Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Shocking

The report that Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra were denied food meant as offering on Friday by the temple priests and prasad worth lakhs was buried in a pit because an American entered the temple (March 3) was shocking. It is a crime to waste food in the name of rituals when millions in the country face starvation. The persons responsible for this must be prosecuted.

On the one hand, we claim that Hinduism is the most tolerant religion. We swear by the principle of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). But Friday's incident was reflective of fundamentalism. How many of those visiting the temple can claim they are real Hindus? It was Mahatma Gandhi, who said "so long as the doors of the Jagannath temple are closed to" Dalits, "they are closed to me as well," who was a true Hindu.

P. Sankaranarayanan,
Bhubaneswar

* * *

Hinduism does not preach such discriminatory practices. The servitors who purified the premises because Paul Roediger entered the temple need to purify their minds first. I hope Mr. Roediger will understand that Hinduism has nothing to do with what happened in the Jagannath temple.

M.A. Sastry,
Hyderabad

* * *

The food could have been distributed to hundreds of beggars outside the temple or in orphanages in the city. Is it proper to bury food when thousands around the temple go hungry every day? Hinduism is considered a tolerant, broad-minded religion. It is a way of life, always open to new ideas and reforms. Parochial ideas have no place in the religion.

Col. Ram Gulrajani (retd.),
Chennai

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