Author: IANS
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 6, 2007
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians_Abroad/Old_Hindu_temple_vandalised_in_Trinidad/articleshow/2259093.cms
An old Hindu temple in central Trinidad was
ransacked and four life-size idols damaged by miscreants. Police said they
were on the lookout for six suspects.
The incident took place at the Temple-By-The-Sea,
Waterloo, some 40 km from here Friday and idols of lord Krishna, Ganesh, Hanuman
and goddess Durga were damaged.
"We have the blood of Jesus. You are
idols," the men apparently shouted before desecrating the idols, according
to the police.
Satnarayan Maharaj, secretary general of the
Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, in a statement urged Prime Minister Patrick Manning
and National Security Minister Martin Joseph "to take positive initiatives
to halt any signs of racial or religious eruptions in the nation, especially
with general elections in the air.
"What has happened at the temple is an
assault on the religious freedom of the people of Trinidad & Tobago,"
he said.
Political leader of the Congress of the People
Winston Dookeran called on the government to reconstruct the idols and repair
other damages to the temple.
"This is an abhorrent act. It is callousness
of the present regime to ignore the cluster of Hindu historical and religious
sites," he said.
"These acts demonstrated the depth to
which our nation has fallen," an emotional Dookeran said.
Of Trinidad and Tobago's total population
of 1.3 million, some 25 per cent are Hindus, and there are over 300 temples
scattered across the country. The Temple-By-The Sea is also called Sewdass
Sadhu temple.
Sewdass Sadhu, who migrated from Kolkata in
1903 and worked on sugar plantations as a casual labourer, constructed the
temple on land owned by former Tate and Lye company but was ordered to dismantle
it. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times until the firm took him to
court and Sewdass was fined $70.
He couldn't pay the fine and spent many months
in jail. After his release, Sewdass committed himself to build the temple
by the sea as that was no man's land. Today, it stands as a monument to the
courage, dedication and commitment of the 213,000 Indian indentured workers
who came here between 1838 and 1945, mainly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The temple was later refurbished by the government
and has become a religious and cultural landmark now.
Former Indian president Shankar Dayal Sharma
and recently the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi visited
the temple and offered special prayers.
Sewdass died in 1970. He is survived by his
second wife Samdaye Siewdass, who was shocked after the attack on the temple.
Randolp Rampersad, coordinator of the temple's
committee, said that it would cost about $18,000 to repair the idols, windows
and walls.
However, "the temple's collection box
remained intact", he said.
Pundit Ramesh Tiwari, spiritual leader at
the Edinburgh Hindu Temple, said he was "ashamed of what is happening
to our once peaceful and loving Trinidad and Tobago society.
"The evil forces are on the rise. And
we as sober men and women have to work non-stop to bring back orderliness
and the love for god and religious unity and respect for each other's religion
... we have to pray for those who acted against Hinduism and against god,"
Tiwari said.
The temple has over 50 visitors every day,
with the figures reaching hundreds on weekends. Scores of Hindus hold marriages
at the temple.
Police said they were working round the clock
to bring the culprits to book.