Bhagavad Gita, one of the holiest Hindu scriptures, is facing a legal ban and the prospect of being branded as "an extremist" literature across Russia . A court in Siberia's Tomsk city is set to deliver its final verdict Monday in a case filed by state prosecutors.
The final pronouncement in the case will come two days after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his Dec 15-17 official visit for a bilateral summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev consolidated bilateral trade and strategic ties and personal friendship.
The case, which has been going on inTomsk court since June, seeks ban on a Russian translation of "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" written by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
It also wants the Hindu religious text banned inRussia and declared as a literature spreading "social discord", its distribution on Russian soil rendered illegal.
The final pronouncement in the case will come two days after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his Dec 15-17 official visit for a bilateral summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev consolidated bilateral trade and strategic ties and personal friendship.
The case, which has been going on in
It also wants the Hindu religious text banned in
Holly Book of Hindu BHAGAVAD GITA |
In view of the case, Indians settled in
The ISKCON followers in
"The case is coming up for a final verdict on Monday in
The Hindus pleaded with the court that the case was inspired by religious bias and intolerance from a "majority religious group in
The prosecutor's case also seeks to ban the preachings of Prabhupada and ISKCON's religious beliefs, claiming these were "extremist" in nature and preached "hatred" of other religious beliefs.
"They have not just tried to get the Bhagavad Gita banned, but also brand our religious beliefs and preachings as extremist," Das said.
The ISKCON devotees have taken up the matter with the Indian embassy in
In the Nov 1 letter addressed to Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pulok Chatterji, ISKCON's New Delhi branch Governing Body Commissioner Gopal Krishna Goswami, said the prosecutor's affidavit claims Lord Krishna "is evil and not conforming to Christian religious view".
Goswami also urged Manmohan Singh to accord priority to the matter during his
Indian diplomatic corps officials at the embassy here, who were unwilling to be named, told IANS that they have been following up the case since the time it was brought to their notice earlier this year.
They had also taken up the matter at the appropriate levels in the Russian government to get the case either withdrawn or get the defence to fight the case to obtain a favourable verdict.
Officials at the Indian Prime Minister's Office, who were part of the Indian delegation accompanying Manmohan Singh, confirmed to IANS the case and the letter they received from ISKCON in this regard.
"This matter is receiving the highest attention and the Indian embassy officials in
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