Latest update May 14th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 21, 2008 Editorial
Over the past few weeks, there has been a spirited debate in the press over the merits or demerits of allowing a group to utilise the word “Diwali” to promote a pageant, in which young women would be appearing on a stage modelling saris. There would be a declared winner.
As best as we can summarise the positions of the two “sides”, those opposed to the pageant believe that the event goes against the inherent message of the festival of Diwali, while those in favour assert that this is not necessarily so, and that in any case they have history on their side.
There have been Diwali pageants and Diwali Queens in the past, organised, for that matter, by Hindu religious organisations.
Dealing with religious sentiments is always fraught with danger, since one is dealing with matters of faith that are so deeply embedded in the hearts and minds of the adherents that they actually form aspects of personality and “selves”.
Actions and activities that can be interpreted to debase or misrepresent the religious sentiments of a believer can thus trigger potentially explosive reactions.
For this reason, especially in multi-religious societies like ours, we have to be very circumspect when entering realms already marked off by religious beliefs.
In Guyana, while Diwali is a “national” holiday, it still unequivocally remains a Hindu religious occasion. In our estimation, it ought to be accepted by the populace in general and the organisers of the pageant in particular that the determination of what activity is appropriate or not to fall within the ambit of “Diwali” should be made by the Hindu religious bodies in Guyana.
In Islam, it is our understanding that an activity about which there exists some doubt or ambiguity as to whether it conformed to the tenets of the faith would be referred to eminent scholars, who would then issue a binding edict on the matter.
Evidently, there is no comparable acceptance of any single authority among Hindus. But this should not necessarily mean that “anything goes” when it comes to Hindu beliefs.
The question could, however, get tricky if there were a clear division among the Hindu organisations in Guyana on the issue, but this is not the case.
Even though there is a single umbrella organisation that covers them all, in separate releases, all the Hindu organisations have made the same point: the proposed Diwali pageant is violative of the spirit of the festival on religious grounds.
This stance of unanimity is indeed very probative on the issue of whether the pageant may simply be an innocuous innovation, as the organisers would have it, and not violative of deeply held principles.
The former situation would surely have gathered a few adherent organisations to voice their support. This has not been forthcoming.
The argument that the pageant had been held in the past by Hindu religious bodies and was supported by named Hindu leaders cannot stand when those very organisations and individuals have declared their opposition in the present.
One can accept that one was once mistaken, and this unanimous change of heart in itself lends weight that the present position was arrived at after reflection that would have included support in the past for the issue.
In modern political theory, the issue has been raised as to whether a cultural or religious belief that suppresses or oppresses members of a group within a culturally/religiously diverse but democratic society ought to be allowed to continue.
In our present dispute, it has been alleged that to deny Hindu women the right to appear in the pageant may be oppressive.
But the opponents to the pageant are not declaring that the pageant per se ought to be cancelled, but that it should not carry the word “Diwali” in its name. The latter implies that the activities of the pageant are in consonance with the import of the term.
We are firmly opposed to oppression of any type, and would advise women to make public their argument from a Hindu perspective that demonstrates that the pageant ought to proceed under the banner of “Diwali”.
In the meantime, we urge the organisers of the pageant to respect the unanimous sentiment expressed by the organisations in the Hindu community that their appropriation of the word “Diwali” if offensive to their beliefs.
Listen how to run an oil country
May 14, 2024
– Rugby Union peeved at silence from Government on request for National Park upgrade By Rawle Toney Kaieteur Sports – The Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU), under the guidance of its...Kaieteur News – Bharrat Jagdeo needs a refresher to be able to better differentiate between a party’s foundational... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Is it ever justifiable for journalism to fan the flames of geopolitical tension? This question arises... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]