The Hindu : National : Sadhus protest arrest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

National

National

Sadhus protest arrest

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD, NOV.16. Hundreds of sadhus staged a dharna organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) here today to protest against the arrest of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi.

The demonstrators shouted slogans and the VHP leader, Avichaldasji Maharaj, said the arrest was an insult not only to the religious leader but also to Hindu society and culture. He said the agitation by the sadhus would continue till the Sankaracharya was released.

Seek intervention

Earlier, a meeting attended by the sadhus resolved to send a letter to the President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, seeking his intervention in the matter. A statement released at the end of the meeting decried the "second class citizens" status given to Hindu sadhus and questioned whether the Government would have `dared' to so insult a Christian priest or

a Muslim religious leader. "Would a Christian priest be arrested during the Christmas celebrations," it questioned. The statement said a non-bailable warrant against Imam Bukhari of the Delhi Jama Masjid was not served on the Muslim religious leader.

The Union Textile Minister, Shankarsinh Waghela, while declining to comment on the arrest, said he believed the Tamil Nadu police had strong evidence against the Sankaracharya to put him behind bars. It would be a very `foolish' Government to arrest a person of the stature of the Sankaracharya without holding foolproof evidences, he said.

"Let the law take its own course," he said, adding that the action was fortunately taken by an ally of the BJP in which the Congress had no role to play. He said while the arrest of a religious leader was deplorable, it was also the duty of the religious leaders to lead a life beyond any suspicion.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National