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(1)
Maha Sabha on the March - Sat Maharaj
(2) Hindu Contribution to the Media - Sat Maharaj
(3) Carnival and the death of culture - Sat Maharaj
(4) Cudjoe's crusade - Sat Maharaj
■ Maha Sabha on the March
Source: Trinidad Guardian: Tuesday, March 05, 2002
Author:
Sat
Maharaj
In 1952 the adult Hindu population was the most illiterate of any group in
the colony of Trinidad and Tobago.
More than 60 per cent of adult Hindus were unable to read or write in 1950.
Dr Eric Williams in his book Inward Hunger wrote: "There was no
question that the Indian occupied the lowest rung of the ladder in Trinidad.
"Cribb'd, cabin'd and confin'd in the sugar plantation economy, from
which other racial groups had succeeded in large part in escaping, the few who
did escape to the Mecca of Port-of-Spain were concentrated on the outskirts of
the town in a sort of ghetto popularly known as 'Coolie Town' - today St James,
a bustling suburb of the capital - which tourists interested in Oriental scenes
and ceremonies were advised to visit in order to see the son of India in all his
phases of Oriental primitiveness".
Fortunately they had vision and they maintained their religion and
culture. They were blessed with able leaders like Bhadase Maraj, and many other
dedicated Hindus. And the "primitiveness" of which Williams wrote was
in fact the ancient tradition of Hinduism that Williams and his creole elite did
not understand.
They and their descendants have created a revolution in our country spanning
half a century. It is a cultural revolution based on the firm foundation of
Dharmic ideas, the Ramayan and bhaki (devotion).
Out of those ancient sources came the philosophy of self-help and
community-based action which have modernised villages abandoned by the colonial
and subsequent governments.
Hindus recognised the value of western education provided by schools for
social and economic mobility.
Dharma teaches that to liberate a people, you must first educate that
people.
Hindus knew they could not rise from the canefield, the rice patch and
agricultural labour without primary and secondary education which opened the
door to the professions and business.
They petitioned the colonial authorities to allow them to build their own
schools to educate their children, since religions who offered educational
opportunities to Hindu children did so at the price of conversion to
Christianity.
They were rebuffed by the colonial authority. But undaunted Bhadase brought
Hindu leaders to see the value of unity. Men such as Pundit Krishna Maharaj,
Rampersad Bholai, Simboonath Capildeo, Ram Surat-singh, Pundit Satnarayan Panday,
Pundit Sarabjit Persad and others succeeded in getting the Parliament to pass a
bill which became Act 41 of 1952. This incorporated the Sanatan Dharma Maha
Sabha (SDMS) of Trinidad and Tobago by merging the Sanatan Dharma Board of
Control and the Sanatan Dharma Association. Bhadase was elected as the first
president general and Ram Surat-singh was the secretary general. The SDMS
proceeded from 1952 to build primary schools as its priority. Land was donated,
labour, materials and cash were given freely. The Hindu community began to liberate itself from dependence on the State
and Christian missionaries for that vital input which structures the lifeview of
the child.
Primary schools staffed by Hindu teachers served to instil Dharmic, moral
and spiritual values, such as respect for elders, private property and the value
of earning wealth lawfully. By 1956 when Dr Williams became Prime Minister, SDMS schools were
providing employment for Hindu teachers and serving to bring education to the
Hindu masses. Arrogantly Dr Williams referred to these nurseries of some of our
best doctors, lawyers, engineers, businesspersons and outstanding citizens as
"cow sheds".
Dr Williams refused to give the SDMS permission
to expand its school system, and to establish secondary schools.
The SDMS school system has been the pioneer in computerising primary schools in
this country.
It was at the forefront of the struggle to abandon the restrictions on new
denominational schools agreed to by the Roman Catholics and Eric Williams by the
infamous document called the Concordat. The SDMS now provides quality secondary
schooling for girls at Lakshmi Girls, Parvati Girls and for boys at Vishnu Boys
and Shiva Boys. These centres of excellence are symbols of the success of
Bhadase and other pioneers.
They manifest the resilience and determination of the Hindu community to
reject all sinister attempts to subvert the faith of Hindu youth in the value of
Dharmic teachings, and the valuable patterns of culture of their ancestors, who
were indentured immigrants and settlers of Trinidad.
We must now aggressively pursue opportunities for tertiary education
and expand our stake in the area of early childhood education. Professors from
Lynn University, South Florida, USA, have held discussions with SDMS management,
principals, teachers and administrations. We have evaluated our facilities and
resources in anticipation of upgrading some aspects to deliver tertiary
education in the north as well as the south.
The home is the most important and effective learning institution and the
Maha Sabha dream is to convert every Hindu home into a life-long tertiary
education centre via the Internet and distance learning.
Globalisation and the rapid development of technology have created new
opportunities as well as many challenges for the SDMS.
We must now develop the ability to deliver quality university education to
the Hindu community, especially in skills relevant to the global economy,
banking, accounting , the legal aspects of Internet commerce and trade in
financial products. The SDMS must thank all the parents, families and supporters
who helped us achieve this amazing success over the past 50 years. We have an
immense amount of work to develop our tertiary delivery capability. We will
succeed with the help of the Hindu community.
The Ramayan has sign-posted for us the direction we must travel. In Kiskinda
Kand (chapter on Kiskinda Forest), author Tulsie Das writes: "Aga chala
bahuri ragharaya: rishya mukh parvat nehari." Hindus are instructed to move
forward and that is the direction the Maha Sabha will travel in the next fifty
years.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
[Satnarayan Maharaj is the Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha
Sabha]
■
Hindu Contribution to the
Media
Author: Sat Maharaj
Source: Trinidad Express, March 26, 1998
IT IS only very recently that Hindus here have been able to
interpret their condition in Trinidad through the lens of the media. It has been
a long struggle against ignorance and injustice, and some recent calypsoes have
dramatically served to emphasise the prisms of ignorance through which the light
of our local Hindu reality is filtered and shown to innocent children.
Communication depends on interpretation which is determined by culture.
Freedom of the press and the rule of law are enshrined in our constitution, but
law has meaning only in a social context and the press is an essential
ingredient in the mechanism of interpretation of ideas, laws, meanings and
culture in our country. Seepersad Naipaul, Shakar Permanand and a few other
Hindus were a small minority of workers in the media, and they almost never, as
a rule, graduated to the editorial rooms.
Even if there were reasons for this unrelated to racism or malice, the result
was a travesty. Hindu views, ideas and interpretations were vulnerable to the
perverse limitations of editorial policies unable to empathise with the values
and feelings of the Hindu community. This is not a trivial matter. Vidia Naipaul
is now a colossus in the literary world. Deceased Shiva Naipaul also was
progressing as a reputable writer. Is it wrong to ask if they would have been
permitted to become editors in any local newspaper!
Was there anything particular about Hindu journalists which acted in their
favour? Was their exile merely a Caribbean pattern? Did the Government
Broadcasting Unit (GBU) provide an avenue for aspiring Hindus to break through
the barriers of neglect? Voluntary exile may have been a pattern but there were
domestic forces acting against Hindu ambition in journalism. Vidia Naipaul was
never going to be an editor in Trinidad.
The Bomb and Patrick Chokolingo, with the backing of Bhadase Maraj, pushed
things along the right road when more Hindu opinions and local issues were
presented weekly from Caroni and Naparima areas in 1970. Then there were no
pages, or desks or columnists on the dailies devoted to Hindu religion, culture
or opinions.
Today we have Dharam Vani on TV. There are numerous radio programmes and the
dailies have space provided to the Maha Sabha for articulating Hindu
interpretations of both secular and sacred affairs in an open multi-ethnic
state. Our views have supported Western liberalism and the ideals of our
constitution, not fundamentalist separation or the ethos of a Hindu Raj in
Trinidad.
We must pay tribute to Dale Kolasingh, a Christian, for the generous help he
gave to young Hindus.
Many who have become accomplished producers and programmers in the medium of TV
were assisted by Dale. He took several "Indian" boys and girls from
Frederick Settlement and other rural areas and trained them. In this regard the
opening up of the electronic media by the NAR government and former Prime
Minister ANR Robinson was a tremendous move to fairness.
Many talented technicians at ICN, TV6 and radio stations owe their careers to
this era of increasing freedom in our country and the blossoming of so much
talent and the daily supply of Indian music, culture and discussion has served
to strengthen this nation. We now are more knowledgeable. While it opened a
window of understanding to non Hindus at the same time it strengthened the
resolve of Hindus in the value of their ancient religious and m oral codes. Our
children now have more information to combat distractions and so focus more on
the technological age of revolutionary changes concerning supply information.
To some it may seem a bad thing that children have unfettered access to Internet
and Western culture. However, it is a good thing that our Hindu community, which
is now spread out in Europe and North America, can maintain a close family bond
using the Internet. Traditional ways must adjust to new realities. The form and
structure of the extended family is adapting while we do not lose sight of its
virtues.
The Hindu diaspora which left poor and dusty villages of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Bengal and South India have maintained their temples and their deities. They
have taken them to New York, Toronto and Europe and now maintain an extended
family, linking the members with mother Trinidad and Tobago. Our children
continue to excel at home and abroad and to be a credit to the country of their
birth.
Their new positions as owners and managers and producers in the media keeps a
constant focus for children by providing role models. The media and the changes
in ownership and editorial policy have enabled Hindus to assist national
cultural development by offering the Ramayan, the Gita and our bhajans, as well
as our evolving local music and instruments to all citizens and to the wider
world. The eclectic evolution of all types of local music is being influenced by
Indian culture in sundry ways.
The evolution of our media and the increasing role of Hindus in all aspects has
served to undermine resentment. It has allowed pride and professionalism to
promote talent by merit, not by ethnic favouritism. Hindu ideas and views
concerning national unity have been manifested in the corporation of the Maha
Sabha in the social unrest in 1970 and again in 1990.
Thanks to the new Hindu presence the powerful electronic media is now a more
effective instrument of liberalism, law and order than at any time in the
history of Trinidad and Tobago.
THE ANNUAL ritual of Hindu bashing by some calypsonians has
begun. From the first day of January each year until midnight on Carnival
Tuesday, the Maha Sabha and the wider Hindu community have come to expect
calypsoes that ridicule, denigrate and trivialise things that are Hindu and
Indian.
This year, the calypso "Bottom in de Road" by Iwer George offends
because of its sexist and racist lyrics and expressions. To sing that he has had
a Canadian, American, Dominican, "but never an Indian yet", promotes
the idea of uninhibited sex, the glamour of numerous sexual partners and the
desirability of illicit sex with Indian women.
Criticise any calypsonian and you are branded a racist. Many are cowed into
silence.
To be accepted as a liberal and a non-racial person, Scrunter prescribes in his
recent calypso:
"Indrani bring she Nanny to
party,/
As she walk in the fete all men
eyes on she/
She wining and carrying on
having a ball/
You could see this gyul eh
racial at all."
Vulgarity is the passport to social acceptance, according to the world of
Carnival culture in Trinidad and Tobago.
The wrong messages are being sent to our young people and those who refuse to
lend their voices of protest are as guilty as the calypsonians of racism, of the
promotion of promiscuity, and the consequential rapid increase of Aids.
Machel Montano's use of Lord Krishna's name in the refrain of his calypso is
both sacrilegious and insulting to the Hindu community and quite illegal. The
law prohibits the depiction of any living god during Carnival and this surely
refers to visual as well as vocal presentations.
Lord Krishna and the Maha Mantra (a powerful word formula) Hare Krishna is as
old as Hinduism itself, stretching back at least 7,000 years. Lord Krishna is
one of the ten major avatars or manifestations in the pantheon of Hindu gods.
He is worshipped throughout the Hindu world as the youthful and beautiful God
who intoxicates and delights all those who see him and hear his flute. Lord
Krishna reveals himself to his devotees as teacher, counsellor and friend and
his most dramatic interventions are found in the Bhagavad Gita, also known as
The Song of the Lord.
Lord Krishna is not a creation of the Hare Krishna movement, founded by Swami
Prabhupada about 50 years ago and transported to the West. This movement
worldwide has accumulated great assets and has been visible on the streets of
most metropolitan countries.
But overall, they amount to about one per cent of the total Hindu population of
the world, projected at one billion. In Trinidad and Tobago, their numbers are
small but their street parades attract attention and project the image of a
numerically large group. Against this background, it is difficult to understand
how that grouping could sanction the use of the "Hare Krishna" mantra
in a Carnival atmosphere riddled with drunkenness, free sex and violent
behaviour.
The Hindu population is incensed that a calypsonian has, once more, used the
opportunity of Carnival to disgrace our living God, Bhagwan Krishna.
Roman Catholic priest Fr Martin Sirjoo of the Holy Cross Romantic Catholic
Church in Princes Town told his congregation: "Catholics should put
themselves in the shoes of the Hare Krishna people to get a feel of what it
would be like to be ridiculed in such a manner. Suppose you were to go to a show
and see a character dressed as an Catholic priest with rum in his hand, singing
'take ah drink' how would you feel?"
We are grateful to Fr Sirjoo who has displayed remarkable spiritual strength and
magnanimity in the face of calypsonians who annually avenge their critics.
The Carnival culture and the Carnival mentality, which have destroyed
generations of young people in Trinidad and Tobago also manifests itself in
other countries. A book entitled Carnival Culture by James Twitchell analyses
the Carnival state of mind and its consequences in various parts of the world.
In the introduction, Twitchell speaks out strongly about the Roman Catholic
church's efforts to capture its audience with images that are comforting and
inspiring. He states: "Redemption can wait.
If modern culture can be seen in terms of a competition for audience between
high and low entertainment, between art and vulgarity, between the church and
Carnival, then Carnival is having its day. Mardi Gras is less and less dependent
on Lent."
The author argues that we have become so vulgar that the concept of good taste
is now lost, too afraid to criticise behaviour as vulgar.
What is obvious, is that Carnival, which originated as a religious festival, has
now degenerated into a grand bacchanal where vulgarity triumphs over decency.
Some even suggest that the show business of Carnival culture is signalling the
death of culture.
■
Cudjoe’s Crusade
by Sat Maharaj
Published Trinidad Guardian, Wednesday 30th July 2003
Dr Selwyn Cudjoe wrote, “Sat Maharaj’s view ought to be fiercely resisted. Sat Maharaj is mainly concerned with gaining every advantage for his group. Therein lies his danger to the society” (Guardian, June 25). He followed up with a piece on July 11 on the media and Sunity Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Express, in which he ended on the question: “And yes, where is Sat when we need him?”
Lloyd Best, referring to two pieces by Cudjoe in the Guardian of July 4 and 11, commented thus: “It makes you wonder not only about the self-respect for normal procedures but, above all else, it raises doubts about the level of self-esteem involved, not the least when violence is consistently done to the facts already in the public domain” (Express, July 21).
The fact is that as secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), for the past 25 years I have proudly done what Archbishop Pantin did for Roman Catholics — speak out in defence of the Hindu community. I always consider it my dharma, what is expected of me by hundreds of thousands of men, women and children. They are still being abused in the media because Christianity is still considered civilised while Hinduism is called paganism and demon worship. Recently a radio talk show on Power 102 was demanding that the recently consecrated Hanuman murti at Carapichaima be torn down. Our temples have been defiled and the Swami Vivekananda murti at the Divali Nagar had been vandalised. I speak out against every public attempt to denigrate Hinduism or Hindus.
Selwyn Cudjoe mixes up falsehoods and his own fantasy. Best correctly says of Cudjoe: “To my mind, no one who finds that method a congenial modus operandi can wish to be regarded as a serious person quite apart from being expected to fulfil any function as a scholar, academic or intellectual.”
Selwyn Cudjoe’s African populist ideas are likely to create confusion in the Central Bank’s recruitment policy. Eric Williams set up a committee to study racial discrimination in 1969. The committee reported that the workers at the Central Bank, from the governor to the cleaners, reminded us of a country such as the Congo in Africa, not T&T. Winston Dookeran as governor instituted a policy to allow a neutral agency to study all applications for professional posts at the Central Bank in order to provide for transparency, meritocracy and a staff looking not like the Bank in Liberia but more like it must be in T&T.
Cudjoe’s NAEAP, devoted to empowerment of what he calls African people, may also be devoted to continuing their preferment for jobs at the Central Bank. This is an alarming development. Prof Cudjoe’s is a member of the Central Bank’s board and his knowledge of monetary economics and modern banking procedures as far as I know is zero.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning may have wanted to reward Cudjoe for what we regard as anti-Indian propaganda filling his article, but his confusion of race, religion and ethnicity can do damage to Mr Manning’s plan to woo Indo-Trinidadians.
Lloyd Best correctly reminds us that reading Cudjoe over the years, one sees his attacks “as a way of securing the credentials of a flaming Stalinist conveniently turned a Manning PNM.”
Cudjoe confuses his own language. He has said nothing about the daily anti-Hindu ranting on Power 102. Yet he claims “Mr Maharaj does not understand that it was not the Hutu’s dislike towards the Tutsi of Rwanda that led to the horrendous killings. It was the systematic campaign of demeaning the Tutsi, via the media, that led to their systematic destruction.” What utter mental confusion! Cudjoe uses the media to carry on his own crusade and is vexed that I advocated fairness and transparency in the way Louis Lee-Sing doles out taxpayers’ money at the NLCB. Cudjoe writes in plain English, “The issues Sat raises have to do with advantage and ‘sampat’, the ganging together to beat the hell out of Africans, particularly if one perceives they are down” (Guardian, June 25).
Lloyd Best was generous to Cudjoe who has the gall to demand respect as an intellectual while peddling untruths such as, “The Government gave the Maha Sabha $3 million to put up a murti dedicated to Lord Hanuman.” The Maha Sabha received no such grant and the project was that of the Dattatreya Yoga Centre. Not the Maha Sabha. Cudjoe uses the Guardian to say, “Mr Maharaj is concerned with advantages his organisation and people enjoy at the expense of all the other groups in the society.”
The Maha Sabha organised several workshops and seminars on banking and information technology. Special invitations were sent to all non-Hindu sixth form schools, and they came. Every one of our schools serves children of all ethnicities and religions. Our teachers and the SDMS board believe a rising tide lifts all boats. Ava Bruce, Afro-Trinidadian Christian of Robert Village Hindu School, came second on the merit list of the 2003 SEA. Concerning intellectual output, Lloyd Best writes, “Cudjoe has issued a book on Naipaul’s work that Naipaul wouldn’t even p i s s on” (Express, July 21).
His recent book Beyond Boundaries, for which Louis Lee
Sing’s NLCB gave at least $50,000 toward publishing, is objectionable to us.
Only two paragraphs quoted from Valmiki’s Ramayan (p 262-266) is his
concession to the Hindu-Indo Trinidadian contribution to local literature.