IF a court in Siberia has its way, Bhagavad Gita, one of Hindu religion’s scriptures, will be banned and branded as an ‘extremist’ literature across Russia.
A court in Siberia’s Tomsk city is set to deliver its final verdict on Dec 26 in a case filed by state prosecutors.
The case, which has been going on in Tomsk court since June, seeks ban on a Russian translation of ‘Bhagavad Gita As It Is’ written by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
It also wants the Hindu religious text banned in Russia and declared as a literature spreading ‘social discord’, its distribution on Russian soil rendered illegal.
However, ISKCON members and Indians settled in Moscow have appealed to Manmohan Singh to intervene diplomatically to resolve the issue in favour of the scripture.
The ISKCON followers in Russia have also written a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi, calling for immediate intervention.
