Category: Religion

The illicit trade in idols and other historical treasures looted from temples, archaeological digs and various sites globally has been estimated at $100 billion a year.

A more telling figure might be the nearly 18,000 villagers in India’s Tamil Nadu state who turned out to welcome home a god figure stolen from one of their temples. More revealing still is the image of a single villager who, seeing a stolen god displayed in a Singapore Museum, falls to the ground and starts to pray.

Vijay Kumar accompanied that villager to the museum, and has witnessed idols lovingly replaced to their ages-old spots in Tamil Nadu temples.

For 16 years he has been working to repatriate gods and goddesses looted from India over the years, and the challenges remain huge, he tells us in today’s episode. For example, in 2020, police seized 19,000 stolen artefacts in an international art trafficking crackdown. 101 suspects were arrested with treasures from around the world, including Colombian and Roman antiquities. One activist estimates that in France alone there are 116,000 African objects that should be returned.

But Vijay is encouraged by the successes of citizen-led movements like his own, which began with a blog, Poetry in Stone, then the launch of the group India Pride Project.

Success can be measured in the growing number of artefacts returned to India: 19, from 1970-2000; 0, from 2000-2013; but 300+ after 2013. That includes roughly 250 items valued at about $15 million, which were repatriated in October, among the treasures looted by disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor, the subject of Vijay’s book, The Idol Thief.

Today’s conversation is packed with information, including Vijay’s opinion that countries like India and Nepal, where idols are part of the living heritage and still prayed to daily, should be treated differently than countries whose artefacts are looted from buried remains. He also has advice for would-be activists — in the murky world of art repatriation, be very, very wary about accepting money from anyone.

Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh–Culture, religion, and the way of life which is based on Buddhism are at the stake in Tibet under the Chinese regime, said Deputy Speaker of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile Dolma Tsering.

Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says China’s leaders “don’t understand the variety of different cultures” and that the ruling Communist Party’s penchant for tight social control can be harmful. The 86-year-old Buddhist monk on Wednesday also said he wished to remain home in India, where he has lived since 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, rather than get involved in the “complicated politics” between China, run by the officially atheist Communist Party, and strongly Buddhist Taiwan.

She also said that the Chinese want everything to be melted into the communist style. “So be it Buddhism or anything they want everything to be changed into them.” Speaking over the so-called freedom in Tibet, the Deputy Speaker said: “If there is any freedom in Tibet, why don’t the Chinese let world media go there and see for themselves. “When they shy away from world media that shows that they are hiding something. Why do they have to give all the time white paper on Tibet? This shows that all is not well there,” she said.

Tenzin Lekshay, spokesperson of Tibetan government-in-exile said that China oppressed many nationalists including Tibetian, Uyghurs, and Mongolians, over the 60-70 years under the party regime. “Chinese leaders always believe that the hunt rules, and then all the other people (minorities) are the ones who should serve, therefore they look at Tibentian as well,” he said.

Talking about the leadership for the Tibetans, he said: “If you see, all the official websites do not even have Tibetan language scripts. All are written in Chinese, so for whom they are working. Are they working for Tibetan?”

He added that the Chinese need to be more compassionate, they need to look into the aspirations of those people. “It is the issue of six million Tibetan, therefore the China-Tibet conflict needs to be resolved pending for over 50 60 years,” he said.

China exercises rigid control over all religions and in recent years has stepped up a campaign of cultural assimilation targeting Tibetans, Turkic Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups.

The Dalai Lama said he did not want to become involved in “local and political difficulties,” but was dedicated to making contributions to “brothers and sisters” in both Taiwan and mainland China. “This situation is quite complicated,” he said. “Sometimes I really feel this simple Buddhist monk (does) not want to (become involved) in complicated politics,” he said, chuckling.

The Dalai Lama retired from politics in 2011 but remains a major force for the preservation of Tibetan traditions. China castigates him as an advocate for Tibetan independence and has not had direct contacts with his representatives in more than a decade. The Dalai Lama says he merely advocates for Tibet’s substantial autonomy and protection for its native Buddhist culture.

The Dalai Lama, along with his followers, fled to India from Tibet in 1959 during an invasion by the Chinese forces. China calls the Buddhist monk a ‘separatist’, seeking to secede Tibet from China.

The second set of panels of the “Hindu Dharma, Hindutva and Hindudvesha” conference series were held last month, in coordination with and in celebration of Hindu Heritage Month. Four sessions held over the weekend focussed on issues like Colonialism and Hinduism and challenges faced by Hindus in the Islamic world.

The virtual conference showcased the diversity of views within the Hindu world, feature friends of the Hindu community, and address a troubling trend of anti-Hindu sentiment (Hindudvesha or Hinduphobia) which has more recently plagued the Hindu diaspora in the United States, Canada and other parts of the world.

The Hindudvesha conference is being jointly organized by American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD), an initiative of the World Hindu Council of America (VHPA), and Dharma Civilization Foundation.

The conference began on Saturday, October 23, 2021, from 11AM-1PM. The first session, “Coloniality and the Hindutva Movement,” delved deeper into understanding the Hindutva movement within the context of Coloniality, while the second session, “The Post-Colonial Hindu Hangover,” discussed how Colonialism has impacted the Hindu intellectual condition.

The second day of the conference took place on Sunday, October 24, between 11AM-1PM and the focus was on the impact of Islam on the Hindu culture and psyche. The entire conference was held every consecutive Saturday and Sunday over the course of four weeks.

In a joint statement, Kalyan Viswanathan, President of the Hindu University of America and VHPA Vice President Dr. Jai Bansal said: “Hindus are a deeply spiritual and peace-loving community. At one billion strong globally and roughly four million in the US, they represent a growing immigrant minority community in the United States. Historically, Hindus have never invaded, conquered, or enslaved others nor confiscated land or property. On the contrary, Hindus have repeatedly been victims of colonization and invasions. Perhaps their greatest characteristic is that they live and let live.

At the core of Hinduism is a certain foundational embrace of plurality which honors diversity and fosters co-existence. Unfortunately, as they are being repeatedly and increasingly maligned in unprecedented ways, it is important that Hindus speak up to set the record straight to contest the lies and misinformation circulated by those seeking to undermine them.” VHVA President Dr. Ajay Shah said, “it is high time to educate the world about the essence of Sanatana Vedic Dharma and it’s positive contributions to civil society, at all levels, and the world.”

American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) is the first and the most prominent Hindu organization against defamation in the USA.  AHAD has been actively monitoring mass media, products, public places etc. to ensure respectful and accurate representation of Hindu dharma, culture, images and icons. Active since 1997, hundreds of thousands of Hindus have participated in various advocacy activities led by AHAD. Hindudvesha project is partnership between AHAD and Dharma Civilization Foundation (DCF).

World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) is the most prominent organization of Hindus in the USA. Founded in 1970, it has chapters across the country.   VHPA runs educational programs for Hindu children and youth in addition to community service (Seva) activities, and initiatives such as Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference (HMEC), Hindu Womens’ Network, in addition to AHAD and HinduPACT. To learn about the conference, visit Hindu Dvesha – HHMConference

(RNS) — A Vatican census released ahead of World Mission Day reveals growing numbers of Catholics in what Pope Francis often refers to as “the global peripheries,” even as the number of believers continues to diminish in Europe.

The number of Catholics in the world grew by more than 15 million from 2018 to 2019, according to a census by the Vatican news agency Fides published on Thursday (Oct. 21). “The increase applies to all continents, except Europe,” which saw the number of Catholic faithful decrease by almost 300,000, the survey found.

The data was released ahead of the 95th World Mission Day, which will be celebrated on Sunday in dioceses around the globe following the one-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the census, conducted annually among Catholic faithful, Catholics represented 17.7% of the global population in 2019. As Catholicism gained followers in Africa, the Americas and Asia, the church’s numbers waned in Europe, the historic basin of Catholicism that is now increasingly becoming a mission territory.

While the number of Catholic priests has grown overall, Europe has seen a consistent decrease in clergy, where the number of faithful per priest grew to more than 3,245-to-1. For the seventh year in a row, the number of religious brothers and sisters has declined everywhere, with Africa as the only exception. Religious sisters experienced the sharpest decline, losing 11,562 members.

Seminarians studying to become priests also shrunk globally, especially in minor seminaries for people between 11 and 18 years old. Bishops diminished by 13, now totaling 5,364 globally.

While clergy members experienced a steep fall worldwide, the number of lay missionaries grew significantly, especially in the Americas and Africa, with only a small decrease in Asia. Catechists saw their numbers reduced by 2,590, with the Americas and Europe registering the highest drops.

The Fides data accounts for all Catholics until Dec. 31, 2019. Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent church closures and deaths, experts at a Vatican news conference on Thursday admitted the numbers may have changed substantially during 2020.

Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, addressed the challenges of putting together all the data, especially during the pandemic. While admitting “the de-Christianization is evident,” Dal Toso added that beneath the surface there are new and lively Christian communities that are thriving, even in Europe.

“I think it will be necessary to implement courses for Christian formation” to help the faithful better understand Catholicism, he said.

In a message shown at the news conference and written in January, Pope Francis said “the pandemic has brought to the fore and amplified the pain, the solitude, the poverty and the injustices experienced by so many people. It has unmasked our false sense of security and revealed the brokenness and polarization quietly growing in our midst.”

The most frail and vulnerable took the brunt of the pandemic, the pope said, as the world witnesses a “growing negativity that stifles hope.” Despite these challenges, Francis said “the call to mission is not a thing of the past,” and the world needs missionaries willing “to go forth to the peripheries of our world as messengers and agents of compassion.”

Speaking at the news conference, Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines encouraged the faithful to become “missionaries fueled by compassion and hope.” Mentioning his experience living in Asia, where Catholics represent a minority of the population, the cardinal warned that “if we keep the faith to ourselves, we will become weak, and if we keep the faith to a small group, it might become an elite group.” Instead, he continued, Christians and missionaries are called “to reach all the nations, the geographical and existential spaces.”

Tagle has headed the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of People since 2019 and holds several important positions at the Vatican that have led many observers to consider the cardinal “papabile,” meaning a possible candidate to be elected pope at the next conclave.

(RNS) — During a time of global despair brought on by pandemic, one grinning man charmed millions with his exuberant performance of a Punjabi folk dance set against majestic Yukon backdrops. Gurdeep Pandher, a Sikh-Punjabi Canadian, first went viral in 2016 when he shared a video of himself dancing Bhangra for Canada Day. “I just posted the video on my social media to show to my friends, but around 300,000 people watched it,” said Pandher. “That was the first time I experienced the shock and surprise of social media magic.”

Since then, Pandher, who lives in a remote cabin in the Yukon, has become an international YouTube sensation. He views the dance videos as a way to spread positivity and cross-cultural understanding — a calling he’s especially taken seriously since March 2020. A March 2, 2021, video of Pandher, with his signature animated grin, dancing on a frozen lake after getting his first dose of the COVID vaccine has more than 3 million views on Twitter. Collectively, his videos have been watched more than 50 million times. In September, he was featured on YouTube billboards across Canada that read, “Taught people to dance. Moved the whole country.”

Bottom of Form

Pandher is also a published author, dance instructor and former IT specialist. He spoke with Religion News Service about his Sikh faith, love of Bhangra and desire to bring joy to all humanity. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell me about your childhood in Punjab. What are some of your most significant early memories?

I was born in a farming village called Siahar in Punjab. My family has been doing farming for many, many generations. I have memories of running in the village streets, and in barns of wheat, rice or sugar cane. It was a very sweet time, being away from the modern lifestyle with all those materials or technologies. These days, although I live in Canada, I’m still pursuing a lifestyle that was inspired by my childhood. Right now, I live in a cabin in the wilderness of the Yukon without running water. Although I have electricity and internet, I still do not have very many facilities which we normally have in a household.

What is Bhangra?

It’s a Punjabi traditional folk dance created by farmers a long time ago, when farming was manual. Some farmers came up with an idea that if they could do their farming tasks in a more rhythmic way, it could be joyful and positive, because their work was very tiring. For example, there’s a move for sowing seeds in the land. People started doing this with a dhol drum and started creating more moves, all inspired by different farming activities, like crops swaying with wind. Nowadays it has become a very popular dance. After harvesting crops, farmers dance Bhangra to celebrate. It’s also in music videos and movies, and a lot of people take Bhangra lessons to get a good workout

Is Bhangra connected to Sikhism?

People dance Bhangra at the Vaisakhi festival because it happens right after harvesting time. Vaisakhi does have a connection with the Sikh faith. In 1699, Sikhism was in danger. Our 10th guru, Guru Gobind Singh, decided to prevent mass religious conversions. He created Khalsa, a martial wing of Sikhism. People learned martial arts and were required to carry swords. On that day in April, Khalsa was created to defend the nation and protect people from forced religious conversions. That’s the religious significance of Vaisakhi. So Bhangra is more connected with Sikh culture and folklore, but isn’t directly related to Sikhism as a religion.

When did you first learn the Bhangra?

I’ve been dancing it since my childhood, but when I was a teenager I also went to a professional coach to advance my Bhangra skills. When I was living in Squamish, a little town close to Vancouver, I joined classes on tap dancing and ballet dancing. Although I didn’t become a great tap dancer or a great ballet dancer, I did end up performing these two dances on stage in front of an audience.

 How did you end up in the Yukon?

In the year 2011, I became a Canadian citizen. I decided to travel across Canada to learn about this country and to educate myself about its different cultures. When I came to the Yukon, I instantly fell in love with the land, the natural beauty of this side of country where you have vast open land and amazing wilderness. Only 40,000 people live in the Yukon. It’s like my village where I grew up, the sense of community here. It felt like home to me, so I decided to stay. Now, it’s been 10 years.

Why did you decide to share videos of yourself dancing Bhangra during COVID?

Since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been making videos just to spread positivity, joy, happiness and hope. And it’s working. A lot of people who have been going through different kinds of mental health crises, they wrote me that they watch my videos every day to feel good. I started feeling that the work I’ve been doing to make these videos, it’s not just entertainment. It’s more like a social service, helping people when they are going through challenging, dark and depressing times. I’m honored to bring joy to the hearts and souls of people through my videos.

What does your faith have to do with these videos? Does it inspire your work in any way?

In Sikhism, there’s a very important philosophy called the philosophy of Chardi Kala. Chardi Kala means keeping your spirits high, staying positive and optimistic even if you’re going through really challenging times. So when I dance Bhangra, I keep that spirit of Chardi Kala and transmit that spirit through my videos.

How has dancing the Bhangra allowed you to build cross-cultural relations?

I made a video with the mayor of Whitehouse, teaching him how to wear a Sikh turban and how to dance Bhangra. I’ve danced the Bhangra to the beat of my neighbor’s Scottish bagpipes, and I also made a video with the First Nation chief from Old Crow, called Vuntut Gwitchin — First Nation (is) a very northern community in the Yukon. It doesn’t matter where we come from. I think it’s very important to remind people again and again about the importance of treating everybody as a fellow human.

 What’s something you would like our readers to know about Sikhism, that they may not know already?

I find that people do not know much about Sikhism. When 9/11 happened in the U.S., a lot of people practicing Sikhism were targeted because they were wearing turbans. I would like people just to educate themselves about this faith. Sikhism is about love, harmony, peace and helping people. Sikhism is all about recognizing the human race as one. There’s an emphasis on equality in Sikhism — gender equality, social equality, economic equality, treating everybody the same. I would like people to learn more about this side of the faith.

A copy of the Quran once owned by former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson will be displayed in the Unites States’ pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020, the world’s fair currently underway in the United Arab Emirates after being delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The historic English-language Quran, translated with a preface by George Sale, has never traveled outside the United States since it arrived in what was then colonial America. The two-volume set was printed in London in 1764.

According to the Library of Congress, Jefferson’s Quran will be the “first object on display after guests emerge from a sound and light experience that showcases the U.S. founding principles, particularly its innovations. Jefferson and the Quran are the first example of those goals.” The pavilion will also feature a SpaceX rocket and rock taken from the Moon during a NASA mission.

Holy Quran … which has been in the possession of one of the founding Fathers of the United States, is being displayed to the world as a symbol of America’s respect for religious plurality,” said Anila Ali, the founder of the American Muslim & Multifaith Empowerment Council, who will be traveling to Dubai as part of an interfaith delegation.

The Dubai Expo 2020 is the latest world’s fair of “the works of industry of all nations” that began in London in 1851 and has taken place at varying intervals ever since. More than 192 countries have pavilions at this year’s event, which began on October 1 under strict COVID-19 protocols. More than 25 million visitors from around the world are set to visit the event.

Though the event will run until next March, Jefferson’s Quran will only be on display for the first three months of the Expo. According to the Library of Congress, the stay is “unusual,” as its holdings are normally only loaned to museums or other cultural institutions. The Library of Congress speculates that Jefferson, due to his large holdings of enslaved Africans and their descendants, “may well have had firsthand experience with members of the faith.”

Yet, Jefferson, as the United States’ first secretary of state as well as its third president, was also interested in the Muslim world for geopolitical reasons. The Kingdom of the Morocco was the first country to recognize American independence in 1777. During the First Barbary War in 1805, Jefferson entertained a Tunisian envoy at the White House during Ramadan. The dinner was held at sunset to accommodate the religious needs of Jefferson’s Muslim guest. When Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison became the first Muslim to be elected to Congress in 2006, he chose to be sworn into office using Jefferson’s copy of the Quran.

The theme of the USA Pavilion at the Dubai 2020 Expo will be “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of the Future,” a take on Jefferson’s phrase from the Declaration of Independence championing “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” itself Jefferson’s improvement on philosopher John Locke’s “life, liberty and property.”

Some Hindu dharma-based organizations from around the world, announced the addition of another major festival, an entire month of festivals, in October as the Hindu Heritage Month. Hindus represent one of the newest and the fastest growing immigrant communities in the United States and Canada. Backed by a rock-solid family structure and love for education, they are fully integrated into every aspect of their adopted society, enriching it with not only outstanding professional contributions but also rich cultural heritage, organizers said in a statement. From the elegant ethnic wear to delicious food to festivals like Holi and Diwali, their diverse and rich culture has impressed all in the Western world.

Based on the “open source” model, the celebration of Hindu Heritage Month will be a showcase for the diversity that is so fundamental to Hindu civilization. Each participating organization will decide the manner as well as the schedule of their event(s). On a given day, there may be several events taking place in different parts of the United States and Canada. Celebrations may take many forms – cultural programs, fashion shows, webinars, multi-day conferences, walkathons and more, the choices being limited only by our imagination. Some events may be conducted in- person but the majority will be virtual, given the Covid-19 situation.

Participation is open to all organizations, businesses and individuals that identify with the Sanatan (everlasting) values embodied in Hindu dharma. More than 30 organizations have already joined hands in this exciting celebration of our shared heritage; many more are expected to join in the near future. Sanjay Kaul, Vice President – World Hindu Council of America, one of the organizers of this event said, “Hindu heritage and culture is thousands of years old, it is our duty to share it with the world and pass it on to our next generations for them so that they take pride in their roots.

Dr. Jai Bansal, Vice President – World Hindu Council of America, and one of the organizers of this event, underscores the fact that the Hindu community is, by nature, rather unassuming. However, with second and third generations now making their mark in their adopted lands, the time has come for the Hindu community to come out of their shell and talk about its rich cultural heritage and important role in making the multitude of contributions to every aspect of the fabric of the adopted lands.

Welcoming the decision of the organizers to hold this month-long event, President of the Hindu Student Council (HSC) Arnav Kejriwal said, “HSC is extremely excited about the Hindu Heritage Month. The American experience is all about sharing and learning each of our unique cultures, traditions and histories. We will get to see so many communities graciously tell their unique stories in the course of a dedicated history and awareness month, and I am ecstatic about the prospect of seeing the Hindu American community offering our own stories in return.”

Putting the celebration in perspective, General Secretary of the World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) Amitabh VW Mittal said, “The Vedic Sanatan Dharma — which is, with a limited capacity of understanding, referred to as Hinduism — represents the only continuous civilization that has survived the test of time for tens of thousands of years. There is no single book that one can consult to get what the Hindu philosophy is, as it is constantly evolving and its contribution to the human civilization is unmeasurable; its vibrance in fact runs the risk of being misinterpreted. The Hindu Heritage Month will give an opportunity to the world to understand how open and free this philosophy is, which is quite often limited misrepresented by the tag ‘religion’.”

Seeing this as the community’s chance to communicate to the world in general and the United States and Canada in particular, President of Hindu University of America Kalyan Viswanathan said, “The Hindu Heritage Month is a great opportunity for the Hindu community to remember our collective journey so far — from the ancient Vedic times, our own golden eras, through the trials and tribulations of conquests and colonization — and look optimistically forward at the opportunity we have for recovering and rearticulating the Hindu worldview for future generations. Amidst the celebrations, I hope we can reflect on what it means to be Hindu in the modern world: whether it is just a matter of being of a certain ethnicity or we have something to say, something to contribute that may just be of immeasurable value to all of humanity.”

General Secretary of Coalition of Hindus of North America (COHNA) Shobha Swami made a point about the diversity of the culture that is going to be celebrated the whole of October. “Multi- generational Hindus from different parts of the world who call the US their home add to the color of the ethnic tapestry here. They would like to showcase their vibrance in arts, dance, music, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, Ayurveda and food in all its richness for this month-long celebration in October,” she said.

Any organization that wishes to participate in the HHM celebration is requested to register as a partner on our website: www.hindumonth.org.

Dismantling Global Hindutva, a series of virtual conferences, seeks to analyze and educate the public as to how Hindutva is destroying India, undermining India’s secular and democratic traditions and threatening to stifle academic freedom in India.

Dismantling Global Hindutva, a series of virtual conferences, supported by over 50 leading academic institutions and groups in the US, which began on Sept. 10, seeks to analyze and educate the public as to how Hindutva has destroyed a nation that is known for its tolerance and diversity. The organizers of the conference claim that a far-right Hindu ideology is undermining India’s secular and democratic traditions and threatening to stifle academic freedom in India, the U.S. and around the globe. The series of events include nine panels, with topics such as “Caste and Hindutva” and “Islamophobia, White Supremacy and Hindutva.”

The organizers claim, Hindutva Is Not Hinduism. In a statement signed by nearly 1,000 leading professionals and academicians stated: “As scholars and members of academic communities around the world, we strongly condemn the campaign of harassment and intimidation against the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference, and stand in solidarity with the 49+ universities and 60+ departments and centers sponsoring the event.” They opposed the “besieging of cosponsoring institutions by political extremists who have disingenuously sought to smear the conference as “Hinduphobic” or “anti-Hindu.” We firmly reject these misleading attempts to conflate Hindutva and Hinduism.”

Organizers say more than 50 groups representing journalists, activists and universities from the U.S. and Canada, including Harvard, Princeton and the University of California are part of the conference, who want everyone to understand that the Hindu faith is distinct from Hindutva ideology.

However, to the opponents of the conference, it is an exercise in Hinduphobia. Hindu supremacists have made a concerted effort over several decades to equate their manufactured term “Hindutva” with Hinduism. From the early twentieth century onwards, they have worked hard to shield themselves from legitimate critique for their extremism by claiming to speak for a persecuted Hindu community, despite Hindus being a sizable majority in India. Most recently, they have been leveraging the language of being a religious minority in the United States to evade criticism of their supremacist ideologies.

The distinction between “Hindutva” and Hinduism has been stark: Hindutva is a political philosophy styled after European fascism of the early twentieth century, an ideology that privileges a cult of personality and authoritarian leadership. By contrast, Hinduism is a term used to describe a wide range of religious practices and beliefs that are heterodox, and like the practices and beliefs of any major religion with hundreds of millions of followers, continuously under contestation, and often contradictory. Hinduism has rightly been critiqued for the deep inequities in Indian society, most importantly for the caste system. Many Hindu reformers have also offered these critiques.

Hundreds of leading thought leaders claim: “The purpose of the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference is to bring together leading scholars in South Asian studies and public commentators on Indian society and politics from around the world in order to discuss the global phenomenon of Hindutva. The conference is guided by an ethical commitment to protecting the rights of minorities, dissidents, and ordinary people whose very existence is under attack by Hindutva’s proponents. This agenda epitomizes the vital social and intellectual work that universities are designed to foster, and it must be protected by the principles of academic freedom. The campaign of intimidation carried out by Hindutva affiliates cannot be allowed to take root in the academy in the US, Europe, or around the world. Free speech must be protected. The attacks on academics, students, professors, and all conference participants must stop.”

In the Indian subcontinent, Hindusim has also been shaped by syncretic faiths such as Sufism, which is a form of mysticism that broke away from orthodox Islam, and by poets and visionaries who adopted it into local idioms. The Bhakti movement which spread from South India to the North and East is one example—its most famous poet, Kabir, was venerated by Muslims and Hindus alike.  Hindus, Muslims, and Christians have a history of praying at Sufi shrines, as well as in temples, mosques, and gurudwaras and other shrines. There is also much borrowing from Hinduism into other religions practiced in India. These are the rich histories of Hinduism that Hindutva seeks to obliterate and disavow.

Hindutva refuses these critiques, as well as such syncretic faiths, and instead doubles down on using supremacist tools in the service of a toxic and genocidal unifying theory of a “Hindu Rashtra” or Hindu nation. In other words, instead of recognizing the plurality and the changes and debates within Hinduism, Hindutva demands an unquestioned allegiance to a myth-oriented, hate-mongering dogma that reifies and sanctions its violent modes of operation.

To equate Hinduism and Hindutva is to fall into the narrow, bigoted, and reductionist fiction that instrumentalizes Hinduism by erasing the diverse ppractices of the religion, the debates within the fold, as well as its conversations with other faiths. If the poet A. K. Ramanujan reminds us about the importance of acknowledging “three hundred Ramayanas,” then Hindutva seeks to obliterate that complexity into a monolithic fascism.

According to Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, which has condemned the conference, the term Hindutva still means different things to Hindus, from the spiritual to the political. “Yet, by some activists, the term is being misused as a pejorative against the Indian and Hindu ways of life and is focused on political ideology,” said Shukla.  HAF and other Hindu American advocacy groups worry that the conference blurs the lines between legitimate criticism of India’s policies and anti-Hindu hate. Shukla compares the critiques of Hindutva to criticisms of Israel that veer into antisemitism.

“Hindutva” was first used in the 1890s by Bengali writer Chandranath Basu, who championed a strongly scripture-based, conservative Hinduism. A 1923 pamphlet, “Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu?” by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, framed Hinduism as a political and cultural identity as well as a religious one. Since the mid-20th century, the chief proponent of this vision of Hindutva has been the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, known as RSS or the Sangh, which has been banned repeatedly for hard-line militant activities throughout its history.

“Hindutva is not the same as Hinduism at all; Hindutva is an authoritarian and majoritarian ideology that insists that Hindus and Hinduism define India,” said Rohit Chopra, an associate professor of communication at Santa Clara University in California and one of the organizers of the conference. “In this view Muslims, Christians and members of other faiths are outsiders.” In the seven years since Modi, a former member of RSS, has been prime minister, there has been a resurgence of Hindu nationalism, and minority groups have come under pressure, drawing criticism that he has a Hindutva agenda.

In recent years, debates over Hindutva have erupted among Hindu American communities, as Hindus in the United States and in India have defended or attacked Modi’s politics. In 2018, American academia became a battleground after Audrey Truschke, a historian of South Asia at Rutgers University, made what many Hindus call offensive comments about the depiction of deities from Hindu scripture. Truschke and other academics have received death threats in the ensuing social media tussle. In April, Rutgers hosted an Understanding Hinduphobia conference, attended by the university’s president that led the university’s student association to adopt a working definition of Hinduphobia.

In recent months, a group of academics who call themselves the South Asia Scholar Activist Collective and who include Truschke issued a “Hindutva Harassment Field Manual” aimed at helping academics fend off attacks on their scholarship. In response, other Hindu groups claimed the authors were attempting to silence academic freedom on campuses. Now, organizers of the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference say they have been victims of a smear campaign.  “The internet is being used to silence critics of the Hindutva ideology who are involved in this conference,” said Chopra. “This has ranged from organized petitions to letter campaigns and petitions that claim falsely that this conference will lead to genocide. Some of those involved in the conference have received death and other vile threats.”

In a statement posted on the website, the organizers stated: “We are aware of an ongoing campaign against this conference by the Hindu Right which includes the use of troll armies to mimic a grassroots response. As members of the South Asian diaspora, we would like to contest their claims of “Hinduphobia”, and offer an important clarification: We understand “Hinduism” to refer to the religion, while “Hindutva” refers to a violent political ideology that promotes an exclusionary vision of India as a Hindu homeland where non-Hindu minorities and caste-oppressed communities can only be second-class citizens. We consider the Hindu Right’s attempt to conflate Hindutva with Hinduism to be in bad faith, designed to manipulate religious sensitivities in order to shield themselves from criticism. As South Asians, we would like to underline that a critique of Hindutva does not constitute an attack on Hinduism, nor is it Hinduphobia.”

An Indian American advocacy group is keen on spreading awareness on the raising ‘Hinduphobia’, that has been scaring the community across the world. One of the main perpetrators of this new fear is the popularity of Narendra Modi-led BJP party, which has been force-feeding the idea of Hinduism. In order to clear this negative image of the Hindus, Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is heading a campaign targeting universities across the US inviting them for a virtual conference titled Dismantling Global Hindutva (DGH), scheduled for September 10–12.

The petition to university and college authorities raises concerns over Hinduphobia. “The DGH organizers trade on the prestige of your institution’s name to host, not an academic conference, but a partisan event related to politics in India. The event platforms activists with extensive histories of amplifying Hinduphobic discourse even while denying the existence of Hinduphobia,” the petition states.A prominent Indian American state senator from Ohio, Niraj Antani, has thanked HAF for leading the charge against this bigotry, in a statement. He has himself strongly condemned hosting the ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ conference.

HAF’s executive director, Suhag Shukla told reports that while the organization was not asking that the event be canceled or that scholar-activists from the institutions not be allowed to participate; but institutionally, there was a duty to encourage a diversity of viewpoints alongside academic freedom and free speech. “We need to be sure that Hindu students, staff, and faculty at each of these institutions are supported through all of this. The recent example of Rashmi Samant, a student from India in the UK, being stripped of her position as the student union president at Oxford University is an overt example of the harm this kind of political activism promulgated by scholar-activists can result in,” Shukla said.

The initial effort by HAF to send emails to university presidents delivered slightly more than 928,000 emails in the span of 48 hours. The response was so robust that HAF was forced to move to collect signatures for a petition to be delivered to the same group of university administrators. “We support the rights of academics in their individual capacity to engage in political activism concerning India. But leave universities, and by extension university departments, centers, and institutes out because, aside from potentially violating tax-exempt status, it stifles open enquiry,” said Shukla. “Students and faculty must have the freedom to explore questions, posit ideas, and express opinions without being viewpoint policed or fear of being labeled a “supremacist” or “extremist” by the loudest amongst them and then paying a professional price.” Four universities responded to HAF’s campaign and confirmed their name and logo was used in an unauthorized manner and that event organizer were requested to remove the logos. These include Boston College, Dalhousie University, Princeton University, and the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

According to HAF: “What was alarming about this event, was the way in which they try to mask the latent Hinduphobia of the stated purpose of the event, the speakers, and the topics. The Hindutva harassment manual actively denies Hinduphobia when there is incontrovertible evidence of anti-Hindu hatred.” The organization has launched a multi-pronged effort on this issue, both national and local in America, which includes an unprecedented response through letter-writing campaigns, petitions and individual stakeholder outreach to students, faculty, alumni and donors of the universities. “We urge universities to take this entire episode seriously and understand that their faculty irresponsibly and falsely labeling tens of thousands of people exercising their own right to free speech and assembly as “fascists” and “supremacists” is endangering an ethno-religious minority in the US,” Shukla said.

Today, Dharma-based organizations including those of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain traditions from around the world, are pleased to announce the addition of another major festival, indeed an entire month of festivals, in October as the Hindu Heritage Month. Hindus represent one of the newest and the fastest growing immigrant communities in the United States and Canada. Backed by a rock-solid family structure and love for education, they are fully integrated into every aspect of their adopted society, enriching it with not only outstanding professional contributions but also rich cultural heritage. From the elegant ethnic wear to delicious food to festivals like Holi and Diwali, their diverse and rich culture has impressed all in the Western world.

Based on the “open source” model, the celebration of Hindu Heritage Month will be a showcase for the diversity that is so fundamental to Hindu civilization. Each participating organization will decide the manner as well as the schedule of their event(s). On a given day, there may be several events taking place in different parts of the United States and Canada. Celebrations may take many forms – cultural programs, fashion shows, webinars, multi-day conferences, walkathons and more, the choices being limited only by our imagination. Some events may be conducted in-person but the majority will be virtual, given the Covid-19 situation. Participation is open to all organizations, businesses and individuals that identify with the Sanatan (everlasting) values embodied in Hindu dharma. More than 30 organizations have already joined hands in this exciting celebration of our shared heritage; many more are expected to join in the near future.

Dr. Jai Bansal, Vice President – World Hindu Council of America, and one of the organizers of this event, underscores the fact that the Hindu community is, by nature, rather unassuming. However, with second and third generations now making their mark in their adopted lands, the time has come for the Hindu community to come out of their shell and talk about its rich cultural heritage and important role in making the multitude of contributions to every aspect of the fabric of the adopted lands. Welcoming the decision of the organizers to hold this month-long event, President of the Hindu Student Council (HSC) Arnav Kejriwal said, “HSC is extremely excited about the Hindu Heritage Month. The American experience is all about sharing and learning each of our unique cultures, traditions and histories. We will get to see so many communities graciously tell their unique stories in the course of a dedicated history and awareness month, and I am ecstatic about the prospect of seeing the Hindu American community offering our own stories in return.”

Putting the celebration in perspective, General Secretary of the World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) Amitabh VW Mittal said, “The Vedic Sanatan Dharma — which is, with a limited capacity of understanding, referred to as Hinduism — represents the only continuous civilization that has survived the test of time for tens of thousands of years. There is no single book that one can consult to get what the Hindu philosophy is, as it is constantly evolving and its contribution to the human civilization is unmeasurable; its vibrance in fact runs the risk of being misinterpreted. The Hindu Heritage Month will give an opportunity to the world to understand how open and free this philosophy is, which is quite often limited misrepresented by the tag ‘religion’.”

Seeing this as the community’s chance to communicate to the world in general and the United States and Canada in particular, President of Hindu University of America Kalyan Viswanathan said, “The Hindu Heritage Month is a great opportunity for the Hindu community to remember our collective  journey so far — from the ancient Vedic times, our own golden eras, through the trials and tribulations of conquests and colonization — and look optimistically forward at the opportunity we have for recovering and rearticulating the Hindu worldview for future generations. Amidst the celebrations, I hope we can reflect on what it means to be Hindu in the modern world: whether it is just a matter of being of a certain ethnicity or we have something to say, something to contribute that may just be of immeasurable value to all of humanity.”

General Secretary of Coalition of Hindus of North America (COHNA) Shobha Swami made a point about the diversity of the culture that is going to be celebrated the whole of October. “Multi- generational Hindus from different parts of the world who call the US their home add to the color of the ethnic tapestry here. They would like to showcase their vibrance in arts, dance, music, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, Ayurveda and food in all its richness for this month-long celebration in October,” she said. Any organization that wishes to participate in the HHM celebration is requested to register as a partner on our website: www.hindumonth.org.

An international conference entitled “Dismantling Global Hindutva: Multidisciplinary Perspective,” which is co-sponsored by over 70 centers and departments at more than 50 universities, forced Hindus groups to urge it supporters to sign a letter to request sponsoring universities to disavow the “Anti-Hindu Conference” scheduled for Sept. 10-12, 2021. “The organizers of the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference are proud to announce that, despite a massive campaign of disinformation, support for this timely conference on Hindutva ideology has only grown,” organizers of the Dismantling Global Hindutva Conference said on their website. “When the attack began, the conference was backed by 45+ departments and centers from 41 universities. Now, we have the support of 70+ cosponsoring entities from 53 universities. More cosponsors are expected to join.” For a list of all cosponsors see: www.dismantlinghindutva.com.

Meanwhile, Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference, known as HMEC, is continuing with its campaign to stop the conference. “Hindutva is Hindu + Tattva, or essence of Hindu dharma.  It is a manifestation of Hindu dharma in our daily lives inspiring us to reach out in compassion to all creatures beyond our individual selves.  There is, however, a concerted effort to malign this term and under its guise to attack Hindus,” HMEC said. “For example, the previous attempt in this series was, “Holi Against Hindutva” on campuses two years ago.  The same group is already contemplating, “Diwali Against Hindutva”.  This attack on Hindutva is along the lines of various attempts to divide American Hindus based on “caste”. Conference organizers are hosting panels on a number of topics, including Caste, Gender and Sexuality, Political Economy and Propaganda, among others. “Trolls belonging to extremist groups have openly threatened violence against speakers and their families. We unilaterally condemn all such efforts to intimidate and harass individuals,” conference organizers have said.

“Given that so much misinformation has been spread, we want to reiterate: No speaker is being paid to take part in the conference. Speakers have been invited on the strength of their scholarly research or their work as public intellectuals.” “All speakers are experts on South Asia. Within that framework, the conference program covers a range of topics and questions, as can be seen on our website. This conference is an entirely academic endeavor, organized by professors who study India and are based at the various North American and European universities listed on our website.” Cosponsoring faculty include: Gyanendra Pandey (Emory), Partha Chatterjee (Columbia), Sudipta Kaviraj (Columbia), Ashley Cohen (USC), Anustup Basu (UIUC), Zahid R. Chaudhary (Princeton), Ben Conisbee Baer (Princeton), Anjali Arondekar (UC Santa Cruz), Poulomi Saha (UC Berkeley), Suchitra Vijayan (Polis Project), Gyan Prakash (Princeton), Chandrima Chakraborty (McMaster), Ajay Parasram (Dalhousie).

“The conference aims to examine the beliefs and actions that constitute Hindutva, a political ideology that originated in the early twentieth century. Hindutva seeks to reduce the myriad practices of Hinduism to a singular notion of Hindu power in a putatively Hindu motherland. The conference will highlight the transnational and global implications of Hindutva, including its growing reach in the Indian diaspora. Panels (listed on our website) will explore a variety of interlinked topics that address the phenomenon of Hindutva,” conference organizers said.  “Scholars, journalists, and activists will examine the historical development of Hindutva, the fascist dimensions of the ideology, its alignment with other supremacist movements, and its stakes across a range of political, socio-cultural, and economic issues. The conference will also examine histories of dissent against Hindutva. Dalit and Feminist traditions have long resisted the singular narrative of Hinduism adopted by Hindutva ideologues. A broader coalition of activists from progressive communities have mobilized to enable both material and ideological divestment from Hindutva. Drawing inspiration from such collectivities, we expect to discuss resources for anti-Hindutva pedagogy.”

Conference organizers said that nearly 1,000 academics and intellectuals have declared their support for the conference, including Partha Chatterjee, Thomas Blom Hansen, Veena Das, Arjun Appadurai, Sheldon Pollock, Judith Butler, Angela Davis, Cornel West, and Arundhati Roy.

“The conference has also received letters of support from over 40 community organizations in the global Indian diaspora, as well as letters of support from scholars of genocide, mass violence, and human rights. All letters of support are available on the conference website. Not a single serious scholar has opposed the conference, or indeed supported the canard that Hinduism is under attack.” Hindu group HMEC said that it is shocking that the “Dismantling Global Hindutva” event is supposedly sponsored by forty-five Universities and/or various departments or institutes within these universities. “The Universities are supposed to be space spaces for Hindu youth.  However, there is no question that this conference will make it much less safe for them,” HMEC said, urging it supporters and followers to sign a  collective letter on behalf of temple or as a temple leader.  The letter is available at: https://hmec.info/hmecletter

Jainism is one of the world’s oldest religions, originating in India at least 2,500 years ago. The spiritual goal of Jainism is to become liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth and to achieve an all-knowing state called moksha. This can be attained by living a nonviolent life, or ahimsa, with as little negative impact on other life forms as possible.

The traditions of Jainism were largely carried forward by a succession of 24 tirthankaras, or teachers, most notably Vardhamana Mahavira, the last of the tirthankaras and likely a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Both Mahavira and Buddha emphasized the importance of self-discipline, meditation and ascetic life as the key to salvation. Their teachings often stood in contrast to those of Vedic priests of the time who emphasized ritual practices and their own role as intermediaries between humanity and the gods.

Today, a sliver of India’s population (0.4%) identifies as Jain, making it the smallest of the country’s six major religious groups after Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism. Indians overall know very little about this ancient religion and its practices, according to a June 2021 Pew Research Center report based on a survey of nearly 30,000 Indians. Here are six facts about Jains in India, from the report.

Jains are concentrated in India’s West, largely in Maharashtra. Despite Jainism’s historic origins in India’s Eastern region, few Jains remain in the East. The changes in the regional concentration of Jains are believed to have started around 300 B.C.E. when Jains began migrating to the West, possibly in search of more favorable kingdoms. Today, 4% of the population of Mumbai – the capital of Maharashtra and the commercial and business center of India – identifies as Jain.

Jains are more highly educated and wealthier than Indians overall, and few identify as lower caste. Roughly a third (34%) of Jain adults have at least a college degree, compared with 9% of the general public, according to India’s 2011 census. Moreover, the vast majority of Jains fall into India’s top wealth quintiles, according to India’s National Family and Health Survey.

Wealth and education in India are inextricably linked with caste. Jains are the only religious group in India where a majority say they are members of a higher General Category caste. Most Indians (68%) are members of lower castes (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backwards Classes), compared with 20% of Jains who identify with these communities.

Almost all Jains are vegetarian, in line with guidance to pursue ahimsa (not harming other life). Roughly nine-in-ten Indian Jains (92%) identify as vegetarian, and two-thirds of Jains (67%) go further by abstaining from root vegetables such as garlic and onion. Eating root vegetables is seen as a form of violence in Jain teachings because consuming the root of a plant destroys the plant in its entirety. These dietary practices extend outside the home; more than eight-in-ten Jain vegetarians also say they would not eat food in the home of a friend or neighbor who was non-vegetarian (84%) or in a restaurant that served non-vegetarian food (91%).

Jains feel they have a lot in common with Indian Hindus. Despite theological differences between Jain and Hindu teachings – for instance, Hinduism teaches that the universe was created, but Jainism does not – the two religions share many similarities in their teachings and practices. For example, both religions teach about karma, and roughly three-quarters of both Jains (75%) and Hindus (77%) say they believe in karma. (Karma is often understood as the idea that humans will eventually reap the benefits of their good deeds and pay the price for their bad deeds, often in their next life, though survey respondents were not offered a definition.)

Moreover, when asked whether Jains and Hindus in India have a lot in common or are very different, about two-thirds of Jains (66%) say that the two communities have a lot in common.

However, that feeling is not fully reciprocated. Just 19% of Hindus see a lot of commonality with Jains. One reason for this mismatch may be that Jains tend to know more about Hindus – who make up 81% of the Indian population – than vice versa. Three-in-ten Jains say they know “a great deal” about the Hindu religion and its practices, while just 3% of Hindus say they know a lot about Jainism.

Like many Indians, Jains tend to prefer living separately from other religious and caste groups. While nearly all Jains (92%) say they would be willing to accept a Hindu neighbor, significantly fewer say they would be willing to accept a Muslim (38%), Christian (46%), Sikh (55%) or Buddhist (58%) in the area where they live. Moreover, large majorities of Indian Jains say it is important to stop both women (82%) and men (81%) from marrying into other religious groups. And despite making up a small share of the national population, nearly three-quarters of Jains say that all or most of their close friends are also Jain (72%).

These attitudes are not uncommon in India – majorities of Hindus also oppose religious intermarriage – and may in part be tied to Jains’ particular demographic makeup. For example, while a majority of Jains identify as members of the higher General Category castes, Buddhists in India overwhelmingly identify as Dalits, or members of the lower Scheduled Castes. In fact, Jains are much more likely than other Indians to say that they would not accept a member of a Scheduled Caste as a neighbor (41% vs. 21% nationally). Moreover, large majorities of Jains say it is important to stop both women (79%) and men (74%) in their community from marrying into other castes.

Dietary preferences may also play a role in Jain attitudes about other groups; unlike Jains, most Muslims and Christians in India, for example, say they are not vegetarian.

Politically, Jains lean toward the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Seven-in-ten Jains say they feel closest to the BJP, while just 8% say they feel closest to the Indian National Congress (INC), the main opposition party. In fact, Jains are more likely than other religious communities in India, including Hindus, to feel political affinity with the BJP: Fewer than half of Hindus (44%) say they feel closest to the BJP, a party that some say promotes a Hindu nationalist agenda.

Jains’ political preference for the BJP may in part be tied to their views on religion and national identity, which in some ways reflect Hindu nationalist sentiments more akin to their Hindu compatriots than other minority communities in India. A significant share of Jains (44%) say being Hindu is very important to truly being Indian, as do a majority of Hindus (64%). Among other religious groups, far fewer people share this view, including just 21% of Sikhs. A slim majority of Jains (54%) also tie authentic Indian identity with speaking the Hindi language, one of the dozens of languages spoken in India. Among Hindus, these sentiments are closely associated with support for the BJP.

On a warm sunny afternoon of 23rd July, about 60 young cadets of the Houston Police Department (HPD) were introduced to the core principles of Hinduism through a series of presentations and lectures at Vallabh Priti Seva Samaj.(VPSS) As the  Greater Houston area is one of the most culturally diverse communities in the US, it was a much needed introduction to the Hindu faith and a huge step forward to help understand and support the members of the community they serve. This unique engagement with the HPD was initiated by the Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH).  HGH Director Manisha Gandhi led the initiative with the keen involvement of Senior HPD Officer Danish Hussain.

After welcoming the cadets and inviting the distinguished guests to the dais, VPSS Trustee and HGH Advisor Rasesh Dalal kicked off the day’s proceedings with a presentation that covered many aspects of Hinduism including the customs and rationale behind each of those customs. Observing the fact that Hinduism is better defined “as a way of life than a religion,” Rasesh also explained the Hindu philosophy of karma – one’s life being an eternal circle with good deeds in the current life that lead to a better re-birth in the next life. He also highlighted how Hindus receive and treat guests at home; how people respect the premises by leaving the shoes outside the home before entering and the practice of wearing gold jewelry on social and religious occasions. The essence of Hinduism, he added, is the same of all true religions – Bhakti and genuine compassion for all beings.

HGH President Thara Narasimhan congratulated the cadets on joining such a noble profession and noted that over the last 40 years, the community has become very diverse. She also emphasized the fact that India itself is very diverse with people following different customs including dressing styles. This, in turn, makes it the very nature of Indians to respect other cultures and customs. She offered the services of HGH to the cadets at any point should there be such a need and concluded her address by requesting HGH and its members to pray for the cadets’ success in their careers.

Manisha Gandhi wrapped up the event with the vote of thanks. She thanked HPD for taking the time to learn more about Hinduism and Hindus in Houston and VPSS for providing the venue for such an initiative. She also thanked Officer Danish Hussain for playing an active role in arranging the event and closed out the day’s proceedings with a brief explanation of the meaning of Namaste – the gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another.

Several interesting questions came up at the Q&A session. HGH Director Somansh Agarwal remarked that in case of any doubt, HPD officers can contact the HGH President at [email protected] or through Manisha Gandhi, to help them out with any issues, as and when needed. ” The cadets who attended the presentation at VPSS will be graduating in October 2021.

Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective (HinduPACT), an initiative of World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) and  Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) co-hosted members of the Kashmiri and Afghan Diaspora communities on Capitol Hill in an event titled “Kashmir: Moving Forward in a Dangerous Zone,” on July 29, 2021 to kick off the two-week initiative – #KashmirForward. The event coincided with the historic visit to India by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who held consultations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar.

Congressional staffers, NGO leaders, and media personalities heard first-hand accounts of the detrimental impacts of terrorism felt in the region, due solely to the growing presence of radical Islamist occupiers supported by Pakistan’s military and intelligence apparatus.

Not all was doom and gloom. The event primarily commemorated the second anniversary of the removal of the temporary provisions of Article 370 and 35A, dating back to 1954. This monumental act of Parliament on August 5, 2019, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, enabled the Government of India to apply the full scope of its Constitution to the entirety of the country for the first time since the founding of the modern-day Republic.

For the first time in India’s almost 75 years of existence, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have the right to free and compulsory education. This action upheld equal-opportunity employment to members of the LGBTQ+ community. The repeal of Article 370, opened up the ability of all women, irrespective of their ethnic background, equal inheritance rights in marriage, as is guaranteed by the Constitution of India, in the rest of the country.

This action thus guaranteed equal rights to all citizens of India while freeing the state from the clutches of terrorist warlords. It finally empowered the poorest and marginalized sections of society (namely minority non-Muslim communities) in the state with job restitution and whistleblower protection, which they had been long been denied.

Over the past two years there has been a 40% decrease in cases of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Speakers at the event provided their real-life experiences to contrast this with the situation in the broader region, as the conflict between the US-backed government of Afghanistan and the Pakistan-supported Taliban has escalated dramatically after our withdrawal just in the last two weeks.

There was a flurry of social media activity as the event progressed under the hashtag #KashmirForward, with members of the audience, popular influencers, and the Kashmiri and Afghan diaspora communities posting about the event and their own lived experiences

Ramappa temple, a 13th century Hindu temple named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019. Even so, the temple has been in UNESCO’s tentative list since 2014.

Rudreswara Temple also known as Ramappa temple, located at Palampet, Mulugu district, near Warangal in the state of Telangana has made it to UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO held on Sunday in China. Apart from the Ramappa temple, the World Heritage Committee inscribed Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China (China), the Trans-Iranian Railway (Iran), and Paseo del Prado and BuenRetiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences (Spain), on UNESCO’s World Heritage.

What is a World Heritage Site tag?

A World Heritage Site is a location with an “outstanding universal value”. This signifies “cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity”. To be included, sites must meet at least one of the ten selection criteria.

These include the site representing a masterpiece of human creative genius, exhibiting an important interchange of human values over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, bearing a unique or exceptional testimony to cultural tradition or to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement. The UNESCO website notes that until the end of 2004, World Heritage sites were selected on the basis of six cultural and four natural criteria. But with the adoption of the revised Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, only one set of ten criteria exists.

After UNESCO’s announcement, prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Excellent! Congratulations to everyone, specially the people of Telangana. The iconic Ramappa Temple showcases the outstanding craftsmanship of great Kakatiya dynasty. I would urge you all to visit this majestic Temple complex and get a first-hand experience of it’s grandness.”

How are sites recognized?

Ramappa temple, a 13th century temple named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019. Even so, the temple has been in UNESCO’s tentative list since 2014.

The World Heritage Convention’s operational guidelines say that a tentative list is like an inventory of properties a country thinks should be on the World Heritage Site. After UNESCO includes a property in the Tentative List, the country prepares a nomination document that will be considered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The temple is located in the village of Palampet, which is about 200 km north of Telangana’s capital Hyderabad. (Twitter/@narendramodi)

In May, the Maharashtra government submitted a tentative “serial” nomination seeking the World Heritage Site tag for 14 forts from the era of 17th century Maratha king ChhatrapatiShivajiMaharaj on the theme of Maratha Military Architecture in Maharashtra. The serial nomination was forwarded by the Archaeological Survey of India to UNESCO through the Ministry of Culture. UNESCO accepted the nomination and added the proposed sites in its Tentative Lists.

Why is the Ramappa temple special?

On Sunday, over 17 of the 21 member nations supported the inscription. With this, India now has 39 sites on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is now the custodian of 23 world heritage sites. The temple is located in the village of Palampet, which is about 200 km north of Telangana’s capital Hyderabad. The temple complex was built by RacherlaRudra Reddy during the period of the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva. It was built using sandstone and its construction, which began in 1213 CE, is believed to have continued for over four decades.

UNESCO notes on its website that, “The building features decorated beams and pillars of carved granite and dolerite with a distinctive and pyramidal Vimana (horizontally stepped tower) made of lightweight porous bricks, so-called ‘floating bricks’, which reduced the weight of the roof structures. The temple’s sculptures of high artistic quality illustrate regional dance customs and Kakatiyan culture.”

Much like last year, this time around too administration has taken caution to ensure safety measures are in place. It is a 15-day long affair that is attended by millions of devotees who throng the temple town of Puri, Odisha to seek the blessings of the Lord. However, due to the second wave of deadly novel coronavirus pandemic, the temple is not open for devotees.  JagannathPuriRathYatra, world’s most revered Chariot festival, dedicated to Lord Jagannath is being held this week amid COVID-19 restrictions, without any devotees being present in person to worship and honor Lord Jagannath.

JagannathRathYatra, the Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Jagannath has been celebrated for centuries in Puri, Odisha. It falls during Shukla Paksha of Ashada month (June-July) every year. Said to be the oldest chariot festival of the world, the yatra began on July 12th amid the coronavirus pandemic. This year, the yatra is being held exclusively around Puri in a small radius, as per Supreme Court’s ruling. Every year the festival is being celebrated with Temple chariot procession where millions of people come together to pull the temple chariots with the belief that the act earns them a passage to heaven. This spectacular event takes place at the Jagannatha temple in Puri in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, which is considered to be one of the Hindu pilgrimage centers called as Char Dham.

At the JagannathPuri shrine, Shri Jagannathji, Subhadraji, and Balabhadraji are revered and they ride in separate chariots during the RathYatra to their aunt’s residence, the Gundicha temple. After an eight-day visit, they return to Puri temple. For the unversed, the distance between Jagannath temple and Gundicha temple is around three kilometres. The idols of Lord Jagannath depict the Lord embodying features of a large, square-shaped head, big eyes, and unfinished limbs. Considered as a unique type and are not made out of any metal or stone, the idols are made of Neem wood this special material is used to carve the idols beautifully.

The Jagannath Temple holds huge religious importance and is among the four most important pilgrimages of Hinduism. In the 12th century, King Chodagan Dev erected the current temple in Kalinga style. There are several legends related to the origin of how the lord came to reside at the Puri temple in Bhubaneswar. One of the popular stories which is associated with it reveals why the hands and limbs of the lord’s idols are unfinished. It is believed that once there was a King named Indradyumna, who wanted to build a temple of god Vishnu but wasn’t certain about the shape of the idol that would represent the Lord. He was then asked by Lord Brahma to meditate and pray to Lord Vishnu himself as to what form would he like to embody.

After deep meditation, God appeared in his dream and spoke about a particular floating wood log near Bankamuhana in Puri and his image would be made out of that log. After this dream, Indradyumna rushed to the spot and found the wooden log. However, to his surprise, he couldn’t get his artists to make the idols out of it – no matter what. The tools of the artisans broke every time when they tried to cut the log. This was the point when Ananta Maharana (carpenter Bishwakarma/Vishwakarma) appeared and offered to help.

However, Bishwakarma had one condition.  He said that he shouldn’t be disturbed while carving out the idol until it is finished. So, for two weeks, he employed himself in the divine task in locked podium without anyone’s interruption. But after two weeks, suddenly the sound of work stopped coming from inside the podium to which the wife of Indradyumna – Gundicha said that they must go in and check if he is fine. Although the King didn’t want it, he had no option but to enter inside. However, to their surprise, when they got in, they found no carpenter and only unfinished idols. He immediately repented his act. But a divine voice – probably of Lord Vishnu himself, told the King that he shouldn’t regret and install the unfinished idols as it is and Lord shall make himself visible to the devotees in this form.

Ever since, the idols of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra are worshipped in unfinished form. In the month of Asadha (June or July), the idols are brought out onto the BadaDanda and travel all the way to the Shri Gundicha Temple in huge chariots. Devotees in lakhs throng the streets to get a glimpse of the lord and seek their blessings. The temple town of Puri is adorned beautifully during this festive time as thousands of devotees turn out to visit the divine abode of the lord and seek the blessings of god Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. The event is considered to be a living example of unity in diversity, where people from all parts of the society come together, through devotion to their faith, celebrating art forms that proclaims the socio-cultural-religious ethos of the Indian civilization.

Some say Christianity in India dates back to the earliest followers of Jesus in the first century C.E. Today, there are millions of Christians in the country, although they make up just 2.4% of India’s massive population. South India is home to about half of the Christians in the country, and Christians make up a relatively large share of people in India’s more sparsely populated Northeast, where the vast majority of Christians belong to tribal communities.

Here are eight key findings about Christians in India, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Among Indians, 0.4% of adults are Hindu converts to Christianity. Conversion is a contentious issue in India, and nine states have enacted laws against proselytism as of early 2021. While Christianity is a proselytizing religion, many other religions in India are non-proselytizing, and religious conversion is rare in the country.

Overall, just 2% of respondents report a different religion than the one in which they were raised, including 0.4% who are converts to Christianity. Christian converts in India mostly are former Hindus, but the survey also finds that Hindus tend to gain as many people as they lose through religious switching (0.7% of respondents were raised Hindu and now identify as something else, while 0.8% were raised as something else but now identify as Hindu). Christian converts in India are disproportionately located in the South, while some are also located in the East. Most converts say they belong to lower castes – that is, they identify with Scheduled Castes (sometimes known as Dalits), Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes. Most converts also come from poor backgrounds – i.e., they report recently struggling to pay for food or other necessities.

There is no clear majority denomination among Indian Christians. While many Indian Christians identify as Catholic (37%), a variety of other denominations are present in India. For example, 13% of Indian Christians are Baptists, 7% identify with the Church of North India and another 7% identify with the Church of South India.

Three-quarters of Indian Christians (76%) say religion is very important in their lives, and Indian Christians engage in a variety of traditional beliefs and practices. Nearly all Indian Christians (98%) say they believe in God, and Christians in India are more likely than most other religious communities to say they pray daily (77%). Most Indian Christians also attend church weekly (55%), and an overwhelming share give money to a church (89%). At the same time, even though 78% of Indian Christians say they read or listen to the Bible at least weekly, smaller shares say they hold several traditional beliefs rooted in the Bible, including belief in Judgment Day (49%) and miracles (48%).

Substantial shares of Indian Christians follow religious practices and beliefs not traditionally associated with Christianity. Most Indian Christians say they believe in karma (54%), which is not rooted in the Christian religion. And many Indian Christians also believe in reincarnation (29%) and that the Ganges River has the power to purify (32%), both of which are core teachings in Hinduism. It is also somewhat common for Indian Christians to observe customs tied to other religions, like celebrating Diwali (31%) or wearing a forehead marking called a bindi (22%), most often worn by Hindu, Buddhist and Jain women.

Indian Christians disproportionally identify with lower castes (74%), including 57% with Scheduled Castes (SC) or Scheduled Tribes (ST). India’s caste system is a social hierarchy that can dictate class and social life, including whom a person can marry. Today, regardless of their religion, Indians nearly universally identify with a caste category. Among Christians, 33% identify as SC, while 24% identify as ST. And Christians are somewhat more likely than the Indian population overall to say there is widespread caste discrimination in India. For example, among Indians overall, 20% say there is widespread discrimination against SCs in India, compared with 31% among Christians who say the same. A smaller share of Christians (18%) say there is a lot of discrimination against Christians in India, and even fewer say they have personally faced recent discrimination based on their caste (11%) or religion (10%).

Lower-caste Indian Christians are much more likely than upper-caste (also called General Category) Christians to hold both Christian and non-Christian beliefs. Indian Christians who belong to SCs, STs and other lower castes tend to believe in angels and demons at significantly higher rates than upper-caste Christians. For example, roughly half of lower-caste Christians (51%) believe in demons or evil spirits, while just 12% of higher-caste Christians hold this belief. Lower-caste Christians also are more likely than General Category Christians to believe in spiritual forces not generally associated with Christianity, like karma (58% vs. 44%) and the evil eye (33% vs. 12%).

Overall, Indian Christians are less prone toward religious segregation than some other groups. For instance, Christians are less likely than other religious groups to say that stopping interreligious marriage is “very important.”Among Christians, 37% say stopping the interreligious marriage of Christian women is very important, while 35% say the same about Christian men. In contrast, roughly two-thirds of Hindus and an even greater share of Muslims say it is crucial to stop such marriages by men and women in their respective communities. In addition, fewer Christians (22%) than Hindus (47%) and Muslims (45%) say all of their close friends share their religion. In part, these attitudes may reflect Christians’ regional concentration in the South, where opposition to interreligious marriage is generally less widespread and religious segregation overall is less pronounced.

Politically, Christians favor the opposing Indian National Congress (INC) over the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is often described as promoting a Hindu nationalist ideology. A plurality of Christian voters (30%) say they voted for the INC in the 2019 parliamentary elections, which roughly matches the shares of Muslims and Sikhs who voted for the INC. Just one-in-ten Indian Christian voters say they voted for the BJP in 2019, the lowest share among all of India’s major religious groups. Once again, the voting patterns of Christians in India mirror the political preferences of Southern Indians more generally. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the BJP received its lowest vote share in the South, including among Hindus; many people in the South, including Christians, voted for regional parties.

Indians see religious tolerance as the central plank of their national identity but stick to their own religious group when it comes to making friends or getting married, says a new Pew survey. The survey report released on July 28 was based on nearly 30,000 face-to-face interviews with adults conducted in 17 languages between late 2019 and early 2020 before Covid-19 struck. Indians do not see any contradiction in their preference to “live together, separately,” the report said. “Indeed, many take both positions, saying it is important to be tolerant of others and expressing a desire to limit personal connections across religious lines,” it said.

In other words, unlike people in some countries aspiring to create a “melting pot” of different religious identities, Indians seem to prefer a country more like a patchwork fabric, with clear lines between groups. The country of 1.4 billion people is on its way to becoming the most populous in the world and is home to diverse as well as devout people including most of the world’s Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. India houses the world’s largest Muslim population of some 200 million besides having about 24 million Christians and 8 million Buddhists.

Most Indians share some common values and beliefs across religious lines like karma, Sufism or respecting elders, which is considered very important to their faiths. The survey also found Indians tend to see religious ceremonies for the three rites of passage at birth (or infancy), marriage and death as highly important. “For example, the vast majority of Muslims (92 percent), Christians (86 percent) and Hindus (85 percent) say it is very important to have a religious burial or cremation for their loved ones.” And yet members of major religious communities also tend to see themselves as very different from others.

“This perception of difference is reflected in traditions and habits that maintain the separation of India’s religious groups. For example, marriages across religious lines — and religious conversions — are exceedingly rare,” the report noted. Many Indians even prefer to keep people of certain religions out of their neighborhoods or villages, though few would go so far as to make their preferences public. “For example, many Hindus (45 percent) say they are fine with having neighbors of all other religions — be they Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain — but an identical share (45 percent) say they would not be willing to accept followers of at least one of these groups, including more than one in three Hindus (36 percent) who do not want a Muslim as a neighbor,” the report stated.

The survey also revealed that the majority of Hindus say it is very important to be Hindu and being able to speak Hindi to be “truly” Indian, and that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s appeal was greater among such Hindus. “In the 2019 national elections, 60 percent of Hindu voters who think it is very important to be Hindu and to speak Hindi to be truly Indian cast their vote for the BJP, compared with only a third among Hindu voters who feel less strongly about both these aspects of national identity,” the report said. But these sentiments were found to be considered common among Hindus in the largely Hindi-speaking northern and central regions of the country, where roughly half of all Hindu voters fall into this category, compared with just 5 percent in the south.

Religion is not the only fault line in Indian society. In some regions of the country, significant shares of people perceive widespread, caste-based discrimination.

The survey findings further suggest that for many Hindus, there is no contradiction between valuing religious diversity and feeling that Hindus are somehow more authentically Indian than fellow citizens who follow other religions. But 95 percent of Muslims, India’s largest minority, say they are very proud to be Indian and express great enthusiasm for Indian culture, most of them agreeing (85 percent) with the statement that “Indian people are not perfect, but Indian culture is superior to others.”

“Most Muslims across the country (65 percent), along with an identical share of Hindus (65 percent), see communal violence as a very big national problem,” the report said. “Religion is not the only fault line in Indian society. In some regions of the country, significant shares of people perceive widespread, caste-based discrimination,” the report said while noting that caste-based discrimination, as well as the government’s efforts to compensate for past discrimination, are politically charged topics in India. Religious conversion has had a minimal impact on the overall size of India’s religious groups.

For example, according to the survey, 82 percent of Indians say they were raised Hindu, and a nearly identical share say they are currently Hindu, “showing no net losses for the group through conversion to other religions. Other groups display similar levels of stability.” Changes in India’s religious landscape over time were largely a result of differences in fertility rates among religious groups, not conversion. “For Christians, however, there are some net gains from conversion: 0.4 percent of survey respondents are former Hindus who now identify as Christian, while 0.1 percent are former Christians,” the report noted.

India’s massive population is diverse as well as devout. Not only do most of the world’s Hindus, Jains and Sikhs live in India, but it also is home to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations and to millions of Christians and Buddhists. A new Pew Research Center report, based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020 – before the COVID-19 pandemic – takes a closer look at religious identity, nationalism and tolerance in Indian society. The survey was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages and covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories. Here are key findings from the report.

Indians value religious tolerance, though they also live religiously segregated lives. Across the country, most people (84%) say that to be “truly Indian,” it is very important to respect all religions. Indians also are united in the view that respecting other religions is a very important part of what it means to be a member of their own religious community (80%). People in all six major religious groups overwhelmingly say they are very free to practice their faiths, and most say that people of other faiths also are very free to practice their own religion.

But Indians’ commitment to tolerance is accompanied by a strong preference for keeping religious communities segregated. For example, Indians generally say they do not have much in common with members of other religious groups, and large majorities in the six major groups say their close friends come mainly or entirely from their own religious community. That’s true not only for 86% of India’s large Hindu population, but also for smaller groups such as Sikhs (80%) and Jains (72%). Moreover, roughly two-thirds of Hindus say it is very important to stop Hindu women (67%) or Hindu men (65%) from marrying into other religious communities. Even larger shares of Muslims oppose interreligious marriage: 80% say it is very important to stop Muslim women from marrying outside their religion, and 76% say it is very important to stop Muslim men from doing so.

For many Hindus, national identity, religion and language are closely connected. Nearly two-thirds of Hindus (64%) say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian. Among Hindus who say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian, 80% also say it is very important to speak Hindi to be truly Indian. Hindus who strongly link Hindu and Indian identities express a keen desire for religious segregation. For instance, 76% of Hindus who say being Hindu is very important to being truly Indian feel it is very important to stop Hindu women from marrying into another religion. By comparison, 52% of Hindus who place less importance on Hinduism’s role in Indian identity hold this view about religious intermarriage.

Moreover, Hindus in the Northern (69%) and Central (83%) parts of the country are much more likely than those in the South (42%) to strongly link Hindu identity with national identity. Together, the Northern and Central regions cover the country’s “Hindi belt,” where Hindi, one of dozens of languages spoken in India, is most prevalent. The vast majority of Hindus in these regions strongly link Indian identity with being able to speak Hindi.

Among Hindus, views of national identity go hand-in-hand with politics. Support for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is greater among Hindus who closely associate their religious identity and the Hindi language with being truly Indian. In the 2019 national elections, 60% of Hindu voters who think it is very important to be Hindu and to speak Hindi to be truly Indian cast their vote for the BJP, compared with 33% among Hindu voters who feel less strongly about both these aspects of national identity. These views also map onto regional support for the BJP, which tends to be much higher in the Northern and Central parts of the country than in the South.

Dietary laws are central to Indians’ religious identity. Hindus traditionally view cows as sacred, and laws on cow slaughter have recently been a flashpoint in India. Nearly three-quarters of Hindus (72%) in India say a person cannot be Hindu if they eat beef. That is larger than the shares of Hindus who say a person cannot be Hindu if they do not believe in God (49%) or never go to a temple (48%). Similarly, three-quarters of Indian Muslims (77%) say that a person cannot be Muslim if they eat pork, which is greater than the share who say a person cannot be Muslim if they do not believe in God (60%) or never attend mosque (61%).

Muslims favor having access to their own religious courts. Since 1937, India’s Muslims have had the option of resolving family and inheritance-related cases in officially recognized Islamic courts, known as dar-ul-qaza. These courts are overseen by religious magistrates known as qazi and operate under Shariah principles, although their decisions are not legally binding. Whether or not Muslims should be allowed to go to their own religious courts remains a hotly debated topic. The survey finds that three-quarters of Muslims (74%) support having access to the existing system of Islamic courts, but followers of other religions are far less likely to support Muslim access to this separate court system.

Muslims are more likely than Hindus to say the 1947 partition establishing the separate states of India and Pakistan harmed Hindu-Muslim relations. More than seven decades after the Indian subcontinent was divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan at the end of British colonial rule, the predominant view among Indian Muslims is that the partition of the subcontinent was a bad thing for Hindu-Muslim relations (48%). Only three-in-ten Muslims say it was a good thing. Hindus, however, lean in the opposite direction: 43% of Hindus say Partition was beneficial for Hindu-Muslim relations, while 37% say it was harmful. Sikhs, whose historical homeland of Punjab was split by Partition, are even more likely than Muslims to say the event was bad for Hindu-Muslim relations: Two-thirds of Sikhs (66%) take this position.

India’s caste system, an ancient social hierarchy with origins in Hindu writings, continues to fracture society. Regardless of whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain, Indians nearly universally identify with a caste. Members of lower caste groups historically have faced discrimination and unequal economic opportunities, but the survey finds that most people – including most members of lower castes – say there is not a lot of caste discrimination in India. The Indian Constitution prohibits caste-based discrimination, including untouchability, and in recent decades the government has enacted economic advancement policies like reserved seats in universities and government jobs for members of some lower-caste communities.

Still, a large majority of Indians overall (70%) say that most or all of their close friends share their caste. Much as they object to interreligious marriages, a large share of Indians (64%) say it is very important to stop women in their community from marrying into other castes, and about the same share (62%) say it is very important to stop men in their community from marrying into other castes. These figures vary only modestly across different castes.

Religious conversion is rare in India; to the extent that it is occurring, Hindus gain as many people as they lose. Conversion of people belonging to lower castes away from Hinduism to other religions, especially Christianity, has been contentious in India, and some states have laws against proselytism. This survey, though, finds that religious switching has a minimal impact on the size of religious groups. Across India, 98% of survey respondents give the same answer when asked to identify their current religion and, separately, their childhood religion.

An overall pattern of stability in the share of religious groups is accompanied by little net change from movement into, or out of, most religious groups. Among Hindus, for instance, any conversion out of the group is matched by conversion into the group: 0.7% of respondents say they were raised Hindu but now identify as something else, and roughly the same share (0.8%) say they were not raised Hindu but now identify as Hindu. For Christians, however, there are some net gains from conversion: 0.4% of survey respondents are former Hindus who now identify as Christian, while 0.1% were raised Christian but have since left Christianity.

Most Indians believe in God and say religion is very important in their lives. Nearly all Indians say they believe in God (97%), and roughly 80% of people in most religious groups say they are absolutely certain that God exists. The main exception is Buddhists, one-third of whom say they do not believe in God. (Belief in God is not central to Buddhist teachings.)

Indians do not always agree about the nature of God: Most Hindus say there is one God with many manifestations, while Muslims and Christians are more likely to say, simply, “there is only one God.” But across all major faiths, the vast majority of Indians say that religion is very important in their lives, and significant portions of each religious group also pray daily and observe a range of other religious rituals.

India’s religious groups share several religious practices and beliefs. After living side by side for generations, India’s minority groups often engage in practices or hold beliefs that are more closely associated with Hindu traditions than with their own. For instance, many Sikh (29%), Christian (22%) and Muslim (18%) women in India say they wear a bindi – the forehead marking often worn by married women – even though the bindi has Hindu origins. Meanwhile, Muslims in India are just as likely as Hindus to say they believe in karma (77% each), as do 54% of Indian Christians. Some members of the majority Hindu community celebrate Muslim and Christian festivals: 7% of Indian Hindus say they celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid, and 17% celebrate Christmas.

In late-February 1912, a play called Buddha was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London. This was produced by William Poel, the noted theatre figure best known for his presentations of Shakespeare. The play was adapted for stage by S.C. Bose. It has been speculated that he was Sarat Chandra Bose, the elder brother of Subhas Chandra Bose, and later to become a prominent figure in the Indian freedom movement himself. Sarat Chandra Bose was indeed in London at that time studying law. The evidence, however, is not conclusive.5 Buddha was a significant success. The driving force behind it was KedarNath Das Gupta, who had come to London in 1907 fleeing possible police action against him in Calcutta for having been a revolutionary there. In 1912, Das Gupta would also set up the Indian Art and Dramatic Society, which organized an evening dedicated to the works of Rabindranath Tagore in his presence at the Royal Albert Hall. Tagore would win the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature for his collection of songs called Gitanjali.

Tagore, the poet of Indian nationalism, was India’s pre-eminent cultural and literary personality of the twentieth century. The influence of the Buddha on his poetry and his novels has been much studied and written about. This influence came about in diverse ways. His immediate family was steeped in Buddhist study. In 1859 his father Debendranath Tagore had been to Ceylon and had come back with not just knowledge of but keen interest in the Buddha’s life and his teachings. He wrote Sakya Muni O NirvanTattvai in 1882. Satyendranath Tagore, Rabindranath’s elder brother, who had accompanied their father to Ceylon, wrote Bauddha Dharma in 1901. The BrahmoSamaj, of which the Tagore family was an integral part, had also taken up the study of the Buddha’s teachings. A very early influence regarding the Buddha on Rabindranath Tagore was that of RajendralalaMitra, who has figured in this narrative earlier.

In January 1922, Rabindranath Tagore would visit Bodh Gaya and issue this statement:

I am sure it will be admitted by all Hindus who are true to their own ideals, that it is an intolerable wrong to allow the temple raised on the spot where Lord Buddha attained his enlightenment to remain under the control of a rival sect which can neither have the intimate knowledge of or sympathy for the Buddhist religion and its rites of worship. I consider it to be a sacred duty for all individuals believing in freedom and justice this great historical site to the community of people who still reverently carry on that particular current of history in their own living faith.

Rabindranath Tagore had taken The Light of Asia with him when he went to Bodh Gaya. While the imprint of the Buddha is very distinctive in many of his works, the influence of The Light of Asia specifically has been traced in the poem ‘Bidaye’ of KalpanaKavyagrantha. It has apparently never been translated into English before and is being done so for the first time here:

Let me now depart, It’s time to break the bonds. In your blissful sleep, You shudder in dreams of separation. At dawn your vacant eyes, Will search and brim with glistening tears. It’s time to break the bonds. Though Your ruby lips and sad eyes are yet to utter, So many words of endearment. The bird will fly across the seas Leaving the happy nest behind. From across the firmament I hear the call. It’s time to break the bonds.

Tagore’s stance on the Mahabodhi Temple at Buddha Gaya was completely different to the one his Japanese friend and admirer OkakuraKakuzo had taken years earlier. OkakuraKakuzo was an artist who had in 1895 ‘issued a call for a painting competition to represent scenes from the life of the Buddha in a new form’. There was an enthusiastic response and a number of works resulted, but these were ‘dogged by critics’ accusations of inauthenticity’. Okakura must have decided that he had to visit India to get a better sense of ‘historical authenticity’ to depict the life of the Buddha. In addition, he had been persuaded by a wealthy American woman, Josephine MacLeod, to join her on her journey to Calcutta to meet Vivekananda. MacLeod had been Vivekananda’s ardent admirer and benefactor since 1894. Okakura was planning to host another Chicago-like World Parliament of Religions in Japan and hence his visit to the man who had been the most charismatic presence at Chicago in 1893 was most welcome.

OkakuraKakuzo reached Calcutta in early January 1902 and struck an instant rapport with Vivekananda and invited him to Japan. The two were in Buddha Gaya together sometime in the last week of January 1902. Vivekananda had been there sixteen years earlier. On 7 February 1902 Vivekananda told Josephine MacLeod:

We [Okakura and he] have safely reached Benaras . . . I am rather better here than at Buddha Gaya. There was no hitch to our friend [Okakura] being admitted to the chief temple and [allowed to] touch the Sign of Shiva and to worship. The Buddhists, it seems are always admitted

A few weeks later Okakura made a second trip to Buddha Gaya with another Japanese Buddhist priest Tokuno Oda, who had come to Calcutta in April 1901 as Okakura’s emissary to Vivekananda. The two Japanese went to meet the Mahant to negotiate the purchase of land close to the Mahabodhi Temple. On his return to Calcutta, Okakura wrote to the Mahant on 26 April 1902 expressing his desire to ‘erect a rest house [close to the Mahabodhi Temple] for followers of Mahayana Buddhism in Japan’ and his willingness to purchase land at a ‘fair and reasonable price’ for this purpose. He had distanced himself from the ‘representatives of the Hinayana Buddhism of Ceylon, Siam or other places,’ who had been agitating for total Buddhist control over the Mahabodhi Temple. Okakura gave his Calcutta address as ‘c/o Swami Vivekananda, the Math, Belur, Howrah’. Obviously, Vivekananda would have been in the know about Okakura’s proposal, which, as it turned out, was acceptable to the Mahant as well. A few months later, on 4 July 1902, Vivekananda passed away. It is clear that Okakura was deeply influenced by Vivekananda in his views on Buddhism and its relationship with Hinduism which were at variance with Dharmapala’s. Later Okakura would become an important part of Tagore’s orbit for a while.

As for Sister Nivedita, born Margaret Noble, she would visit Bodh Gaya in early October 1904. Her entourage had included twenty men and women, among whom were the scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose and his wife, Rabindranath Tagore and his son, and the historian Jadunath Sarkar. She would write to MacLeod on 15 October 1904 from Rajgir:

We have been a party of 20 spending 4 days at Bodh-Gaya . . . and I think it has been an event in all our lives . . . In the mornings we had tea by 6 and then readings ‘Light of Asia’ Web of Indian Life [Nivedita’s own book] etc, and talks. All gathered together in the great verandeh. Our Mahant is like a King. Evenings ‘we went out after tea’ to the Temple and Tree …

Rabindranath Tagore was not the only member of the distinguished Tagore family on whom The Light of Asia would have a marked influence. His nephew Abanindranath Tagore, the first Indian artist to gain international recognition just as his uncle was earning a global name for himself, had painted Buddha and Sujata in 1902. ParthaMitter, the noted historian of Indian art, has written that:

Buddha and Sujata departed from Varma’s historicism [Raja Ravi Varma, who painted mythological figures]. Abanindranath chose an actual historical figure, though the Buddha here was the saviour imagined by the Orientalist Edwin Arnold. His description of the shy maiden who brought the Buddha his first nourishment was the inspiration here.

In Book the Sixth, of The Light of Asia, Arnold describes that transformative moment thus:

So,’thinking him divine,’ Sujata drew

Tremblingly nigh, and kissed the earth and said,

With sweet face bent, “Would that the Holy One

Inhabiting this grove,

Giver of Good,

Merciful unto me his handmaiden,

Vouchsafing now his presence, might accept These our poor gifts of snowy curds, fresh made,

With milk as white as new-carved ivory!”

Today, about a twenty-minute walk east from the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya stands Sujata Stupa or Sujata Ghar that honours this milkmaid who ended the seven years of self-mortification of Siddhartha Gautama paving the way for his enlightenment. (IANS)

Pope Francis has changed church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests who abuse their authority and to say that laypeople who hold church office can be sanctioned for similar sex crimes.

The new provisions, released last week after 14 years of study, were contained in the revised criminal law section of the Vatican’s Code of Canon Law, the in-house legal system that covers the 1.3 billion-strong Catholic Church.It’s the first time church law has officially recognized as criminal the method used by sexual predators to build relationships with their victims to then sexually exploit them.

The most significant changes are contained in two articles, 1395 and 1398, which aim to address major shortcomings in the church’s handling of sexual abuse. The law recognizes that adults, too, can be victimized by priests who abuse their authority, and said that laypeople in church offices can be punished for abusing minors as well as adults.The Vatican also criminalized the “grooming” of minors or vulnerable adults by priests to compel them to engage in pornography. It’s the first time church law has officially recognized as criminal the method used by sexual predators to build relationships with their victims to then sexually exploit them.

The law also removes much of the discretion that had long allowed bishops and religious superiors to ignore or cover up abuse, making clear they can be held responsible for omissions and negligence in failing to properly investigate and sanction errant priests.Ever since the 1983 code was issued, lawyers and bishops have complained it was completely inadequate to deal with the sexual abuse of minors, since it required time-consuming trials. Victims and their advocates, meanwhile, have argued it left too much discretion in the hands of bishops who had an interest in covering up for their priests.

The Vatican issued piecemeal changes over the years to address the problems and loopholes, most significantly requiring all cases to be sent to the Holy See for review and allowing for a more streamlined administrative process to defrock a priest if the evidence against him was overwhelming.More recently, Francis passed new laws to punish bishops and religious superiors who failed to protect their flocks. The new criminal code incorporates those changes and goes beyond them.

According the new law, priests who engage in sexual acts with anyone — not just a minor or someone who lacks the use of reason — can bedefrocked if they used “force, threats or abuse of his authority” to engage in sexual acts.The law doesn’t explicitly define which adults are covered, saying only “one to whom the law recognizes equal protection.”The Vatican has long considered any sexual relations between a priest and an adult as sinful but consensual, believing that adults are able to offer or refuse consent purely by the nature of their age. But amid the #MeToo movement and scandals of seminarians and nuns being sexually abused by their superiors, the Vatican has come to realize that adults can be victimized too if they are in a relationship with a power imbalance.

That dynamic was most clearly recognized in the scandal over ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington. Even though the Vatican knew for years he slept with his seminarians, McCarrick was only put on trial after someone came forward saying he had abused him as a youth. Francis defrocked him in 2019.In a novelty aimed at addressing sex crimes committed by laypeople who hold church offices, such as founders of lay religious movements or even church administrators, the new law says laypeople can be similarly punished if they abuse their authority to engage in sexual crimes.Since these laypeople can’t be defrocked, penalties include losing their jobs, paying fines or being removed from their communities.

The need for such a provision was made clear in the scandal involving Luis Figari, the lay founder of the Peru-based conservative group SodalitiumChristianae Vitae, a conservative movement that has 20,000 members and chapters throughout South America and the U.S.An independent investigation concluded he was a paranoid narcissist obsessed with sex and watching his underlings endure pain and humiliation. But the Vatican dithered for years on how to sanction him, ultimately deciding to remove him from Peru and isolate him from the community. The new law takes effect on Dec. 8.

The students of Saudi Arabia will now learn the details of Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata under the new curriculum. As part of Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s new vision for the education sector in Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030, the history and culture of other countries are being studied to provide students with more knowledge about different cultures.

As part of this, it is reported that students will be taught Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is reported that the study will focus on globally significant Indian cultures such as yoga and Ayurveda, to expand the students’ cultural knowledge and exposure.

Apart from the introduction of Ramayana and Mahabharata in the curriculum of Saudi Arabian students, the English language has been made mandatory in the new Vision 2030.

Saudi’s Vision 2030 explained

To dismiss all the confusion regarding the changes in the education sector, Saudi users’ vision has been clarified by sharing a screenshot by a Twitter user named Nouf-al-Marwai.

He wrote, “Saudi Arabia’s new vision-2030 and syllabus will help build a future that is inclusive, liberal, and tolerant. “The Twitter user also shared a screenshot of his son’s syllabus, which contained a wide array of cultures.

“The screenshot of my son’s school exam today in the book of social studies includes concepts and history of Hinduism, Buddhism, Ramayana, Karma, Mahabharata, and Dharma. I enjoyed helping her study,” he added in his tweet.

At one of the largest gatherings of people in the world continues in the northern Indian city, Haridwar, almost 3 million Hindu pilgrims bathed in the Ganges River as part of this year’s Kumbh Mela festival, raising concerns that the festival could become a super spreader event.

One of the largest gatherings of people in the world continues in the northern Indian city, Haridwar amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases and a weakening supply of vaccines. Almost 3 million Hindu pilgrims have bathed in the Ganges River as part of this year’s Kumbh Mela festival, raising concerns that the festival could become a super spreader event. On Monday, the festival’s second-holiest day, India’s Health Ministry reported nearly 170,000 new coronavirus infections. India’s total caseload has become the second-highest in the world after the United States.

On the banks of the Ganges, Hindu prayer music is interrupted by whistles from police, trying unsuccessfully to enforce social distancing rules, as millions of devotees thronged the banks of the Ganges, a river many Hindus consider holy, to participate in the months-long ‘Kumbh Mela’ or pitcher festival.

Hindus believe the river is holy and bathing in it will cleanse them of their sins and bring salvation. The Kumbh Mela takes place every 12 years and the venue is chosen from amongst four cities, including Allahabad, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain. Haridwar’s turn to host the gathering came amid a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus infections, with India consistently reporting more than 100,000 cases daily in the past few weeks.

With a spike in new covid cases, India accounts for one in six of all new infections globally, although the figure is still well below the U.S. peak of nearly 300,000 new cases on Jan. 8. As India’s second wave of infections builds, with fewer than 4% estimated to have been vaccinated among a population of 1.4 billion, experts say the situation could have a long way to go before it starts getting better.
“After cases declined in January-February, we were very comfortable,” said a panel of high court judges in the western state of Gujarat, calling on authorities to take urgent steps to rein in the outbreak. “Almost everyone forgot that there was ever corona,” added the panel, headed by Chief Justice Vikram Nath.

A senior police official told ANI news agency that it was very difficult to ensure social distancing on the river banks.
“We are continuously appealing to people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. But due to the huge crowd, it is practically not possible to issue challans [fines],” inspector general of police Sanjay Gunjyal said.

He said that a “stampede-like situation” could arise if the police tried to enforce social distancing on the river banks.
Officials said by Monday evening more than 3.1 million devotees had bathed in the river, with many more expected to follow suit. Monday – Somvati Amavasya – marks the biggest bathing day during the two-month-long festival.

The government had earlier said that only people with Covid negative reports would be allowed at the festival and strict measures like social distancing would be followed. But a number of people, including top saints, have already tested positive.Even as the virus surges to its worst level, daily life remains unaffected in most parts of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other politicians have addressed massive campaign rallies in several states holding local elections. When Muslim scholars held a congregation in New Delhi last year, before India’s lockdown, politicians and many from India’s Hindu majority blamed Muslims for spreading the coronavirus.

Last month, when reporters asked Uttarakhand’s chief minister about COVID-19 concerns ahead of the Hindu Kumbh Mela festival, he said no one would be stopped from coming because of the pandemic. He said, “Pilgrims’ faith will overcome the fear of the virus.”

While the quest to explain how Christ can be both fully human and fully divine enjoys a long, fascinating history, Jc Beall, the O’Neill Family Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, believes that the quest should end.

Newswise — While the quest to explain how Christ can be both fully human and fully divine enjoys a long, fascinating history, Jc Beall, the O’Neill Family Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, believes that the quest should end.

Beall is an expert in logic, the philosophy of logic and especially nonstandard (or “deviant”) logic, and his most recent work explores longstanding problems in philosophy of religion.

In his newest research, “The Contradictory Christ,” Beall argues that instead of trying to get around the apparent contradiction of the incarnation, Christian thinkers should accept what many thinkers have long charged: at the very crux of the Christian theory lies a contradiction.

“I believe that Christ is a contradictory being, and that all Christian thinkers should accept that Christ is a being of whom some claims are both true and false,” Beall said.

According to Beall, orthodox work on the incarnation begins with the standard doctrine that Christ is fully divine and fully human — having all properties that are essential to God but also all properties that are essential to being human, including all the essential limitations of being human. Philosophers and theologians have long struggled with this tension and, in a quest for logical consistency, have articulated theories that attempt to dissolve the apparent contradiction.

“The history of heresies, charitably interpreted, is really the history of Christians trying to get away from the contradiction of Christ,” Beall said. “They flee the contradiction because of an unfounded dogmatism about logic that requires rejecting contradictions, but in so doing, they are actually losing the radical truth of God incarnate.”

Beall said that logic-respecting Christians confront a choice: either stick with the mainstream story about logic and thereby lose a distinctive truth of Christian theology, or reject the mainstream story about logic and accept that the truth of Christ involves contradiction.

“Getting closer to a true account of Christ means dialing down the standard theory of logic, which tells us that every statement about the world is either true or false, and also that no statement about the world is both true and false,” he said.

The Roman Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex marriages, no matter how stable or positive the couples’ relationships are, the Vatican said this week. The message, approved by Pope Francis, came in response to questions about whether the church should reflect the increasing social and legal acceptance of same-sex unions.

“Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?” the question asked. “Negative,” replied the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is responsible for defending Catholic doctrine. The church says its answer regarding same-sex couples “declares illicit any form of blessing that tends to acknowledge their unions as such.”

The message underlines the church’s insistence that marriage should be limited to a union between a man and a woman, saying that same-sex unions involve “sexual activity outside of marriage.” In the Vatican’s view, same-sex marriages are not part of God’s plan for families and raising children.

“The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing,” the statement said.

Bestowing a blessing on a same-sex couple’s relationship would also be an “imitation” of the nuptial blessing, the Vatican said. God, the Vatican said, “does not and cannot bless sin.”

Because of the Vatican’s stance on marriage, critics have accused the church of treating LGBTQ people as lesser members of its congregation. In an apparent response to those concerns, the Vatican said on Monday that its declaration is not meant to be “unjust discrimination.”

It called on Catholics “to welcome with respect and sensitivity persons with homosexual inclinations.”

The Vatican also said that its refusal to give religious approval to same-sex marriage does not preclude giving blessings to homosexual people. But it added that the church “does not have, and cannot have,” the power to bless same-sex relationships.

The message cited Francis’ own words from 2016, when he wrote, “there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.”

That line comes from “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Love), the papal treatise on families that was widely seen as Pope Francis’ move to make the Catholic Church more inclusive. When it was published, the document set off disagreements within the church hierarchy over whether Catholics who have been divorced and remarried should receive sacraments.

Pope Francis has been viewed with cautious optimism by LGBTQ groups because of remarks like his statement, widely published in 2020, that homosexuals are “part of the family” and that same-sex and other nontraditional couples need a “civil union law.” But rights advocates also noted that the pope’s remarks didn’t promise a change within the church, saying the comment seemed to reflect his own opinions, rather than a shift in Catholic doctrine.

On the auspicious hour of 10 AM in the spring morning of 20 Falgun of the Bengali year 1427, Friday March 5, 2021, a celebration began among the evergreen beauty of rural interior of Barisal district, Bangladesh. The event of re-dedication puja service of Sri Bishnu was conducted by monk Rev. Swami Jiban Maharaj, monk Rev. Swami Dayamoy Sadhu, pujarini (priestess) Mrs. Karmakar and by local village residents. Sri Bishnu or Sri Vishnu is the Lord of Creation. It seems that from the late First Millennia to mid-Second Millennia it became a tradition in Bengal in India to dedicate villages to Lord Bishnu.

As deltaic and plains Bengal is devoid of mountains and stones, the deities must either have been built in mountainous northern or northeastern India and transported to Bengal, or the stones and artisans were brought in Bengal via Ganga or Brahmaputra Rivers, much like the stone structures in ancient Egyptian civilization based on transportation of stones via Nile River. The black granite statue of Sri Bishnu (Vishnu) Murti (Deity) was dedicated by Ghosh-Dastidar Family ancestors in the 15^th Century at Lakhsmankathi Village of Barisal District, in coastal east Bengal in India, now Bangladesh. The shrine was established in the 15^th Century by the “Ghosh-Dastidar Family” when they established the village. The murti (statue) was erected in the Sri Bishnu Bari Mandir (Temple). Incidentally, the term Dastidar, a word of Persian origin, was given by the non-native Muslim ruler of Bengal region of India as an honorific title by foreign Islamic rulers who used Persian as the official language during their rule from the 14^th Century. They depended on the family for governing the region. Islamic rulers were a small non-native minority ruling over a vast non-Muslim population.

Many locals called this Puno-Pratistha Re-dedication Ceremony as an unparalleled and ground breaking event since the Partition of India and Partition of Bengal in 1947. The temple was repaired in 2019 through 2020, but the celebration of re-dedication was postponed because of Covid crisis. Only after Bangladesh removed restriction on travel, the celebration took place.

The March 5, 2021 celebration started during the auspicious moment according to Hindu calendar, with glorious Surya, the Sun God showed the event with His blessing. Men, women and children were dressed in their best to make the event joyous and celebratory. Vast majority of the people were from poor and oppressed groups in the Muslim-majority nation. After the end of the first puja service, a reading from the Holy Bhagabat Gita was conducted by Monk Dayamoy Sadhu, with a question and answer session. This was followed by a second puja offering and arati – service with lit pradip (lamp) – by Monk Jiban Maharaj, followed by puja by pujarini (priestess) Karmakar.

The service was followed by a music session conducted by monk Jiban Maharaj, joined by attendees, followed by a philosophical homily. Rev. Jiban Maharaj said in his sermon, “I especially thank Baba (Father, Sabyasachi), Ma (Mother, Shefali), Shuvo, Sumedha, Shriya-Lakshmi and Joyeeta Ghosh-Dastidars of America for their dedication to improve the life of all Bangladeshis. I also thank Anirban of Singapore for helping us. I wish them a very long and productive life and of others all over the world. Om Shanti.” At the end of puja-arati prayer-lite-lamp service keynote speech was given by Mr. Swapan Kumar Mondol, a local luminary, followed by congratulatory addresses by other individuals. At the end of the service Prasad, blessed fruits and sweets offered to God, and bhog, the blessed cooked food offered to Lord Bishnu, were distributed to all the attendees, between 100 and 150 guests, both Hindu minority and Muslim majority. This follows a long tradition of joint celebration during peaceful times.

The process of reconstruction of the mandir (temple) began after this writer’s visit in early 2019 when the poor, oppressed villagers requested visitors’ help to repair the structure. In 1987 the new mandir was built by Amitabha Ghosh Dastidar of Kolkata (Calcutta). The original temple structure was destroyed during 1950s pogrom, when terrorists also demolished the other 18^th Century mandir (temple) of Black Mother Kali, called Kali Bari or the Home of Mother Kali.

It is worth mentioning that after partition of India in 1947 into secular India and Islamic Pakistan, today’s Bangladesh became East Pakistan, and immediately began attacks on Hindu minorities, their shrines, ashrams, schools, libraries, homes and businesses. Dastidars, like other Hindus, especially educated families, wanted to stay in their homes, but after successive pogroms they were forced to flee from their homeland becoming homeless refugees in India. Since early 1980s Dastidars have been going back to their homeland regularly, though they were unable to enter their home. They have established many schools and hostels (dormitories) for the poor and the orphaned in Bangladesh, and in the Indian States of West Bengal, Assam and Mizoram, with the help of many Americans – Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, white, black, brown, yellow and of other colors.

I thank Mr. Mithun Biswas of Madaripur, Bangladesh for providing live video coverage through Facebook page. At times live broadcast was difficult because of WI-Fi connection in that remote rural corner of Bangladesh. In 2021 it takes between six to eight hours to cover a distance of 160 to 250 kilometers, from the Bangladesh capital Dhaka to Lakshmankati in the south depending on which ferry one takes to cross either mighty Padma or Meghna Rivers.

We welcome you to visit the shrine. On your way please visit Mahilara Mott, a historic place with a 350-year old shrine included in a book by UNESCO of historic mandirs of Bangladesh. This writer’s effort saved the historic 110 feet tall shrine. Check https://empireslastcasualty.blogspot.com/2019/01/mahilara-gour-nodi-barisal-bangladesh.html. It is just 400 meters north of Lakshmankathi on the main Dhaka-Barisal National Highway. Please email us for direction. If one wants, one can rent a room at Guest House of Madaripur Ashram, in Pathak-kandi neighborhood of Madaripur City for overnight stay, a short distance from both Mahilara and Lakshmankathi villages. One can use various modes of transportation to visit those sites.

If one wants to contact us, please email either at [email protected] or at [email protected].  If one wants to donate for our work, please donate via Facebook page of the Indian Subcontinent Partition Documentation Project, or donate via www.ispad1947.org web. Any donation is greatly appreciated.

The solo Indian flag that made an appearance among the vast swathe of Trump supporters storming the Capitol building in Washington D.C. recently, caught the attention of many. It was even more of a surprise when it was revealed that a Malayali Christian named Vinson Palathingal was responsible for it.

However, truth be told, Palathingal is just one of the many Malayali Christians who are fervent advocates of the Christo-racist nationalism represented and championed by Donald Trump and his band of supporters. For those wondering how an exclusivist White supremacist anti-Muslim ideology and rhetoric that underpins Trumpian politics appeals to these migrants and their ilk from the Global South, the answer may be found in the latter’s own social location within the Kerala society in India.

Syrian Christians and Kerala’s caste hierarchy

Beyond the general term Christian, there lies a more nuanced identifier for the community that people like Palathingal hail from – Syrian Christians. A traditionally privileged and landed community, they claim their origin from the proselytisation mission of Jesus Christ’s disciple St. Thomas in the first century CE. There are visible tendencies among the Syrians, who are also called St. Thomas Christians, to go back and revive what they imagine to be their Syriac liturgical tradition.

The most popular myth about their origin is that they hail from Brahmins who were proselytised by St. Thomas. While inquiring into the veracity of these claims is not what I intend to do in this article, I think it is indeed an indication of the “superior” status that they seek to utilise to distinguish themselves from their fellow Christians who are mostly from “lower” castes.

Cambridge historian Susan Bayly, in her book, Saints, Goddesses and Kings, points out that in the pre-colonial era, Syrian Christians were very much incorporated into the savarna sections of the caste hierarchy within the Kerala society. Although the tectonic changes brought into the social organisation of Kerala by the colonialists altered this position, and Syrian Christians switched from being mostly a martial and trading group to one of land-owning agriculturalists, they were still able to retain their traditional privileges.

1. C. Zachariah points out in his book, The Syrian Christians of Kerala: Demographic and Socio-Economic Transition in the 20th Century (2006), that the community is the largest per household landholder in the state. They also lead other prominent groups in terms of housing. They also do relatively well in terms of access to both government jobs and educational institutions. Citing the Kerala Migration Study (1998) conducted by the Centre for Development Studies, Zachariah concludes that “Syrian Christians are the most advanced community in Kerala (p197)” with respect to overall socio-economic indices.

A simplistic application of the category of caste in the case of Syrian Christians might blunt the analytical edge. However, for the purposes of this article, I will stick to the notion of caste, for want of a better terminology, as it is still used as a method of social stratification.

For instance, Syrian Christians practice strict endogamy, which is central to preserving hereditary socio-economic capital. This practice is so strongly adhered to that Syrian denominations that are in communion with the Catholic Church still do not enter into matrimonial relationships with their fellow Latin Catholics who are mostly considered “lower” castes, belonging to fisherman or Dalit communities.

The tropes of ‘love jihad’, halal food, and minority benefits

However, despite being amongst the most privileged in Kerala society, recently, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (the largest denomination among the Syrians) kicked up a public frenzy claiming that ‘Christians’ are being systematically discriminated against, by the two mainstream political parties who come to power in Kerala alternatively. The major accusation is that the state governments favour Muslims over Christians, when it comes to resource allocation through minority benefits.

This rhetoric is clearly based on a reductionist understanding of ‘minority’ as a purely numerical category, rather than as one referring to a community that is vulnerable or threatened by the majority power structure. This tendency is also witnessed in the hype over the imagined ‘love jihad’ campaigns by Muslims to ‘snatch’ (Syrian) Christian women, even after central and state law enforcement agencies repeatedly found no evidence to prove the same. Priests and laity leaders constantly issue advisories to parents to protect their daughters from falling for such non-existent ‘love jihad’ traps.

As surprising as it would seem, this has also spilt into campaigns various Syrian Christian groups calling for a boycott of restaurants and shops selling halal food items. The recent decision by Turkish President Erdogan to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque is portrayed as another instance of a global Muslim scheme against Christians, conveniently hiding the fact that 13th-century crusaders were the first to ransack Hagia Sophia. The Orthodox Patriarch had to run for his life while the marauding Catholics converted Hagia Sofia into a Catholic place of worship.

Just like Vinson Palathingal in the US, there were community groups in Kerala that put up billboards professing their unflinching support for Trump and prayed for his return to power. Moreover, Syrian Christian family WhatsApp groups and social media are teeming with conspiracy theories targeting Muslims. In many of the cases, this communal vitriol is led by Syrian Catholic priests themselves, like Noble Parackal, who is also a popular face on social media. It suffices to say that these conspiracy theories and victim narratives have found legitimacy and a life independent of reality.

Mainstream political parties in Kerala are all wary of this reality, especially with state assembly elections just around the corner. Through various ways, the community has also started publicly positioning BJP as a potential ally and political alternative. On its part, the BJP, which is struggling to establish a foothold in the state with 47% of the population comprising minorities, has been trying to woo Syrian Christians in a major way. The fact also remains that the first and last MP to win for NDA from Kerala was P. C. Thomas from the Syrian Catholic community, in 2004.

Syrian Christians’ appropriation of ‘Christianity’

Among all the various Syrian Christian denominations, why is it that the Syrian Catholic church is expressly, and almost exclusively, the proponent of this anti-Islam campaign? Further, what are the repressed insecurities of the community that has manifested in such a phenomenon?

Most importantly, at a time when Hindu majoritarianism is extending its grip over India, why is it that the Kerala Christian group has chosen to target another fellow minority group, instead of the Hindu nationalists? Studies need to address this deep-seated insecurity of the community to unpack the unconscious and underlying reasons manifesting in the current public outburst of anger aimed at Muslims.

Antagonism towards Muslims is not new and has been a popular, but private, sentiment among the members of the community majorly in the erstwhile central Travancore region. As such, one needs to ask why, suddenly, this made its entry into the public sphere with such fervour. For one, it is clear that ‘love jihad’, the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, halal food controversy, terrorism etc, have been used instrumentally to plug the local antagonism towards Muslims into the global discourse, adding much-needed legitimacy to the anti-Muslim social imagination. This also helps in rhetorically translating the antagonism in such popularly recognised ‘common sense’ terms that would look normal and legitimate.

‘Entirety of Christianity’

One last and most important facet of this phenomenon I wish to highlight is how the Syrian Christians, championing this narrative, always mobilise the entirety of ‘Christianity’ in their rhetoric. This is contradictory. This calls for critical attention, considering how Syrians have always fervently tried to distinguish themselves from the rest of the Christians in everything else that matters. Their exceptionalism and savarna mindset clearly point to a Christianity-caste nexus that actively facilitates the maintenance of caste privileges.

Even their origin stories, related to the first century CE proselytisation mission of St. Thomas, is itself used to distinguish them from those mostly ‘lower’ caste faithful, who are pejoratively called ‘converted Christians’ referring to their more recent turn to the faith. The extent of this caste distinction and discrimination becomes amply clear while considering the fact that Syrian Catholics, with full approval and encouragement of the clergy, refuse to even marry Latin Catholics.

To avoid appearing explicitly casteist, myths like family ‘cultural differences’ which are pitched as monolithic and hereditary, are cited. Moreover, this caste blinded-ness is also a reason why the self-proclaimed protectors of ‘Christianity’, fighting against a so-called global Muslim conspiracy, choose to ignore the long history of violence inflicted by Hindutva organisations on Dalit and other ‘lower’ caste Christians in other parts of India. As such, it is imperative that we need to make visible the caste violence being furthered by ‘savarna‘ Syrian Christians, as they pitch the fiction of unified Christianity in their rhetoric against Muslims.

Bipin Sebastian is a PhD student at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He studies discursive formations on religion, caste and secularism in India and can be reached at [email protected]

In this time of COVID-19 and civil unrest in America, happiness often seems increasingly elusive. Yet that may not have to be so, and, in fact, such turmoil can offer opportunities for both personal and professional fulfillment.

That was the theme of an online conversation Saturday night between the Dalai Lama and Professor Arthur C. Brooks of Harvard Business School (HBS) and Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Speaking from his home in Dharamshala, India, the Dalai Lama, longtime leader of Tibetan Buddhism, spoke with Brooks, HKS professor of the practice of public leadership and HBS professor of management practice, for 90 minutes in a live segment of Brooks’ HBS class called “Leadership and Happiness.” The Dalai Lama answered questions from students about their concerns and their duties in a troubled world.

Connection — even as people are usually now forced to work and study separately — is the key to happiness, he said. “We need a sense of oneness. We are each one of 7 billion human beings.” Occasionally aided by an interpreter, the 85-year-old religious leader stressed that point repeatedly. Especially when faced with global crises such as the pandemic and climate change, he said, people must engage as a global community.

“We can no longer say ‘my nation, my country,’ ” he said. “We should say ‘my planet.’ We have to live on this planet together.”

The potential for happiness is in that connectivity. “Happiness is in the mind,” the Dalai Lama said. As individuals and as leaders, when we reach out to others, lifting them up, we experience that connection, and the resulting fulfillment brings us happiness.

Even during a pandemic, he advised, we can find peace. Science and intellectual analysis, he stressed, are vital. If health professionals advise that it is not safe to gather, we need to respect that. He said he personally has found solitude useful for meditation. But being alone should be a choice: “With technology, the oneness of people becomes more clear,” he added. “We can communicate with each other.”

Isolation, he pointed out, can be largely a state of mind. “Tibet, in ancient times, was lonely but happy.” Even in the sparsely populated, mountainous country, “When one family needed some help, they could ask,” he said, relying on a strong sense of community.

Now, people are clustered in big cities but often without a sense of their interdependency.  “Instead of trust, there is fear and distrust,” he said. Focusing on material wealth or competition rather than on interdependency and the general good “eventually creates anger, so the person will not be happy.”

Countering this outlook is within our power. He described his own travels and how, as a stateless person, he could have felt isolated and alone. Instead, wherever he was, he saw himself as part of a larger community, anywhere in the world.

Pushing further for being in the world, the Dalai Lama promoted what Brooks called “the sanctity of the intellectual life.” He repeatedly returned to the need for academic rigor, even at the expense of religious doctrine. Following discussions with scientists, for example, he has let go of centuries-old Buddhist concepts, “like Mount Meru and the sun and the moon being the same size,” he said, referring to the sacred peak considered the center of the universe. “You must be realistic and analyze,” he said.

“What kind of future depends on the present, the younger generation — you are the key people who can create a happier future,” the Dalai Lama told a Harvard Business School class on Saturday night.

“We’re not like other animals,” he said, simply seeking sustenance or safety. “A lot of our problems are our own mental creations.” The solution, he stressed, comes in improving our educational systems to teach community and equality rather than division and difference. Science, he added, can further our understanding of our emotions and the human mind. “A lot of problems were created by the human mind itself, so the remedy also, you see, lies within the human mind. Investigate.”

He concluded his talk by speaking directly to the student audience. Referring to his own status as a refugee and to the problems that his generation has left the world, he became, once again, philosophical. “Time is always moving,” he said. “We cannot change the past. The future is not yet come. What kind of future depends on the present, the younger generation — you are the key people who can create a happier future. So, please, you should not just copy what has happened. New thinking is very necessary. Please think more.”

(Courtesy: the Harvard Gazette)

Jesuit Fr. Leo O’Donovan, former president of Georgetown University, will deliver the invocation at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.

O’Donovan confirmed to NCR that Biden had personally called him and invited him to offer the prayer at the inauguration, which will mark the election of the nation’s second Catholic president, and that he had accepted.

O’Donovan is a longtime friend of the Biden family. In 2015, he presided at the funeral Mass for Biden’s oldest son, Beau, after he died of brain cancer at the age of 46.

Biden is known to be close with a number of Jesuit priests, and while he was vice president, he occasionally attended Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown. In 1992, when Biden’s son Hunter was a senior at Georgetown, O’Donovan invited the then-senator from Delaware to give a lecture at the Jesuit university on his faith and public life. Biden told O’Donovan at the time it was the “toughest assignment he’s ever had.”

More recently, just days after his presidential election, on Nov. 12, Biden appeared at a virtual fundraiser for Jesuit Refugee Service, where O’Donovan now serves as director of mission. On that occasion, Biden announced that he would raise the annual admission target of new refugees into the United States to 125,000, marking a sharp increase to the Trump administration’s cap of 15,000 individuals. 

Previously, in 2018, Biden penned the foreward to O’Donovan’s book Blessed Are the Refugees: Beatitudes of Immigrant Children.

Catholics have a long history of participating in prayers for inaugural events. In 1937, Fr. John Ryan offered the benediction at President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inauguration. Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston offered the invocation at the inauguration of the nation’s first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, in 1961. More recently, in 2017, New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan provided a Scripture reading at the inauguration for President Donald Trump.

While other specific details of the inauguration lineup of speakers have yet to be announced, the Biden-Harris transition team announced last month that on the eve of the inauguration, there will be a memorial to honor lives lost to COVID-19, which will include the ringing of church bells throughout Washington, D.C.

In his message for the 54th World Day of Peace, which will be celebrated on Jan. 1, 2021, Pope Francis offers the Church’s social doctrine as a compass to foster a culture of care for peace in the world.
Pope Francis appeals to the international community and every individual to foster a “culture of care” by advancing on the “path of fraternity, justice and peace between individuals, communities, peoples and nations.”
“There can be no peace without a culture of care,” the pope stresses in his message for World Day of Peace, which will be held on Jan. 1, 2021. The message was released by the Vatican on Dec. 17.
The Holy Father calls for “a common, supportive and inclusive commitment to protecting and promoting the dignity and good of all, a willingness to show care and compassion, to work for reconciliation and healing, and to advance mutual respect and acceptance.” In this task, Pope Francis offers the principles of the Church’s social doctrine as a compass on the path to peace.
Established by Pope St. Paul VI in 1967, the first World Day of Peace was observed on Jan. 1, 1968. On New Year’s Day, the Church also celebrates the solemn feast of Mary, Mother of God.
“A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace” is the theme of the Pope Francis’ message, addressed to heads of state and government, leaders of international organizations, spiritual leaders and followers of the different religions, and to men and women of good will.
Lessons from the pandemic
Pope Francis begins his message noting how the “massive COVID-19 health crisis” has aggravated deeply interrelated crises such as those of the climate, food, the economy and migration, causing great sorrow and suffering to many. He makes it an occasion to appeal to political leaders and the private sector to spare no effort to ensure access to Covid-19 vaccines and to the essential technologies needed to care for the sick, the poor and those who are most vulnerable.
Alongside the pandemic, the pope also notes a surge in various forms of nationalism, racism and xenophobia, and wars and conflicts that bring only death and destruction in their wake. These and other events of 2020, he says, have underscored the importance of caring for one another and for creation in our efforts to build a more fraternal society. Hence, “A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace” is a “way to combat the culture of indifference, waste and confrontation so prevalent in our time,” he states.
Evolution of the Church’s ‘Culture of Care’
The Holy Father traces the evolution of the Church’s Culture of Care from the first book of the Bible to Jesus, through the early Church down to our times.
After the creation of the world, God entrusts it to Adam to “till it and keep it”. Cain’s response to God – “Am I my brother’s keeper?” – after killing his brother, Abel, is a reminder that all of us are keepers of one another. God’s protection of Cain, despite his crime, confirms the inviolable dignity of the person created in God’s image and likeness. Later, the institution of the Sabbath aimed to restore the social order and concern for the poor, while the Jubilee year provided a respite for the land, slaves and those in debt. All this, the pope says, shows that “everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationship with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.”
The Father’s love for humanity, the pope says, finds its supreme revelation in Jesus, who asks His disciples to do likewise. The early Christians followed Jesus by sharing what they had and caring for the needy, thus making their community a welcoming home.
Today, the Church has “many institutions for the relief of every human need: hospitals, poor houses, orphanages, foundling homes, shelters for travellers” and more.
Church’s social doctrine – a ‘grammar’ of care
This culture of care of the Church, enriched by the reflection of the Fathers and the charity of luminous witnesses to the faith, Pope Francis continues, became the “beating heart of the Church’s social doctrine.” This, he says, can serve as a “grammar’ of care: commitment to promoting the dignity of each human person, solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, the pursuit of the common good and concern for the protection of creation.”
The Christian concept of the person, the pontiff says, fosters the pursuit of a fully human development. “Person always signifies relationship, not individualism; it affirms inclusion, not exclusion; unique and inviolable dignity, not exploitation. … Each human person is an end in himself or herself, and never simply a means to be valued only for his or her usefulness.”
According to the “compass” of social principles of the Church, every aspect of social, political and economic life achieves its fullest end when placed at the service of the common good, which allows people to reach their fulfilment more fully and easily.
In this regard, the pope says, the pandemic has revealed that all of us, fragile and disoriented, are in the same boat. “All of us are called to row together [since] no one reaches salvation by themselves.”
The Church’s social principles also urge us to concrete solidarity for others because we are all responsible for all. It also stresses the interconnectedness of all creation, as his Encyclical Laudato si’ points out.
This highlights the need to listen to the cry of our brothers and sisters in need, and the cry of the earth, our common home, and care for them.
“A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be authentic if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings,” Pope Francis states, citing his encyclical.
“Peace, justice and care for creation are three inherently connected questions, which cannot be separated.”
Church’s social doctrine – a “compass” 
In the face of our throw-away culture, with its growing inequalities both within and between nations, Pope Francis urges government leaders, and those of international organizations, business leaders, scientists, communicators and educators, to take up the principles of the Church’s social doctrine as a “compass”. It is capable of pointing out a common direction and ensuring “a more humane future” in the process of globalization. He also calls on everyone to take this compass in hand and work to overcome the many existing social inequalities.
Humanitarian law needs to be respected, especially in situations of conflict and war, which cause enormous suffering to children, men and women. Instead of regarding conflicts as something normal, the pope says, we need to convert our hearts and ways of thinking in order to work for true peace in solidarity and fraternity.
Weapons and peace
In this regard, Pope Francis calls for resources spent on arms, especially nuclear weapons, to be used for priorities such as safety of individuals, the promotion of peace and integral human development, the fight against poverty, and the provision of health care.
He says it would be a courageous decision to “establish a ‘Global Fund’ with the money spent on weapons and other military expenditures, in order to permanently eliminate hunger and contribute to the development of the poorest countries!”
Educating to peace
The promotion of a culture of care also calls for a process of education, the pontiff says.
This begins in the family where we learn how to live and relate to others in a spirit of mutual respect. Schools and universities, the communications media, and also religions and religious leaders are called to pass on a system of values based on the recognition of the dignity of each person, each linguistic, ethnic and religious community, and each people.
“At a time like this, when the barque of humanity, tossed by the storm of the current crisis, struggles to advance towards a calmer and more serene horizon,” he says, “the rudder of human dignity and the compass of fundamental social principles can enable us together to steer a sure course.”
Pope Francis concludes his message, urging “We never yield to the temptation to disregard others, especially those in greatest need, and to look the other way … Instead, may we strive daily, in concrete and practical ways, to form a community composed of brothers and sisters who accept and care for one another.”