PLANO, Dallas: India’s identity as Hindu is similar to USA’s identity as ‘Anglo-Saxon Caucasian Protestant Christian.’ This may be irksome for citizens from various races and religions, but it persists, and in the same vein India is home for people practicing various religions, but its broader identity is still Hindu, observed Dr Subramanian Swamy addressing a packed hall in Plano (Dallas area), Texas last week.
The Indian MP and a senior BJP leader, Dr Swamy visited Dallas on an invitation from Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF) to speak on “The Government control of Temples in India” on Tuesday, September 13.
It so happens that Dr Swamy’s birthday falls on September 15 and the organizers decided to conclude the event with cake cutting. Shri Gaur from Seva International has felicitated Dr Swamy with a shawl.
Addressing an audience of about 600 people, Dr Swamy in a brilliant speech covered various topics that are dear to all Hindus such as the history and significance of Hindu temples; need for the preservation of Hindu values; difference between Hindu temples and Christian churches and mosques; illegal occupation and construction of Babri Masjid; legal battle to construct Rama Temple in Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama; efforts to repeal of the Endowment Act in the Supreme Court and the potential problems Hindus may face after Hindu temples are freed from government control.
Welcoming the gathering, Gopal Ponangi, active volunteer who served as Master of Ceremony for the evening, thanked everyone for coming. Hari Ramasubbu started the program with invocation prayers. This was followed by Lighting the Lamps at the altar by Dr Swamy and attendees from various organizations in and around Dallas.
Gopal then introduced Dr Prakasa Rao Velagapudi, the Founder and President of Global Hindu Heritage Foundation which organized the event in collaboration with various Hindu faith based organizations in and around Dallas area. Dr Velagapudi spoke about the origin of GHHF and some of its activities over the last ten years. He then introduced Dr Swamy as a lone ranger, and one-man army making the difference in uplifting the moral compass in India and fighting to uproot corruption and cronies.
Dr Swamy addressed the gathering by vividly describing the process that makes Hindu temples sacred by doing Pranaprathishta puja to convert Murthy into a God. Once they are sanctified, they cannot be removed since life is infused in the Murthy. Even the British courts have agreed to this process. He said churches and mosques are only places of congregation; they can be removed and shifted with no recourse. Saudi Arabia has demolished hundreds of mosques to widen the roads and construction of apartments.
He pointed out that Muslims must accept their Hindu ancestry to live in peace and harmony since all the people in India, irrespective of their religion, caste, creed, and state, have the same DNA. All Muslims should agree to build temples in Mathura, Ayodhya and Varanasi, otherwise we should make a case to repossess 2000 Hindu Temples that were converted into mosques.
Since investigation has revealed the existence of Rama Temple before the construction of Babri Masjid based on scientific evidence, efforts must be made to build Rama Temple as soon as possible. He wants to see the construction of Rama Temple completed by the end of 2017 since it is also the agenda of BJP.
He recounted the tireless efforts of Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati to gather information on the abuses of governments and how he filed a case in Supreme Court. Dr Swamy indicated that he has agreed to take up the Repeal of Hindu Endowment Act in Supreme Court.His extraordinary speech was interrupted by thunderous applause numerous times
“It was an excellent speech by Dr Swamy. He has captivated the entire audience,” said Mahesh Choppa, an active volunteer at GHHF who managed food related areas for the event. Sashi Kejriwal, one of the community leaders said “it is upon us to support Dr Swamy for his tireless efforts to fight corruption in India and also to help support furthering Hindu causes”
“Dr Swamy is very articulate and does enough research and study before he speaks” said Rajah Vysyaraju, another active volunteer who has spent countless hours organizing the event
“Dr Swamy’s speech was very good, informative and an eye opener and I thank GHHF for arranging Dr Swamy’s talk” said Sashi Pattisam, a resident of Dallas area.
“For me, the take home was the message about India’s identity being Hindu just like USA’s identity is ‘Anglo-Saxon Caucasian Protestant Christian” said Ramesh Kandadai, another local resident.
The event success was made possible by volunteers who were, among others, Alpesh Patel, Anand Chellappa, Anil Muthoju, Anu Appaji, Dr Arun Chandrakantan, Divya Selva, Gagan Shori, Hari Ramasubbu, IV Rao, Kalyani Tadimeti, Kameswara Rao Nemani, Laxmi Tummala, Madhumathi Vysyaraju, Mahesh Choppa, Manjari Gangwar, Prashant Patel, RK Panditi, Raj Kumar Dandu, Rajah Vysyaraju, Venkat Coimbatore, Ram Majji, Rao Kalvala, Ravi Pattisam, Sanjay Tiwari, Satish Kandi, Shri Gaur, Siva Agnoor, Srikanth Konda, Srinivas Guldavalleti, Kannan Srinivasan, Srinivas Kodavatiganti, Srinivas Pamidimukkala, Sridhar Kodela, Venkat Karumudi, Vijay Todupnoori, Vijay Bhogaraju, Vishnu Chimmula.
Special support was provided by KC Chekuri through Yuva Radio, Hari Dornala of Basera Restaurant and Pratyusha of Minerva Banquet Hall. Sridhar Kodela gave audio support while Krishna Puttaparthi from Desi Plaza supported through videography and photography. Pardha from Lordly Digital helped with publicity and Venkat Mulukutla from TV9 provided Media support.
Gopal thanked Dr Swamy for his enlightening talk and also nearly 600 people who came to listen to the speech, even though it was a working day.
Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF), a nonprofit organization, was established with the objective to protect, preserve, promote, and maintain Hindu culture, Hindu temples, mutts, peethams, endowments, trusts and other institutions globally.
Prasad Thotukara
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