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Article: The co-existence of violence and non-violence in Hinduism.
- Article from:
- The Ecumenical Review
- Article date:
- April 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 World Council of Churches. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The most famous Hindu of all time, Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) is widely perceived, especially in the West, as embodying the Hindu world-view and ethos. Gandhi made ahimsa (non-violence) the cornerstone of his philosophy and practice and spoke of it as constituting the essence of Hinduism. In the light of Gandhi's significance, many were surprised and bewildered when, on 6 December 1992, thousands of Hindu volunteers broke through police cordons and demolished the Babri mosque in the holy city of Ayodhya in North India. Many were armed with tridents, the traditional iconographic weapon of Shiva, and they were led by Hindu holy men chanting "Jai Shri Ram" (victory to Ram). ...