CNN documentary angers Hindus

Chicago, IL — The Hindu community of Midwest under the banner of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of North America Chicago (VHPA-Chicago) came out in large numbers to protest against CNN for the documentary televised on March 5 about Hinduism produced by its special reporter Reza Aslan.

Over 500 protesters gathered in a peaceful protest in front of CNN Chicago Bureau on Michigan Ave with signs to boycott CNN over its bigotry and distorted documentary that is feared to increase the hate crimes in United States.

Aslan from CNN who claims to be the religious scholar went to Banaras, India and showed most weird and grotesque practices of select five individuals: eating human flesh, drinking alcohol and urine from skull as portrayal for over a billion practitioners of Hinduism while projecting them as fighters against the Hindu caste system.

Without consulting any authority or a scholar, he painted a completely inaccurate and unsubstantiated picture of the Hinduism.

Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Santana Dharma, "the eternal law," or the "eternal way, beyond human origins.

Today, 1.25 Billion Hindus all over the world comprise world-renowned scientists, entrepreneurs, educators, businessmen, medical doctors, engineers, software engineers, accounting professionals and so on.

Indian scientists created indigenous nuclear technology, intercontinental ballistic missiles, Chandrayan moon spaceship, satellites, rockets to put satellites in orbit, including the last one that put world record 104 satellites into orbit from a single rocket.

Dr. Bharat Barai, recipient of highest non-resident Indian honor and a senior community leader, stated, “Instead of trying to show all positives elements of Hinduism, it showed extreme and cannibalistic practices of only five individuals as Hinduism.

The grotesque practices of five individuals have nothing to do with Hinduism; they are not part of any Hindu scriptures or Hindu teachings. 1.25 Billion Hindus do not do those things. Hindus do last rites of their dear ones in a very respectable way.

The caste system was based on the profession, not birth when it started 5,000 years ago. It was during the medieval times; Hindus were in survival mode under Islamic and British rulers and were forced into following the caste system based on by birth.

After independence, the Hindu Society in India has been reforming itself. The Constitution of India treats everyone equal and, in fact, the so-called Dalits today enjoy special opportunities in education, employment and elected bodies.

“CNN and Reza Aslan have responsibility to make accurate, fair and balanced presentation on any topic. This was a highly biased and extreme presentation to sensationalize the practices of few isolated people as Hinduism.

CNN and Reza Aslan had plenty of resources available to know about over billion Hindus worldwide, their scriptures, their practices and their real lives.” said Dr. Shamkant Sheth, president of VHPA-Chicago. He demanded CNN to consult the scholars and immediately apologize for this gross blunder.

The protest was actively supported and attended by many highly-respected community leaders, including Krishna Bansal, Hemant Patel, Jitendra Diganvker, Jitendra Bulsara, Sailesh Rajput, Amitabh Mittal, Nirav Patel, Shridhar Damle, Amar Upadhya, Haribhai Patel, Narsibhai Patel, Ramanbhai Patel, Santosh Kumar, Hina Trivedi, Sunil Shah and many more.