ANOTHER Hindu temple has been vandalised.
While prayers were taking place on Monday evening at the Pranavananda Ashram at Temple Drive, Beaucarro, vandals threw stones and debris onto the compound.
MP for Couva South Rudranath Indarsingh, in whose constituency the temple is located, lamented that all religions seem to be under attack.
In a release on Tuesday, he made reference to several incidents of vandalism to Hindu, Islamic and Christian places of worship.
Indarsingh said the Pranavananda Ashram was attacked by vandals while a religious service was underway.
He said, “While the President, Sujeet Kanhai, the pundit and over 80 devotees were offering Kanya Kumari puja, which is key to ongoing Navraatri observations, several vandals threw stones and other debris unto the compound, which also houses the Pranava Educational Institute.
Walls, pipelines, roofs, devotees’ cars were all damaged, while the Principal of the school and a parent were almost damaged as huge stones were hurled in their direction. I am informed that children in attendance were left seriously traumatised.
“There has been a growing concern for incidents such as this one taking place within Hindu communities and religious sites. Within the last few years, places of worship have been vandalized, desecrated, and robbed of their valuables.”
He said two nights ago, the Tarouba Recreation Grounds, a popular Ramleela site, was attacked, tents were stolen and props created for use in the Ramleela production were destroyed.
On September 10, he said, the Williamsville Hindu Temple was attacked; on September 22, at the Lakrani Ganesh Mandir on Gopie Trace, Penal, murtis were demolished and on September 28 the Kali Mata Temple in Carli Bay, Couva was graffitied.
Indarsingh added, “Lamentably, all religions seem to be under attack; the Tableland ASJA Jamaat was vandalised in September 2022, the St Francis Roman Catholic Church in Belmont and the Claxton Bay Seventh Day Adventist Church were also subject to vandalism in 2022.”
He said, “While one may not be able to pinpoint the root cause of these attacks against religious spaces, the crisis is deepened when our political leaders and those around them inflame insult to religious beliefs. It pains me to recall that on Sunday 12th August 2018 at the Edinburgh Grounds, the Rowley-led PNM initiated the mocking the Hindu community by portraying a woman being disrobed in a yellow sari at a PNM sports day. This was a new low in political and religious relations, as the Rowley-led PNM mocked the scene from the holy Mahabharata in which Draupaudi was subject to similar conditions.
“It is since that backdrop of political persecution by the PNM that sensitivities and regard for religion now seem to be commonplace amongst a group of vandals now seemingly empowered by the PNM’s own anti-Hindu display.
“Today, I condemn the vandalism against the Pranavananda Ashram and Hindu and non-Hindu religious sites across the nation. I also call on the Inter-Religious Organization (IRO) to examine the issues of the attacks against religious bodies and places of worship. While the police must be commended for their swift response, they must also now ensure that those responsible for this dastardly, abominable act are caught and brought before the courts. We demand concrete analysis and solutions that could assist with the protection and security of our citizens and their places of worship.”
