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The controversy over banning of Bhagavad Gita by Russia came as a shock especially when this scripture has never been used as a tool, globally, to instigate any feeling of hatred or violence. Consequently, it was followed by a series of protests in India.
Bhagavad Gita is a holy scripture for Hindus and a source of knowledge and wisdom for other communities in the world. Thus, the effort to malign it is not only an insult to a particular community but also displays feeling of religious intolerance.
It all began when a petition was filed in June 2011 by a group associated with the Christian Orthodox Church in a court in Siberia’s Tomsk city to ban Bhagavad Gita on the pretext of it being an 'extremist' scripture that preaches war rather than peace. This comes as a contradiction to the Christian philosophy which is a widely practised religion across the West and is deemed as a religion of peace and tolerance by the followers.
On the hindsight, the entire scripture may be seen as a philosophy of war. But what the Russians missed out is that Gita is more about how an ideal life should be led and on the dilemma between the truth and the vice that a human faces in his daily life.
The West has always had a sense of disregard for other religions and relies more on half-baked reasoning. France has banned wearing head scarf for Muslim women. Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published the caricature of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
The court has suspended the petition till December 28 and it has referred Gita to Tomsk State University for examination. But the University currently has no experts on Hindu philosophy, culture, and religion.
Needless to say, there is an uproar in India and there are valid reasons for the same. Russia is India's close ally for decades. Ironically, the incident occurred at a time when prime minister Manmohan Singh was on a diplomatic tour to Russia. This controversy raises concerns with regard to minority rights and religious freedom in Russia in the long run. The West has on and off taken such steps fearing minority uprising and to curb any potential threat. Religious tolerance and diversity is perhaps one thing the East can teach the "knowledgeable" West.
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