NEW YORK, NEW YORK, February 20, 2001: This article which appeared in today’s New York Times may bring a protest response from Hindus. The article is on the proposal by President Bush to channel money through faith-based organizations for social service work. The article points out that this has already been going on for years and cites one example. “For almost 20 years, Hare Krishna devotees in Philadelphia have received millions of dollars in government contracts to run a network of services, including a shelter for homeless veterans, transitional homes for recovering addicts and this halfway house for parolees. The unusual collaboration between government agencies and a religious group that depicts God as a baby-faced boy with blue skin offers a glimpse of the challenges ahead for President Bush’s initiative to expand government support for social service programs run by religious organizations.” The disrespectful phrase “depicts God as a baby-faced boy with blue skin offers a glimpse of the challenges…” is likely to be found objectionable by many Hindu who venerate this form of Lord Krishna.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike