Twitter
Advertisement

Lakshmi 'bomb' annoys religious puritans

The fireworks, produced in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, come from different companies. One, named 'Cornation' has the image of goddess Lakshmi while Standard fireworks merely used the word 'Lakshmi' on the firecracker, without the image of the goddess.

Latest News
article-main
Representational Image
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Hindu organizations in the state have slammed the police for inaction as firecrackers hit stalls in Mumbai, and its adjoining regions on the eve of Diwali. The circulars issued by the state police departments have fallen on deaf ears of the vendors and manufacturers.

The Lakshmi 'bomb', which has been available at many stalls across Mumbai, Palghar, Thane and Navi Mumbai for decades, contains the picture of the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi, who is venerated amongst Hindus as the goddess of wealth and prosperity. The groups claim that lighting these firecrackers, embellished with the image of the Goddess not only disrespects the religion but also its paper gets torn, thus 'hurting religious sentiments'.

The fireworks, produced in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, come from different companies. One, named 'Cornation' has the image of goddess Lakshmi while Standard fireworks merely used the word 'Lakshmi' on the firecracker, without the image of the goddess.

"Due to the demand from consumers we store the firecrackers but we bring it in lesser quantities as according to the meeting held over the guidelines, we were explained that we should not keep such firecrackers", said Dinesh Shinde, a firecracker vendor from Dahisar.

A firecracker vendor, Deepak Pandey from Thane said, "We don't keep such firecrackers as we have to keep the religious sentiments of people in mind as the picture of the Goddess is lit, and when it bursts, images are torn and it falls under the feet of pedestrians which can hurt religious sentiments".

Hindu Organizations condemns government inaction

Shankar Gaikar, Maharashtra spokesperson for the Vishva Hindu Parishad slammed the state government for not acting against the vendors for hurting religious sentiments. He said, "We won't allow the sale of such firecrackers and our volunteers in the country would take action by filing formal complaints as disrespect to deities of any religion is not accepted".

"We will ask the volunteers in each region to keep watch and immediately file a criminal case not only against the vendor, but also against the factories manufacturing it", said Gaikar.

Dinesh Bhogale, Mumbai spokesperson of Hindu Mahasabha also condemned the State's inaction, saying, "The government should initiate strictest action against the manufacturers and sellers at the earliest".
"Despite the circulars being issued the government is unable to implement it which shows that the government is not interested to protect the religious sentiments of the people", said Bhogale.

What the Government circular says:

Any firecracker which contains pictorial images of gods and goddesses or any religious material attached or wrapped to it hurts the religious sentiments. No one will produce, sell and possess such firecrackers. And if these acts are committed they will be booked under sections 295(A)(Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement