Guest guest Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 > Dear Bhatas, > > Sorry for the digressionl this is not relevant to any Ramanuja > Sampradaya topic! However I thought I will pass on this information so > that those in the U.K can lodge a formal protest with the authorities > concerned. > > adiYEn rAmAnuja dAsan > aravind rAman > ---- > ---- > ---- > ------- > Hindu groups up in arms against UK stamp > > London, UNI: > > > One of the country's leading Hindu organisations has on Tuesday > demanded that the Royal Mail withdraw a new Christmas stamp which > depicts a Hindu man and woman worshipping baby Jesus. > > The Hindu Forum of Britain, an umbrella body representing more than > 250 Hindu organisations, has reacted with anger to the "disrespectful" > stamp which has been launched as part of the Royal Mail's Christmas > 2005 collection. > > Featured on the stamp is a man with a "tilak" on his forehead, > identifying him as a Vaishnava Hindu, and the woman with the > traditional "kumkum" mark on her forehead identifying her as a married > Hindu > Secretary General of the Hindu Forum Ramesh Kallidai said, "Royal Mail > sources claim that the original painting printed on the face of the > stamp is dated 1620. While many people doubt the authenticity of the > age of the painting, we believe that even if this were true, it would > be insensitive to use it at a time when the issue of conversions in > India has been a subject of heated debate." > > Artistic license > > "Even if we accept that an artist in 1620 AD took the artistic license > to portray practising Hindus worshipping baby Christ, we should be > asking if this is politically and sensitively correct in the 21st > century. We, therefore, urge Royal Mail to withdraw the stamp > immediately or issue a redesigned version that does not have the Hindu > markings on the foreheads of the two characters in the stamp," he > said. > > The Royal Mail said the stamp featured a "Mughal" painting which dates > back between 1620 and 1630 AD and originates from Mumbai in India. > > "It is striking to see that Royal Mail thinks it prudent to issue > Christmas stamps that can cause resentment in the worldwide Hindu > community but remain silent on the issue of stamps for Diwali," said > Ishwer Tailor, president of the Hindu Forum of Britain. > > "Would the worldwide Christian community feel comfortable if the > Government of India issued a Diwali stamp with a Christian priest > worshipping baby Krishna?" > > However, a spokesperson for the Royal Mail confirmed on Tuesday they > would not withdraw the stamp or amend it saying it was "not possible." > The spokesperson added, "It was common for Hindu artists during that > period to paint images that depicted western culture, including > paintings about Christianity. The stamp simply features a Hindu > artists interpretation of Christianity's Madonna and Child scene. > However, the Royal Mail does apologise for any unintentional offence > caused to the Hindu community." > Copyright: 2004 The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 75, M.G. Road, > Post Box No 5331, Bangalore - 560001 > ---- > ---- > ---- > ---- > --------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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