BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, December 17, 2008: The sankaracharya of Puri, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, was given top-category security today after he received a threat letter, apparently from Maoists.
The 80-year-old monk, however, said that he did not feel insecure. “I don’t feel threatened. I am not afraid of death,” he said here this afternoon. “During my 17-year stint at Gobardhan Peetha, I received several letters, which I never took seriously,” he said.
But neither the Center nor the state government wants to take a chance, especially after the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati in Kandhamal on August 23. Prodded by the Union government, he was provided with top-category security, which till date was enjoyed by the chief minister only.
Yesterday, the Gobardhan Peetha received a hand-written letter along with a 12-page leaflet with a postal mark of Phulbani, and suggesting that it was sent by the Naxalites. “Those who create riot in the name of religion will face the same punishment as Swami Laxmananda Saraswati,” reads the threat letter.
Swami Nischalananda Saraswati said he had doubts about the real authors of the letter.
California Hindu Parents Organization Continues to Move Forward with Federal Lawsuit against Textbooks
http://www.capeem.org
CALIFORNIA, December 14, 2008: Arvind Kumar, Director, California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials (CAPEEM), submits the following update on their lawsuit regarding deficiencies in the state’s textbooks which cover Hinduism. He reports:
“On December 12, the Expert Discovery phase came to an end in our lawsuit against the officials of the California Department of Education (CDE) and members of the State Board of Education (SBE). During this phase that began in September this year, both CAPEEM and the Defendants presented expert statements. Prof. Joe Barnhart, an authority on Christianity, and Prof. Nathan Katz, an expert in religious studies, provided statements on behalf of CAPEEM. The Defendants provided statements from Luis Gonzalez-Reimann and Dr. Herbert Weissman who is a psychologist. Prof. Shiva Bajpai whose Historical Atlas of South Asia is the standard reference book on the history of the Indian subcontinent and Dr. Marlene Winell who is the author of Leaving the Fold submitted rebuttals to Gonzalez-Reimann and Dr. Weissman respectively.
“While Prof. Barnhart’s statement questioned the historicity of several biblical claims made in the textbook, Prof. Katz’s report focused on castes among people in India who were not Hindus. Although Gonzalez-Reimann was the Defendants’ expert, his report agreed with CAPEEM’s claims on some points and he pointed out that the usage of the word ‘Christ’ in history books would amount to religious indoctrination. It must be noted that Romila Thapar, one of the opponents of our efforts to remove biblical indoctrination from textbooks, uses the word ‘Christ’ instead of the name Jesus in her book, and Gonzalez-Riemann’s report can be seen as an attack on Romila Thapar’s belief in the historicity of Jesus. Gonzalez-Reimann has also been used as an expert on DNA analysis, archaeology, Christian indoctrination and other topics despite having no qualification in these fields. He has challenged the findings of scientists published in leading journals in the field of genetics. Gonzalez-Reimann’s description of Hinduism in his report also shows that his understanding of the topic is superficial.
During the Expert Discovery phase, Defendants filed two motions against us and took the deposition of Prof. Bajpai causing tremendous strain to our resources. At this point, we have completed most of the work related to technical issues, and the next few weeks should see summary judgment motions being filed by both sides. After the ruling on these motions, the case will go to trial.”