From: "Salil Tripathi" <salil61-AT-hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: holy places - fact sheet from India
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 17:23:51 +0000


Shyamal,

If you look again at what I said, I had not said that all Hindu temples 
prevent entry of non-Hindus. I had said that some do. While my 
American-looking American friend had no problem entering Somnath, even 
Indira Gandhi wasn't allowed entry into one famous temple in the south (I 
think it was Meenakshi, but I can't recollect the name at the moment). And I 
also remember there was a temple in Nathdwara which prevented entry of 
"untouchables" in the late 1980s. And, by the same token, the mosque in 
Galiakot prevented reformist Bohras from entering the mosque. All faiths are 
tolerant and intolerant at the same time; pious and petty.... India wouldn't 
be India if only Absolutes abounded; the country is, after all, full of 
'relatives' :-)

Salil


>From: Shyamal Gupta <shyamal-AT-pobox.com>
>Reply-To: postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>To: postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>Subject: Re: holy places - fact sheet from India
>Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 09:03:19 -0500
>
>At 11:04 PM 3/3/2002, Colin Kenworthy wrote:
>>Guhathakurta wrote that in India , a muslim holy place is open to all
>>religions, so is a Christian and a Sikh holy place. However, a non-hindu
>>is not allowed entry into Hindu  temples.
>>
>>I am an Australian Catholic. When I was India, a few years ago, I was
>>taken by Brahmin friends to several Hindu temples, where I was made to
>>feel very welcome; and where I was encouraged to make offerings in
>>honour of the gods.
>
>Glad someone else other than self (being a so-called Hindu) shared this
>experience.
>
>I've lived most of my life in India, and have travelled extensively, but
>haven't had the experience Mr. Guha Thakurta and Mr. Tripathy talks about.
>I have, certainly, come across an occasional temple (including a couple of
>big ones) where the restrictions mentioned exist, but these have been very
>rare.
>
>Personally, I've even had the experience (in a temple in a tiny village in
>Orissa) of my presence being frowned upon because I'm a Bengali and not an
>Oriya !
>
>Again, I have had to sneak into a couple of mosques, with help from Muslim
>friends because they told me that the mullas wouldn't like Hindus there. I
>must say that this was more because of the personal inclinations of the
>mullas (or perhaps the fears of my Muslim friends) then rather than because
>of any tradition or religious rule.
>
>For ten years (the '50's and '60's) I have studied in a large school in
>India run by Jesuits, and my recall is that non-Christians were not allowed
>to enter the chapel during Mass. I didn't feel negatively about this rule,
>and it hadn't even been important to me. But years later when I had worked
>closely with professional colleagues who are Jesuits and other Catholic
>priests, and had also worked as consultant with the Church, I remember my
>mental surprise at the recall of this restriction in my school, and the
>recognition that this was definitely an exception rather than the rule.
>
>The point I'm trying to make is that in India (and, I suspect, anywhere
>else in the world), where there is any restriction or discrimination on
>entry in places of worship, it is more a localised social or individualised
>phenomenon than a religious one. The vast, vast majority of places of
>worship are quite open to all faiths.
>
>>I was conscious of the holiness of these places. One felt that these were
>>places where men and women had been able to go beyond there experience of
>>temporal reality.
>>
>>to be both in and out of time
>>
>>to be both still and moving
>>
>>to be flesh and fleshless
>
>Thanks for sharing this.
>
>
>Cheers.
>
>
>Shyamal Gupta
>New York, USA.
>
>
>
>     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---




_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.



     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---