Dear Editor,
I find Mr. Malcom Harripaul’s letter, published in Stabroek News on March 23rd, 2022 titled “Rum and noise culture is ignorance and must be actively fought against by all Hindu leaders” offensive and disrespectful to the Hindu Community. His statements, which, include that “it is Hindus who throw Hinduism into the gutter’, “Hindu wedding houses are characterized by rum and noise and chop up”, “non-Hindus conclude that rum and noise are part of Hindu culture” are reprehensible. Mr. Harripaul must apologize to the Hindu community for his distasteful comments and his labelling of an entire religious community as ignorant, violent and noise nuisances.
Records will show that on behalf of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, I have issued many public statements and wrote the Guyana Revenue Authority, Ministry of Home Affairs and Guyana Police Force, requesting that permission not be granted for alcohol bars at Hindu wedding ceremonies. Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has mounted public campaigns on this issue, and our affiliated Pandits do NOT conduct weddings where bars are present. In addition, all events of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha have a strict “no alcohol policy”.
Mr. Harripaul speaks from an uninformed position and seeks to castigate the entire Hindu community, and Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, through the most disgusting invectives. While the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha does not support bars at Hindu weddings, sale and provision of alcohol to minors, and the disturbance of communities by loud noise, we will not tolerate abuse and disrespect of the Hindu community and our religious. I call on all Hindu leaders and the wider community to condemn the sentiments expressed by Mr. Harripaul and insist that he apologizes to the Hindu community and withdraws these utterly disrespectful statements.
Sincerely,
Vindhya Vasini Persaud
President
Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha
