By Paras Ramoutar
TRINIDAD, August 7, 2007: The life-size murtis of Lord Krishna, Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman and Mother Durga were victims of sacrilege by unknown men who hustled to destroy the murtis and other religious items on late Friday night at the Temple-By-The- Sea, Waterloo, Central Trinidad, some 40 kms from the capital city. Police report that, “a black car with six men came around midnight on Friday and hustled four cars with amorous couples out of the area.” They report hearing the smashing of the Temple and echoes of the words, “We have the blood of Jesus. You are idols.”
Satnarayan Maharaj, secretary general of the powerful, Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, in a very rigid statement urged Prime Minister Patrick Manning and National Security Minister, Senator 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 T&T,” he said.
Political Leader of the Congress of the People, Winston Dookeran called on Government to embark on a program to reconstruct the murtis and other damages at the Temple. “This is an abhorrent act. It is callousness of the present regime to ignore the cluster of Hindu historical and religious sites, which include; The Temple-By-The-Sea, Lord Hanuman Murti at the Datta Centre, the Indian Museum, the Yankaran Cremation Facility, and Sewdass Sadhu Statute, all of which are in close proximity to each other,” Dookeran, who has just returned from China, said.
Randolp Rampersad, co-ordinator of the Temple’s Committee who oversaw its transformation from a one-room place of worship in the sea to its majestic structure today, said that it would cost about US$18,000 to reconfigure the murtis and repairs the damages to the windows and walls. He said that, “the Temple’s collection box remained intact.” Pundit Ramesh Tiwari, spiritual leader, Edinburgh Hindu Temple, said that he was, “ashamed of what is happening to our once peaceful and loving T&T society” “The evil forces are on the run. 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 with all the urgency at our command. We have to pray for those who acted against Hinduism and against God.”
Since Friday, hundreds of people, mainly Hindus, have visited the Temple and offered oblations to the murtis which lay lifeless on the sacred ground. Some 50 or so people visit the Temple on a daily basis, with the figures reaching hundreds on weekends. Scores of Hindus hold marriages and prayers because of its sanctity and as it sits on the “Ganaga Mata” in the Atlantic Ocean. So far, there has been no word from the Government of T&T on effecting repairs. The Freeport Police are working round the clock the bring the culprits to justice.