Hindu gods are mythological figures

[Richard]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6996621.stm


Gods row minister offers to quit
Satellite image of Ram Setu (Lord Ram's bridge)
Hindu devotees believe the bridge was built by Lord Ram
India's culture minister has offered to resign in a row over whether Hindu gods are mythological figures.

[Dr. Imago]

Aren't all gods mythological figures?

I'm delighted that the Indian Ministry of Culture had the cojones to submit a report that bluntly argued a religious text is not the basis of good policy, and at the same time equally disappointed that they withdrew their comments. India is a peaceful, secular society that tolerates many different religions, Hindi being the largest, and they will have to "grow up" if they are truly going to move out of the third world. Of course, the same could be said for the U.S. and their sometimes seemingly eager willingness to backslide into Christian fundamentalism (e.g., putting the Ten Commandments in courtrooms, etc.). I can only imagine what would happen if the Department of Transportation issued a similar statement about the Bible in regards to the necessity of tearing a church down to expand a highway (or the like). I'm sure heads would roll...

We are such children sometimes. Don't even get me started on the "Ground Zero" nutters...

-Dr. Imago

[Zep]

India is still a country very much bound up in "mystical" practices, aka superstitions. And with 1.1 billion people, when a percentage of the population take one of these quaint notions seriously, that's a LOT of people you don't want to piss off.

[Dr. Imago]

India is still a country very much bound up in "mystical" practices, aka superstitions. And with 1.1 billion people, when a percentage of the population take one of these quaint notions seriously, that's a LOT of people you don't want to piss off.

Agreed, but what are they going to do about it? Deny economic development to save their superstitions? I agree that the message may not have been "sensitive" to their culture, but how stupid can you get?

-Dr. Imago

[Zep]

It's a strange mix, and takes some relaxed understanding.

For example, not last week, I had a highly-trained computer engineer, very good at his job, tell me that he was searching for a wife using the "science" of astrological dating and the Internet, and that he had already rejected a few girls outright on the basis that their stars did not match his sufficiently. At the same time, he agreed that "love-matches" where the partners' stars clashed were still fine to proceed. Somehow this fine young engineer failed to see the logical disconnect there!

[krazyKemist]

It's a strange mix, and takes some relaxed understanding.

For example, not last week, I had a highly-trained computer engineer, very good at his job, tell me that he was searching for a wife using the "science" of astrological dating and the Internet, and that he had already rejected a few girls outright on the basis that their stars did not match his sufficiently. At the same time, he agreed that "love-matches" where the partners' stars clashed were still fine to proceed. Somehow this fine young engineer failed to see the logical disconnect there!

Yes, I have seen a similar behavior from my many indian friends, all in the science trade. But India is a large country with important regional differences. Bengalis, for example, are known to be largely liberal, and generally won't give much credence to such things, even if they do look at horoscopes for fun (as many westerners do). If you look at Punjab, where subsistance farming is still the main trade, superstitions have a much greater hold. So what 'state' the guy comes from, and where he's aiming to get voters matter a lot in these things.

And one other thing, India was one of the few countries, until recently, to have a scientist as its president.

the Kemist