To condemn all pandits as ‘bandits’ is objectionable

May 08, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Religions were founded when the world became civilized. It is believed that the oldest living religion is Hinduism, the teachings of which are rooted in the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India.
Demographically, Hinduism has also evolved into a tradition with a following of more than one billion people mostly in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Smaller followings are found in other parts of Asia and elsewhere such as in the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.
In Guyana, Hinduism was introduced in 1838 when the first batch of indentured immigrant workers arrived on the Whitby and Hesperus.
Hindu priests are known as pandits but in modern times some of these supposed scholars on Hindu scriptures have been found wanting in many aspects of life, including acts of immorality and indecency thereby contravening the very core teachings of Hinduism. However, the vast majority of pandits are decent and pure individuals.
Within recent weeks, Indian nationals purporting to be pandits have been announcing their supposedly faith-healing, fortune-telling and other astrological services at various locations in Guyana and for which seekers reportedly had to pay large sums of money. From all indications, these ‘pandits’ are nothing more than tricksters who found a willing and gullible clientele among Guyanese of all ethnicities and religions including Islam and Christianity.
The Guyana police are now looking for them as it is believed they committed crimes by working in Guyana without the relevant work permit and tax evasion.
The fragmented Hindu leadership in Guyana has so far remained deafeningly silent on this issue.
No warnings were issued to the public to beware of these fraudsters from India although various public advertisements were repeated in several sections of the media and the entire country was aware of their presence.
In India, a prominent Swami, a learned Hindu religious leader, with a large following including some of the most popular stars of Bollywood as well as prominent politicians, was recently implicated in a sex ring and busted. I believe he now faces a trial and possible jail time.
Other religions, including Islam and Christianity, also have persons purporting to be religious leaders who can provide such similar services as those advertised by the Hindu conmen.
Can we forget the alleged exorcism of Sangeeta Persaud at the hands of a Christian leader? What about Benny Hinn and the rest of evangelists who claim to have the power to make the sick walk, the deaf hear and the blind see?
However, my reason for writing has to do with a letter by one Ameer Bacchus which appeared in the Kaieteur News edition of May 06, 2010 in which he condemned “a pandit (bandit)”, therein inferring, within the context used, that all pandits are bandits.
His letter was supposed to condemn the Indian conmen but he spent more than 80 per cent of the letter telling us about jaundice. Probably, he is a medical doctor.
While I agree with Bacchus, presumably a Muslim, that medical issues must be addressed medically, the fact that he condemned all Hindu men of cloth as “bandit” is a most dangerous statement to make in any pluralistic society such as Guyana. Such jaundiced views on Hinduism or any religion by a non-Hindu or anyone must not be tolerated and must be subject to the harshest condemnation.
I have quite a large number of Muslim friends and many of them expressed shock at the very letter, pointing to the fact that not all Muslims are terrorists. Not because alleged Muslim terrorists Guyanese Abdul Kadir and Abdel Nur, among others, have been implicated in a plot to blow-up JFK Airport in New York, should we view all of our other Muslim religious leaders in and out of Guyana as harbouring the same criminal inclination.
The truth is that for every one Muslim terrorist, there are millions of good Muslims.
Human civilization has been founded on a bedrock of beliefs and traditions. In every religion, there is the belief that some of its leaders have supernatural qualities.
These leaders do thrive in poor societies where the level of literacy is low and access to proper health care is scarce. They also operate in rich societies such as the US but their sermonized congregations comprise mainly of the poorer classes.
There are religious leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq who also brainwash innocent followers and get them to perform suicide-bombing missions in which thousands of innocent lives have been lost.
To condemn all pandits as bandits is a very low and dangerous move for someone who seems concerned about the well being of his fellow human being.
Bacchus need to focus away from Hinduism and pandits and use his time to condemn the turmoil in Afghanistan and Iraq where women are still regarded as sex slaves and servants and where innocent people are brainwashed to kill other innocent people.
Mahadeo Panchu

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