'SWASTIKA' EARLY DAY MOTION IN HOUSE OF COMMONS
(20 January 2005)

Stephen Pound MP, Chair of the Labour Friends of India, tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons on 19th January against the proposed Europe-wide ban on the Swastika. The Hindu Forum of Britain, which successfully lobbied for the Early Day Motion, urged British Members of Parliament to support it in an effort to preserve freedom of worship and understand the importance of the sacred Swastika in Hindu worship.

"We have now entered the second phase of our 'Reclaim the Swastika' campaign which we launched on Thursday," explained Ramesh Kallidai, Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain. "We will be writing to most of the Parliamentarians in UK to support the Early Day Motion to inform them that Hindus have been using the Swastika in religious ceremonies for the last 5000 years to represent good fortune, peace and life. It would be unfair for us to stop using a sacred symbol because it was unfortunately associated with death, destruction and fear due to its Nazi connection."

Describing the third phase of the campaign, Ishwer Tailor, President of the Hindu Forum of Britain said, "We are planning meetings across the country and a major conference in London to promote awareness about why Hindus use Swastika. After this, we will print information booklets on the Swastika that can be distributed to faith communities and other stakeholders."

During the first phase of the campaign, the Hindu Forum of Britain had successfully created awareness of the concerns of British Hindus in the national, international, regional and ethnic media. Hindus in Britain expressed alarm after Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, had indicated earlier in the week that he was considering the possibility of a ban. Nazi symbols including the swastika are already banned in Germany.

The Early Day Motion tabled in the House of Commons reads: "That this House notes the campaign within the Hindu community to proclaim the ancient symbol of the swastika in the face of calls for a Europe-wide ban; notes that Hindu, Jain and Buddhist communities have used the swastika as a symbol of peace, life and good fortune for several millenniums; fully understands and sympathises with the fears and concerns of the Jewish community and other victims of Nazism; believes that a Europe-wide ban would result in Hindus being deprived of a sacred symbol that is integral to their faith and the practice of their faith; and believes that a process of education, and of dialogue between communities should be instigated to remove any misconceptions about the use of the swastika for peaceful and religious purposes by Hindu, Jain and Buddhist communities while totally condemning the use of the swastika to promote xenophobia and racial hatred."

SWASTIKA - ANCIENT SYMBOL OF LIFE & FORTUNE

Hindus use the Swastika in a number of ways during religious ceremonies: it is often used on the doorway to bring good luck, used on colourful patterns drawn on the floor during festivals like Diwali, worn as a pendant, painted on portraits of Hindu Gods, and even painted on the head of child who has gone through the sacrament of the first hair cutting ceremony.

One of the oldest known swastikas was painted on a Palaeolithic cave 10,000 years ago and swastikas have been found on pottery and coins from ancient India, China and Greece. Swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word svastikah, 'being fortunate'. Swastika is made up of two Sanskrit words, 'su' meaning good and 'asti' meaning to exist, which together means 'let good prevail'.

According to Buddhist texts, the Buddha left footprints in the shape of swastikas. The symbol is formed from the shape of a cross, with the arms bent to the right symbolising health and life, or to the left, which came to symbolise ill fortune.

The original designer of the Nazi emblem was Dr Freidrich Krohn, a dentist and a member of several German nationalist groups. The swastika was popularised in Germany after the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann found many objects with swastikas on them when directing the excavation of Troy and Mycenae. He linked the symbol to the Aryan people.

For the Hindus it remains one of the most auspicious symbols, only next to OM. It is shaped like a Greek cross with its arms bent at right angles. There are two Swastikas, male and female. The arms of the female Swastika are bent anti-clockwise. Most people are not aware that there are two different Swastikas.

ABOUT THE HINDU FORUM OF BRITAIN

The Hindu Forum of Britain is the largest umbrella body with a broad-based membership of over 240 Hindu organisations from different regions and cultural backgrounds in Britain. At the core of the Forum?s activities is a strong belief in the richness and diversity of the Hindu culture, its value system that encompasses respect for all beings and faiths, and a cultural heritage that facilitates community cohesion and coexistence.

Further information can be secured from HFB Website: www.hinduforum.org

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