhists form a small minority in mostly Hindu India. read full news here. http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_6004822
Thousands of Hindus convert to Buddhism to be treated as “human beings”
At least 5,000 people mass convert in Mumbai. They are Dalits and Tribals, members of groups at the bottom of the Hindu caste system, who hope to gain greater social and human dignity.
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Thousands of Tribal Hindus and Dalits converted to Buddhism in a mass ceremony in Mumbai yesterday in order to escape from the rigid caste system and thus be treated as ‘human beings’.
Shravan Gaikwad, a representative of the Dalit group Samatha Sainik Dal, estimated that about 5,000 people took part in the ceremony, which was held to mark the 50th anniversary of leading Dalit leader Bhimrao Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism.
Delegates from several countries with large Buddhist communities, including Sri Lanka, Thailand and Japan, attended the event.
For many mass conversion appears to be only way to escape the rigid Hindu caste system, which places Dalits and Tribals at the bottom of the social hierarchy, and, as one Dalit activist put it, start being treated “as human beings”.
At least one sixth of India's 1.1 billion people are classed as low caste.
Despite job reservation (affirmative action) for members of Dalit and Tribal communities, their social status and economic conditions have not greatly improved.
Hindu nationalist are opposed to Hindu converting and in several Indian states (especially those ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party) laws against conversion have been adopted, in particular if it involves Hindus converting to Christianity or Islam.
Converting to Buddhism does not however elicit much negative reaction, since many in India believe Buddhism to be an extension of Hinduism. By contrast, two weeks ago two Catholic priests were publicly beaten after being accused of proselytising.
source : http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9389&size=A
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Thousands of Tribal Hindus and Dalits converted to Buddhism in a mass ceremony in Mumbai yesterday in order to escape from the rigid caste system and thus be treated as ‘human beings’.
Shravan Gaikwad, a representative of the Dalit group Samatha Sainik Dal, estimated that about 5,000 people took part in the ceremony, which was held to mark the 50th anniversary of leading Dalit leader Bhimrao Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism.
Delegates from several countries with large Buddhist communities, including Sri Lanka, Thailand and Japan, attended the event.
For many mass conversion appears to be only way to escape the rigid Hindu caste system, which places Dalits and Tribals at the bottom of the social hierarchy, and, as one Dalit activist put it, start being treated “as human beings”.
At least one sixth of India's 1.1 billion people are classed as low caste.
Despite job reservation (affirmative action) for members of Dalit and Tribal communities, their social status and economic conditions have not greatly improved.
Hindu nationalist are opposed to Hindu converting and in several Indian states (especially those ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party) laws against conversion have been adopted, in particular if it involves Hindus converting to Christianity or Islam.
Converting to Buddhism does not however elicit much negative reaction, since many in India believe Buddhism to be an extension of Hinduism. By contrast, two weeks ago two Catholic priests were publicly beaten after being accused of proselytising.
source : http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9389&size=A
Talks on reforms to allow non-Hindus into Kerala temples
Trissur (Kerala), May 28: A panel of Hindu priests is scheduled to meet Monday afternoon to discuss whether there is a need to change rules that prevent non-Hindus from entering Kerala temples.
The Yogakshema Sabha, a body of temple priests and those associated with the affairs of the temples in the state, is to discuss whether reforms are needed after a controversy erupted last week at the famous Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayoor.
Priests in Guruvayoor performed a cleansing ritual after the naming ceremony of Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi's grandson at the temple. Ravi's wife is a Christian.
Following the cleansing ceremony, progressive Hindus felt that a change in temple rules is needed so as to make the entry of non-Hindus into temples a smooth affair. However, organizations associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party did not agree.
A source close to the Yogashema Sabha said Monday's discussion would look into all aspects and the body would decide whether any changes are needed to be made in the tradition to keep up with changing times.
--- IANS
read full news here. http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=33453
The Yogakshema Sabha, a body of temple priests and those associated with the affairs of the temples in the state, is to discuss whether reforms are needed after a controversy erupted last week at the famous Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayoor.
Priests in Guruvayoor performed a cleansing ritual after the naming ceremony of Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi's grandson at the temple. Ravi's wife is a Christian.
Following the cleansing ceremony, progressive Hindus felt that a change in temple rules is needed so as to make the entry of non-Hindus into temples a smooth affair. However, organizations associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party did not agree.
A source close to the Yogashema Sabha said Monday's discussion would look into all aspects and the body would decide whether any changes are needed to be made in the tradition to keep up with changing times.
--- IANS
read full news here. http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=33453
Non hindus barred from worshipping in Hindu temple
Non-Hindus Barred from Worshipping in Hindu Temple
Temple priest objects to the entry of a minister's son in Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur
Rajen Nair (rajennair)
Kerala, the famous Hindu shrine of Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur, is embroiled in controversy over barring of non-Hindu worshipers into the temple to offer prayers.
Vayalar Ravi, Pravasi Affairs Minister for India, along with his son had visited the Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur for offering prayers. After their departure the temple head priest carried out the purification ceremony of the temple. The minister, though, is of lower Hindu caste and is legally allowed to offer prayers but it is his son Ravi Krishna who has broken the law of the temple by accompanying him, according to the temple priest.
read full article http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=5&no=363554&rel_no=1
Temple priest objects to the entry of a minister's son in Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur
Rajen Nair (rajennair)
Kerala, the famous Hindu shrine of Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur, is embroiled in controversy over barring of non-Hindu worshipers into the temple to offer prayers.
Vayalar Ravi, Pravasi Affairs Minister for India, along with his son had visited the Lord Krishna temple in Guruvayur for offering prayers. After their departure the temple head priest carried out the purification ceremony of the temple. The minister, though, is of lower Hindu caste and is legally allowed to offer prayers but it is his son Ravi Krishna who has broken the law of the temple by accompanying him, according to the temple priest.
read full article http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=5&no=363554&rel_no=1
26.5.07
'Rapist' Trinidad swami has a Nagpur past
By Shyam Pandharipande, Indo Asian News Service
Nagpur, May 25 (IANS) Every saint has a past; every sinner, a future, goes a maxim. Kripalu Maharaj, an 85-year-old Hindu spiritual guru, charged with raping a 22-year old Guyanese woman in south Trinidad Sunday, has a similar case pending against him in the high court here.
Setting up an ashram near this city in central India in 1984, Kripalu Maharaj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, attracted considerable following in the region. All was hunky dory for the swami until an elderly man filed a complaint against him in 1991 that Maharaj had kidnapped his two major daughters.
Following the complaint, the police came to know of at least two earlier cases of rape in which complaints were not registered, public prosecutor Prashant Sathiyanathan recalls.
The police filed a common first information report (FIR) against the swami putting together all four cases of kidnapping and rape allegedly committed over a period from 1985-91, Sathiyanathan told IANS.
The swami contested the charges, first in the high court and then in the Supreme Court, which asked the police to file a separate FIR for each case in the lower court.
The two major sisters, meanwhile, stated in the court that they stayed and had sex with the swami regularly of their own volition, that he was the incarnation of Lord Krishna and that they were his disciples.
Even as another case of rape on a minor girl was filed against the swami, the two disciple sisters quietly retreated from the ashram and, it was reported subsequently that they were happily married.
The 12-year old girl, whose father had complained of unnatural sex and rape on his daughter, too testified in the court that the swami had sex with her every time her parents took her to him. The court wondered how a minor girl could go to a man again and again if he had sex with her and how come it didn't hurt. The medical reports too went in favour of the swami, who was acquitted of all the charges.
The high court, before which the prosecution has preferred an appeal against the acquittal in 2005, had the swami deposit his passport, restraining him from leaving the country.
Later however, the court allowed the swami's application seeking permission to go abroad citing ill-health. The case awaits final hearing for which the date is yet to be fixed, Sathiyanathan said.
(Shyam Pandharipande can be contacted at shyam.pandharipande@gmail.com)
Indo-Asian News Service
Nagpur, May 25 (IANS) Every saint has a past; every sinner, a future, goes a maxim. Kripalu Maharaj, an 85-year-old Hindu spiritual guru, charged with raping a 22-year old Guyanese woman in south Trinidad Sunday, has a similar case pending against him in the high court here.
Setting up an ashram near this city in central India in 1984, Kripalu Maharaj, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, attracted considerable following in the region. All was hunky dory for the swami until an elderly man filed a complaint against him in 1991 that Maharaj had kidnapped his two major daughters.
Following the complaint, the police came to know of at least two earlier cases of rape in which complaints were not registered, public prosecutor Prashant Sathiyanathan recalls.
The police filed a common first information report (FIR) against the swami putting together all four cases of kidnapping and rape allegedly committed over a period from 1985-91, Sathiyanathan told IANS.
The swami contested the charges, first in the high court and then in the Supreme Court, which asked the police to file a separate FIR for each case in the lower court.
The two major sisters, meanwhile, stated in the court that they stayed and had sex with the swami regularly of their own volition, that he was the incarnation of Lord Krishna and that they were his disciples.
Even as another case of rape on a minor girl was filed against the swami, the two disciple sisters quietly retreated from the ashram and, it was reported subsequently that they were happily married.
The 12-year old girl, whose father had complained of unnatural sex and rape on his daughter, too testified in the court that the swami had sex with her every time her parents took her to him. The court wondered how a minor girl could go to a man again and again if he had sex with her and how come it didn't hurt. The medical reports too went in favour of the swami, who was acquitted of all the charges.
The high court, before which the prosecution has preferred an appeal against the acquittal in 2005, had the swami deposit his passport, restraining him from leaving the country.
Later however, the court allowed the swami's application seeking permission to go abroad citing ill-health. The case awaits final hearing for which the date is yet to be fixed, Sathiyanathan said.
(Shyam Pandharipande can be contacted at shyam.pandharipande@gmail.com)
Indo-Asian News Service
Visiting 85-year-old Indian swami charged with rape in Trinidad
By Paras Ramoutar, Indo-Asian News Service
Port-of-Spain (Trinidad), May 21 (IANS) A senior Hindu missionary from India, whose trips here attract hordes of visitors including government ministers, has been charged with raping a young woman at his centre in south Trinidad.
The 85-year-old swami, who is from a prominent Hindu organisation in India, was charged Sunday evening with raping a 22-year-old woman at his centre in Phillipne, south Trinidad. She had gone to seek spiritual assistance and guidance from the swami when she was raped, according to police officials in the city of San Fernando.
Doctors who examined the woman said she was a virgin.
The swami, whose name is being withheld pending his appearance in a court on Monday, has been visiting this oil-rich republic for several years now. His last visit was in June 2005.
Whenever he comes to Trinidad there is always an avalanche of believers to see him. They think he can cure social, marital and financial problems. His guests have included government ministers, top corporate executives and senior religious leaders.
The incident is likely to cause consternation among the 24 percent of diehard Hindus, as well as among the non-Hindus and Christians who always revere the spiritual luminaries visiting here.
Out of Trindiad and Tobago's one million population, about 40 percent is of Indian origin. These include Christians, Hindus and Muslims.
Legal representatives for the swami are calling for a speedy hearing of the case.
Indo-Asian News Service
Port-of-Spain (Trinidad), May 21 (IANS) A senior Hindu missionary from India, whose trips here attract hordes of visitors including government ministers, has been charged with raping a young woman at his centre in south Trinidad.
The 85-year-old swami, who is from a prominent Hindu organisation in India, was charged Sunday evening with raping a 22-year-old woman at his centre in Phillipne, south Trinidad. She had gone to seek spiritual assistance and guidance from the swami when she was raped, according to police officials in the city of San Fernando.
Doctors who examined the woman said she was a virgin.
The swami, whose name is being withheld pending his appearance in a court on Monday, has been visiting this oil-rich republic for several years now. His last visit was in June 2005.
Whenever he comes to Trinidad there is always an avalanche of believers to see him. They think he can cure social, marital and financial problems. His guests have included government ministers, top corporate executives and senior religious leaders.
The incident is likely to cause consternation among the 24 percent of diehard Hindus, as well as among the non-Hindus and Christians who always revere the spiritual luminaries visiting here.
Out of Trindiad and Tobago's one million population, about 40 percent is of Indian origin. These include Christians, Hindus and Muslims.
Legal representatives for the swami are calling for a speedy hearing of the case.
Indo-Asian News Service
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