Russia: Hindu book declared legal

The Hindu book of Bhagvad Gita is not going to be banned, says Russian court.


The book was declared legal by a Russian court after prosecutors from Tomsk called for it to be ruled "extremist" putting it in the same category as Hitler's infamous Mein Kampf.


According to the Russian foreign ministry, the commentary on the text written by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is controversial in nature and not the text itself.


The BBC reports:
"The trial began in June and had been due to conclude on 19 December, but it was delayed until 28 December at the request of the Russian ombudsman for human rights.

But neither the ombudsman Vladimir Lukin nor his Tomsk colleague Nelli Krechetova was present in court for Wednesday's ruling.

On Tuesday India's Foreign Minister, SM Krishna, complained to the Russian Ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, about the Tomsk prosecution.

Mr Krishna said Indians had reacted very negatively to the alleged infringement of Hindu rights in Russia.

The Bhagvad Gita, one of the most popular texts for Hindus, takes the form of a conversation between the god Krishna and prince Arjuna.

Earlier this month Indian MPs demanded the government protect Hindu rights in Russia, shouting: "We will not tolerate an insult to Lord Krishna."

Ambassador Kadakin, quoted by the AP news agency, distanced himself from the Tomsk prosecutors, saying "any holy scripture, whether it is the Koran, Bhagvad Gita, the Bible, Avesta or Torah cannot be brought into court".

The Russian translation of the book was at risk of being placed on the Federal List of Extremist Materials, which bans more than 1,000 texts including Mein Kampf and publications by the Jehovah's Witness and Scientology movements."