Burning books, inexcusable act

A recent burning of Harry Potter books by Polish priests in Warsaw took the world by a little storm. There was an outrage of emotions at the burning of such 'harmless things' like fantasy novels.

The attack on fun children novels has generated a uniform disturbance across all news channels. In fact, more disturbing is that there is clearly a book by Osho too in the pyre, along with icons representing Buddhism, African rituals, and Hinduism.

The unfortunate condemnation of 'pagan' or 'heathen' religions by Christian orthodoxy has unfortunately been a constant theme across centuries.

Greek and Latin literature vanished almost entirely by the passionate book burning saga of a motivated Church in the early centuries of the common era.

The present incident shows the basic intolerance clearly persisting in some religious denominations- practically unchanged since centuries. It is embarrassing for the pluralistic world of today where a single group does not control the scheme of things.

It is highly embarrassing for most Christians, especially in India, who do not subscribe to such book burning in the name of one single God.

India with its principles of Sanatana Dharma, transcending all religions, belonging to the land and its people for thousands of years, is certainly the way forward for the world dangerously steeped in intolerance and standing on the edge of violence.

Tolerance, pluralism, and acceptance are inbuilt in the philosophy of our Dharma where fortunately the narrowed definitions of 'secularism' are unrequired.

Unfortunately, stray incidents in the name of the holy cow dangerously equates to the Inquisitions, iconoclasm, or terrorism in the name of religion just to 'get even' by the poorly understanding liberal-secular intelligentsia.

Our Dharma goes far beyond all narrowed definitions of religions, including Hinduism, and that is our eternal message to the world steeped in a dormant intolerance waiting to erupt at the slightest opportunity. Clearly, such acts need to be condemned by one and all.

Dr Pingali Gopal, Warangal