It is said that when the lion roars, the jackals scamper into hiding. This is exactly what is happening in relations to the desecration of murtis. I was hoping that the jackals who present themselves as leaders would seize the opportunity to lead the community in this hour of need but they are not to be found.
The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) has made a press release condemning the desecration of its mandir at Watts Street in Curepe. It has also scheduled a mass meeting on Monday 13th May, 2024 to cleanse the mandir and restore its sanctity. But more so, the SDMS is demonstrating strength and that is what too many among us who aspire for leadership do not understand.
The Maha Sabha was born in struggle to build schools to educate Hindu boys and girls in 1952. What was most challenging was that the SDMS’s leadership was the main opposition to the PNM and it was not surprising that the PNM stopped the school building program of the SDMS when it came to power in 1956. Several schools that were airmarked for completion had to be abandoned because of the PNM’s anti-Hindu policies. But these policies of the PNM continue today with the failure of the Rowley government to complete those schools that have been started by the Peoples Partnership government. Among those schools are the Rousillac Hindu, the Reform Hindu and the Preysal Government Primary School.
Unfortunately, the jackals that parade the corridor of leadership have so far failed to stand up for the community whenever it was under attack. During the pandemic there was a ban on outdoor cremation and the cost for cremation at funeral homes skyrocketed. The Hindu community borne this injustice silently until a Hindu woman challenged the ban in court. Hiring the services of Anand Ramlogan, the judge ruled that the ban was illegal and more so the rational used was unscientific. Where were the jackals?
Hindus need to align with a leadership that would protect their rights and freedoms. Had the other mandirs that were desecrated belonged to the Maha Sabha, its leadership would have long taken a stand. Why the leadership of the other mandirs that were desecrated did not stand up as the Maha Sabha is doing today with respect to the Watts Street Mandir? It is time for Hindus to embrace leaders who have the courage and fortitude to fight for their protection and safety.
Several of those jackal leadership fraternize with the PNM not for the welfare of the Hindu community for certain. Why are these jackals not asking the government for more Hindu schools or for a policy on culture that would reflect the plural nature of our society? Exactly what these jackal mascots has fought and won on behalf of the Hindu community?
The protest to restore Ramsaran’s dairy products on the shelves of supermarkets was led by Dr. Kirk Meighoo and others. It was only after threats were made to boycott other supermarkets that the Supermarket Association restored Ramsaran products to the shelves. The struggle for a license for a radio station was fought by the SDMS; so was the struggle for the removal of the Trinity Cross, the highest national award for one that was more relevant to the cosmopolitan nature of our society.
One must never forget that the motion to make May 30, the anniversary of Indian Arrival Day, a national holiday, was opposed by parliamentarians who were closely aligned with the jackal leadership. Several jackals boycotted the movement to make Indian Arrival Day a public holiday on the ground that it was not a Hindu event. The leadership of Ramdath Jagessar, the Hindu Seva Sangh, the Maha Sabha, the Indian Review Committee, the UNC and several community groups ensured that this battle was won.
Hindus must accept a leadership that offer real gold in the form of education and not trinkets -empty rhetoric and parroting of verses from the scriptures. The Maha Sabha provides our children with educational opportunities and stands with us and our families when we are distressed… we demand lions and not jackals to lead us.