radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Yet another Hindu mandir has been desecrated, this time in Siparia.
The vandals broke through a gate at the Siparia Shiva SDMS Mandir on High Street, Siparia and uprooted sacred religious flags (jhandis) on the compound of the mandir.
The desecration was first discovered on Monday when the President of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Pandits Parishad, Pundit Capildeo Maharaj realised that the front gate had been prized open.
“Someone called me and said the gate looked funny and when we came here we saw they had pulled out all the jhandis and everything was strewn on the ground,” he said.
Pundit Maharaj said the jhandis had been planted after they did pooja and he said whoever committed the act will face consequences.
He said he had no forgiveness for the one responsible for the desecration saying they will suffer a dire karmic faith.
“This is a cruel act, whosoever did it, there is a price that one has to pay for such actions. The culprits will suffer major problems and difficulties. You might hear somebody go mad and run in front of a vehicle. These are the things that will turn out here,” he predicted.
He added, “Since our history in Siparia, it’s the first occasion that we had such a situation take place. Our neighbourhood is friendly and opposite we have the Anglican church. We make our car park available for each other whenever we have a function,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anglican priest Father Aaron Charles, of the St Christopher Anglican Church located opposite the mandir, condemned the act.
“It tells us of the sad state of our society. You are desecrating the place of worship, our society is degrading holy places like these,” he said. Father Charles said many people came to the mandir for help and salvation.
When contacted, the general secretary of the SDMS Vijay Maharaj said he did not think the vandalism was an indication of religious discrimination. He said the intruders did not get into the mandir but interfered with the flags outside. He said it could have been a mentally deranged person. A report has been made to the Siparia police and officers are investigating.
Last May, the Carapo Shiv Mandir in Arima was desecrated with corned beef, an insult to Hindus who consider the cow a sacred animal. Four months later in September, the Carli Bay mandir was also desecrated and a Biblical scripture from the book of Exodus was painted on the walls.
