Universal agreement is a piece of fiction. Hence opposition to Hindu prayers in the US Senate was inevitable. Let us oppose this opposition in a rational manner.
An unfortunate incident of three Christian bigots disrupting the Hindu prayers by Rajan Zed in the US Senate took place. While these three may be representing the views of a section of society they do not represent the views of the entire America society nor the entire Christian society.
Those of us who are more liberal minded and who abhor such bigotry should think before indulging in knee-jerk criticism of all Americans and all Christians. In the first instance American senators are to be lauded for selecting Hindu prayers for the opening of the Senate, which is recognition of the contribution of Hinduism to American society. Secondly, bigots exist everywhere – there are Hindu bigots and Indian bigots. So before we point fingers let us realise that there are three fingers pointing at us. People who feel that Hindu prayers should not have been permitted are entitled to their views. It is true that they should have expressed these views in more legitimate ways. They have instead chosen to break US laws and hopefully will be punished as deemed fit.
A bigoted criticism of this event and raising a ruckus over it will do more harm than good because it will create divisions in a society that has taken some concrete steps to heal existing divisions. I am not advocating that this disruption should not be criticized. What I am trying to say that the criticism should not appear to be against all Americans and all Christians as is already the case on several blog sites. In fact while criticizing the event two things should be made clear. The first is the appreciation for inviting Rajan Zed to recite Hindu prayers. The second is the understanding that those who disrupted the proceedings do not represent the entire non-Hindu American society.
American senators have taken one step forward by the recitation of Hindu prayers in the Senate. Let us not take two steps back by going overboard on the disruption.
