On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 5:50 AM, ss <cybers...@gmail.com> wrote: > > But as far as i know - it is only in India here there are big debates where > the members of the majority religion are debating with each other as to > whether they are secular enough or not.
I think this is an admirable quality.Would the Italian courts ever have the courage to order an inventory of assets of the Vatican, like India did with the Kerala temple? Vatican's survived sex scandals, mafia involvement, drugs, money laundering, tax fraud. Heck, the City of Boston can't get an ordinary Bishop to come clean about his pedophilia. I can't think of another country that could have survived an act like Operation Blue Star. India is a religious land, more so than the West, but the courts, civic institutions and civic society are surprisingly effective in taking on religion. This story about the arm twisting powers of the Church of Scientology makes Baba Ramdev look like a weakling: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/books/review/inside-scientology-and-render-unto-rome-book-review.html?_r=1 I can think of Sai Baba as one of those rare exceptions when a religious figure seemed above the law, but in general I am very proud of India's secular track record. Cheeni
