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| April 23, 2010 | Canada's Nova Scotia House of Assembly denies Hindu opening prayer request | |
Nevada (US):A Hindu leader has been denied the request to read the opening prayer of Nova Scotia House of Assembly of Canada. House Speaker Charlie Parker, in a response
to the request of Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said:
"Under our Rules it is the Speaker who shall read prayers. This is done in private
before the House officially commences. Attendance at prayer is not mandatory.
This accommodates in some degree those of various faiths and non-adherents of
the various religions. The prayer that is utilized by the Speaker was written
by a former Speaker, the Honourable George Mitchell, in the early 1970s. It is
non-denominational, but Christian in nature..." "Until the Rules of the House
change, I regretfully must advise that we cannot engage your kind offer", Speaker
Parker added in the communiqué to Rajan Zed. The Assembly prayer includes "Lord's
Prayer", well-known prayer in Christianity, and also seeks blessing for Queen
and members of the Royal Family. Another line in the text says: "Assist us in
our deliberations so that our legislation will reflect a true spirit of justice
and equity to all people". According to Nancy A. Kinsman, Legislative Assistant
to the Speaker, the same prayer is read every day. First sat in 1758, this Assembly
with 52 seats is the oldest in the country. Canada's first parliamentary democracy,
Lonely Planet describes Nova Scotia as 'cute' and 'quaint'. It is one of the ten
provinces of Canada, world's second largest country. Darrell Dexter is the Premier.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion
adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. |
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