After Indian born British Parliamentarians raised the issue of reported harassment of Kazakh Hindus, British Prime Minister Tony Blair took up the issue with the Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. There is growing concern for the minority Hindus in Kazakhstan as eleven homes owned by members of ISKCON community were been demolished by the local police, leaving the families homeless.
Earlier about 60 riot police and bull dozers assembled inside a Hindu temple in Kazakhstan and demolished five Hindu houses on Tuesday. There were reports that the Kazakh government was also allegedly planning to bulldoze a Hindu temple in the Karasai district.
At a recent meeting held in Almaty and chaired by A.M. Muhkashov, the deputy director of the Kazakh government Religion Committee, the ISKCON delegation was clearly told that Hindus do not have a place in Kazakhstan.
The demolition carried out on Tuesday has been labeled by many human rights organizations as land grabbing by the local government. The incident has already evoked outrage from the Hindu community across the world, according to an ISKCON press release.
Kazakhstan, the largest republic in Central Asia with a population of over 15 million, comprises over 130 ethnic groups. Ethnic Russians, who are traditionally members of the Russian Orthodox Church, constitute around a third of the population.
In recent times, there have been a good number of cases when Hindu gods and goddesses have been misused. Take the British postage department's mistake in November this year. The stamp allegedly featured two Hindus with 'tilak' marks worshipping the infant Jesus Christ. The Hindu Forum of Britain immediately raised a furore demanding it’s withdrawn from circulation.
This is not the first time that a Hindus have been abused and hurt by religious fanatics of other western countries. Is it because Hindu’s have always protested in a non-violent manner or is it mainly because the non-violence is always taken for granted?
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