Author: Sanjay Suri
Publication: Indo-Asian News Service
Date: September 9, 2001
London, Sep 9 (IANS) About 10,000
people are estimated to have attended a rally of Hindu leaders in London
that brought together major Hindu organisations of Britain for the first
time.
"Hinduism has created a new impact
in the Western world following a global tour by Hindu leaders," said B.K.
Modi, an organiser of the tour. The rally covered 42 countries in three
months.
At the London rally, the milling
crowd of devotees could not fit into the main tent and had to be moved
to a marquee to a side from where they watched the event on a screen.
Leaders from the Hare Krishna sect,
the Swaminarayan Hindu Mission, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the National
Council of Hindu Temples and the National Hindu Students Forum all came
together to organise the event.
"The Hindu rallies were written
about in every major newspaper in the U.S. like the New York Times, the
Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times," Modi said. "The events were also
covered by major television networks."
"Our policy of faith in one's own
religion along with respect for the faiths of others has been received
very well," he told IANS.
"This was a practical and positive
expression of our belief that the whole world is one family," Modi said.
"These rallies are not against any other faith."
The rallies have been attended by
thousands of Hindus in each city the Hindu leaders visited, he said.
"This is an important milestone
and is the beginning of a new movement among British Hindus," rally spokesman
Manoj Ladwa said. "The leaders have decided to work closely together."
Industrialist Laxmi Mittal, who
has actively promoted the global tour, Lord Bagri, MP Keith Vaz and several
other prominent Indians attended the event. Anoop Jalota sang devotional
songs and got the crowd singing with him through the evening.
"We want to spread the message of
love and unity," Jalota said at the rally. "We have had a tremendous response
wherever we have performed."
