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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 20th July 2013
Your Voice
National Hindu Students Forum (UK)
Casteism and Hindu hypocrisy
Continued from page 10
a delegation of the so-called ‘Backward Class’ community came to us seeking donations to build a Shirdi Sai Baba temple in their locality. My brother gave a large amount but I was prepared only to give half as much, arguing that the village already had a Baba’s temple so why build another. They didn’t answer but left disappointingly. Soon I observed that the dominant Hindu community had, implicitly, denied them access to the temple by not expressing an open-door welcome. Ashamedly, I gave them the full donation and even assisted them with the cost of materials and utensils. Sai Baba was a simple man and it would have pained him grievously to witness caste
By Remya Unnithan, Legal Team Coordinator
discrimination from his worshippers. Today, their new temple, appropriately named ‘Sai Kotis’ (Sai’s humble hut), is flourishing, even attracting foreign visitors. There is a general concept of British law that any kind of prejudice between humans is unacceptable, so how can we, as British Hindus, avoid being ‘typical’ Indian Hindus when it comes to caste? In my view, this question can’t be dismissed outright as something which simply does not exist or happen within the UK’s Hindu society. Uttambhai D Mistry Bolton
Does BJP need to rethink its policy on Andhra Pradesh? Andhra Pradesh can be neatly divided into three zones: 9 districts forming the coastal region (Andhra Pradesh region); 4 districts forming the interior region (Rayalseema region); and 9 districts adjoining Hyderabad forming the Telengana region. Barring Hyderabad, Rayalseema and Telengana regions have inferior social and physical infrastructure. The “Telengana region” has uplifted the state as a cyber hi-tech state. Firms registered as Software Technology Parks at 1,345 is second only to Maharashtra. It has the largest number of arts, science, commerce, engineering, technical and architecture colleges. It is definitely a Knowledge State, a growing haven for students from around the world. “Andhra Pradesh” has a thriving port infrastructure—13 major and minor ports with Vishakapatnam being the second biggest port, handling the largest tonnage
in India. This region has the third largest power generation and the highest hydel power generation in the country. The State remains predominantly agrarian with more than 60% of population dependant on this sector. Fertile land and water have assured a surplus good grain production with high yields, and ground nuts, tobacco, cotton, castor and sugar cane are major crops. Major industries are IT, auto components, horticulture, poultry, pharmaceuticals and textiles. However, drawbacks are too many to list [www.phdcci.in]. United the strong parts would uplift the weaker parts; divided could create lower GDP growth overall long-term. Finally, united the State would have an interdependent economy of industry, IT, agriculture and exports. Nagindas Khaujira Via Email
A Huge Step To Equality Same sex marriages have nearly been approved in the UK. The first gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender marriages have been set to take place in 2014, once the government finalises the legislation and makes the various changes needed in order for approval. This news has brought jubilance and happiness within the 700,000 strong homosexual community. This was clearly demonstrated when the news came out, there were very loud cheers from outside of Parliament. Lawmaker
Lord Waheed Alli
Lord Waheed Alli told colleagues in a emotional speech “My life and many others will be better today than it was yesterday.”
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Changing how Hinduism is taught – one school at a time Hindus are constantly asked questions such as, ‘Why do you worship so many Gods?’ or ‘Are you idol worshippers?’ As Hinduism is not a subject taught in many of the primary and secondary schools in the UK today, some Hindus do not know the answers to these questions and go through life with a misconception of their religion. It is imperative that these fundamental questions, as well as the common stories of Hinduism, are taught and learnt properly at a young age to ensure that the teachings of our dharma are not only correct but enable the lessons of our great faith to continue for generations to come. It also ensure that people who have questions about Hinduism are taught the teachings as accurately as possible to ensure misconceptions of our faith are removed at an early stage. To tackle this matter, NHSF (UK) has taken the initiative to attend primary schools across the country and educate
young minds about the various festivals that Hindus celebrate. The year officially commenced with Jaimal Patel (NHSF (UK)’s London Zone Coordinator), Poonam Patel (NHSF (UK)’s HUM Editor) and I visiting Lathom Junior School in East London, where we delivered a presentation to four separate classes on why and how we celebrate Diwali and providing them with a narrative of the Ramayana. As we walked into our first class, the students were all ready and seated. Their glaring eyes looked up at our faces while we introduced ourselves and started our presentation. InitiallyS the nerves got to us, having not taught a class of students before, but the warm welcome from the staff and children made it easier. After the first class and seeing the impact our presentation had on the children, the feeling of satisfaction took over the nerves. To make our presentation more engaging,
we included some role play where the students were encouraged to volunteer themselves to act out the characters of the Ramayana as the story unfolded. Their excitement and hope that we would choose them to play the protagonists made it all the more gratifying to teach them as it showed a willingness and interest to learn. Towards the end of the presentation, we played a small quiz, which to our surprise; the students answered all questions correctly and were able to recite the Ramayana back to us. We finished the class by explaining the significance of ‘Namaste’. Teaching students about Diwali was an invigorating and fulfilling experience, which we recommend all members of NHSF (UK) to become involved in. A lot of us complain about how Hinduism is taught at schools. Here is our chance to change that! For more information, please contact schoolsteam@nhsf.org.uk.
This is a massive step towards equality in the UK as in the prior years transgender marriages weren’t allowed. This will eliminate most of the abusive discrimination aimed at gay and lesbian marriages. Nick Clegg said the legislation represents “the kind open, modern, tolerant and diverse society we want Britain to be in the 21st century.”
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