Russian Hindus were seeking an elusive healing touch from India and Russia after one of the prominent Hindu spiritual leader Sri Prakash ji was targeted by one Alexander Dworkin, the man who had initiated the campaign to ban Bhagwad Gita in Russia a few years ago.
The Russian Hindus took up their cause online with a petition set to be delivered to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister of India Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov. But the healing touch never came.
A powerful Russian politician Valeriy Fyodorovich Rashkin, also a Russian Member of Parliament (Duma), even filed an inquiry against Dworkin and sent it to the heads of Law Ministry of Russia, General Prosecutors Office, Federal Security Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. He even wanted to put the issue forward for detailed analysis, by the other prominent figures in Russian, as well as in the Indian Politics, including Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi. But again nothing came out of his efforts.
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Now, the issue of the persecution of the Russian Hindus has got the attention of Congressman Gregory Meeks and Assemblyman David Weprin. The duo has responded by sending several letters to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on the plight of the Russian Hindus.
A report in the QNS.com noted that “in an effort in order to create a more Russian identity, the Russian Orthodox Church has intensified their campaign with increasing persecution and threats toward Hindus under President Vladimir Putin’s regime.”
The letters have been sent to Daniel Mark, the chairman of the U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Meeks and Weprin noted that the prominent Hindu spiritual Guru of the Russian Hindus, Shri Prakash Ji, is under duress due to the actions of the conservatives who have become emboldened under Putin.
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Meanwhile, the Hindu leader in question is fighting the battle boldly. He and his followers recently sent this letter to Alexander Dworkin and asked him to refrain from insulting Hinduism.
As per the 2010 religious census, there are 140,000 Hindus in Russia, which account for 0.1% population of Russia.
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Namta Gupta
