When I was appointed as the President of the Hindu Forum of Britain I knew that it was both a huge honour and also a tremendous responsibility to carry the hopes and aspirations of thousands of Hindu families in the UK.
During this time a number of critically important issues have arisen that directly impact our dharmic traditions as well as our diverse communities. Each of these issues is significant in its own right, but collectively they now represent one of the most crucial times for the Hindu community. These included caste legislation and Kashmir as well as many others. As Hindus we all have our historical links with various political parties, and rightly so. We should engage more and become proactive agents of change in the very politics of this country.
As Hindus we have a huge amount to contribute and our core values are now the very essence of good governance. However we must also be mindful that we do not unwittingly allow a political party to form a government that will be detrimental to our dharma. At such times, as a community, we should come together and ensure that we support the party that will protect our interest.
On May 7th, make your vote count. Don’t vote blindly or because of family tradition. In these elections the very honour of your faith is in danger of being undermined. No other faith community would allow such disrespect. Let us also learn from our scriptures, that when adharmic forces take over, it might force us to go against family, friends and political allegiance – but protection of dharma must surely come first.
Trupti Patel President,
Hindu Forum of Britain
