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(Ron Banerjee is a graduate of Dalhousie University in Canada, and has been employed as a telecommunications consultant for Fortune 500 companies. As a co-founder and Director of the non-profit Hindu Conference of Canada (www.hccanada.com), his mandate is to engage political leadership and media publications to foster a positive image of Hindu interests and correct misperceptions about Hinduism. He can be contacted at info@hccanada.com.)

In 1994, an outbreak of plague struck Gujurat. Its scale was tiny, but the Western media reacted with hysteria. Ever eager to debase India, a journalist discovered a remote village where the inhabitants fed rats in the local temple. Pictures of these rats soon found their way into newspapers, and rumors spread that plague was being spread by Hindu `rat-worshippers`. Thus, an obscure practice in an insignificant corner was used to convey contempt and bigotry about a nation and civilization to millions of viewers globally.

Enormous resources are devoted to spreading lies and perpetuating negative stereotypes about Hindus. Missionaries like Pat Robertson, and Islamic fundamentalists have a vested interest in destroying the self-esteem of Hindus, and they enjoy great success. Much of their success is due to self-hating Hindus who collaborate with foreign interests and advance their cause. Our media and entertainment industries are dominated by these entities, and it is not difficult to see why negative influences abound in this fetid environment. `Bollywood` is awash with Middle Eastern money and mafia interests, and many `producers` and `directors` of films and plays are bought and paid for by those whose primary motivation is to destroy India.

Deepa Mehta has recently been feted and elevated by Western film aficionados, with star status conferred at the Toronto International Film Festival. The media, both Western and Indian, have bestowed breathless adulation and rave reviews. It is hard to see why. In Fire, she projects the idea that Hindu traditions of abstinence drive neglected housewives into lesbian relationships. In her new film Water, she links sexual exploitation of widows to the ancient Hindu traditions of abstinence involving widows. Both films delve into bizarre, obscure, and virtually non-existent practices in India. Much like the mythical `rat-worshipping Hindus`, the practices depicted have little basis in reality and are specifically designed to project a false and derogatory image of Hindu culture.

Deepa Mehta has embraced her role with gusto. Recently, the AIDS Committee of Toronto outraged the entire Hindu community by putting on a fashion show featuring scantily clad transsexuals dressed as Hindu deities. To their credit, the AIDS Committee issued an apology on their website (as well as an apology addressed to our organization) when challenged on their indiscretion by a broad range of Hindu groups. These groups included the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention, Hindu Conference of Canada, and Vishnu Mandir. The lone dissenting voice was Deepa Mehta, who publicly stated that she did not see anything offensive about the show.

Clearly, Ms Mehta is a self-appointed conveyor of anti Hindu hatred. Her paymasters are the Western film festivals, ‘artistic community’, and media entities who transform a person with little talent and feverishly perverted imagination into a celebrity of substance.

We understand the motivations of foreign entities to project as negative an image of Hinduism as possible: we have seen this in the 1994 ‘plague scare’, we have seen it when Pat Robertson and other missionaries call Hinduism ‘demonic’, and we have experienced it throughout history. What is astounding is the slavish adulation of Deepa Mehta by the Indian press and Hindus who ought to know better. It seems that all it takes for us to worship someone who acts against our interests is for foreign pundits to bless and confer legitimacy on this person. We must develop the ability to critically analyze the motivations of foreigners, and make informed judgments as to whether or not films and news reports financed or produced by their minions are biased or realistic.

Ron Banerjee

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