Russian court rejects move to ban Hindu scripture
Thursday, December 29, 2011
A judge in Tomsk, Russia drew a round of applause from the court room as she dismissed charges of extremism against the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, a Russian commented translation of the Bhagavad Gita published by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This decision put an end to the six-month-long trial of the book accused by the state prosecutors of fostering "social discord" and "incitement to religious hatred".
The Indian Foreign Ministry, which had been urging Moscow to avert the possible ban they termed as "absurd", welcomed the verdict calling it "a sensible resolution of a sensitive issue" which "demonstrates yet again that the people of India and Russia have a deep understanding of each other's cultures and will always reject any attempt to belittle our common civilizational values" and thanked the Russian government for their support. Indian Ambassador to Russia Ajai Mahotra also stated that the court decision "deserves to be applauded".
The controversial court case on the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient text regarded sacred by millions of Hindus, had threatened to become a stumbling block in traditionally strong Indo-Russian relations as it caused political and societal turmoil in India, with the Indian Parliament stalled over the proposed ban and Hindu activists burning Russian flags. The trial also evoked strong criticism from the international media.
Related news
- "Indian Parliament irate as Russia poised to ban Bhagavad Gita" — Wikinews, December 20, 2011
Sister links
- Bhagavad Gita trial in Russia on Wikipedia.
Sources
- "Russia court rejects plea to ban Gita" — The Times of India, December 29, 2011
- Preetika Rana. "Russia dismisses Bhagavad Gita ban" — The Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2011
- Dmitry Zaks. "Russian court rejects ban on Hindu sacred text" — Agence France-Presse, December 28, 2011
- "Russia court declares Hindu book Bhagvad Gita legal" — BBC News Online, December 28, 2011
- "Russian court rejects bid to ban Bhagavad Gita" — RIA Novosti, December 28, 2011
- Abhai Maurya. "Russians kick up an unholy row over holy book" — The Times of India, December 22, 2011