Hindu extremists target New Year
2000-12-28 12:16
New Delhi - Hindu fundamentalist organisations in the northern Indian state of
Uttar Pradesh have urged people not to celebrate the New Year
because it is against Indian culture, reports said Thursday.
The Hindu Jagaran Manch (Hindu awakening movement) has warned
people participating in New Year celebrations of "punishment", the
Asian Age newspaper reported.
In a statement the Hindu group said New Year celebrations were a
totally Western concept alien to Hindu culture and a "systematic
attempt by multinational companies to corrupt our youth".
"The New Year according to the Hindu calender, does not begin on
January 1 and it has never been part of our culture to usher in the
new year with liquor, music and dance" the manch's spokesman
Aravind Singh said.
The organisation warned hotels and restaurants that the
celebrations, if held at all, must be toned down to acceptable
limits with no liquor or dancing.
The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the Hindu group from which Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party draws its
ideological inspiration, has already asked people not to welcome
the "Christian New Year."
Meanwhile, activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and its youth
wing Bajrang Dal in the western city of Ahmedabad on Wednesday damaged
a painting made by prominent Muslim artist Maqbool Fida Husain
meant to promote his film Gaja Gamini.
The activists accused Husain of being anti-Hindu and of insulting
Hindu gods.
- Sapa-DP
- SAPA