Hindu temples are vandalized again
By Paras Ramoutar
Port-of-Spain: The counts keeping inflating as another Hindu temple has been vandalized in Trinidad.
President of the Lower McBean Hindu Temple, Dr Rampersad Parasram has termed the break-in in the temple as, “an act of vandalism”. He said that someone broke into the Lower McBean Hindu Temple last Friday and damaged the Mother Durga Murti(religious statue) .
Dr Parasram, a former Chief Medical Officer in the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, pointed out that this was not the first time such acts of vandalism have been done, and security steps were effected, over
the years, to prevent such occurrences.
He told he media that is very unfortunate that a place of religious worship was desecrated . “Within recent months several Hindu religious institutions have become the targets for vandalism, including robberies and damages to the institutions, and that the matter has been reported to the Police.
Last Thursday night temple members held a weekly meeting where the last person left the precints around 1 a.m. on Friday, and it was properly secured before leaving. “Any act committed in a place of worship was unacceptable and must be condemned alright.”
Pundit Dr Parasram, who comes from a network of respectable Hindu pundits, noted that the temple membership do not hold any ill will against anyone. “Crime in all its forms, which has now become the norm in our country is wholly unacceptable, and we have to respect each other values, culture and religion, and it is really unfortunate that this has taken place, in our peaceful society.”
In May, the Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple in was robbed, and spiritual lead, Pundit Gajgendra Kumar, from Uttar Pradesh, India and his family were terrorized and robbed , and they escaped with over US $30,000 in cash and personal valuables. Last June, Hindu Temple in Las Lomas was broken in and over US$25,000 worth of kitchen utensils were taken away. Pundit Ramesh Tiwari, spiritual leader of the prominent Edinburgh Hindu Temple, pointed out that,“society and human and religious values are thrown out the windows”.
“There must be a total acclamation against acts of vandalism against any religious institution, regardless it is Hindu, Catholic, Presbyterian , Muslim, Baptist. Our society continues to suffer from religious and spiritual values, and urgent steps must be undertaken to end this indiscipline,” Pundit Tiwari said.
Source: World Hindu News (WHN)