Incident of trial over Swami Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita: genesis, analysis, reaction of the public and media

The article is dedicated to the 2011-2012. Tomsk trial against the book «Bhaga-vad-gita As It Is» (authorship A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) as an extremist material. This event, which was estimated as unprecedented for Tomsk, attracted attention not only in Russia, but also abroad, prompting a lively reaction from the public and the media. The observed event requires a thorough analysis. The article provides a chronology of the trial, beginning with a description of the subject application to the court, experts opinions on the matter, legal judgments. Many analysts expected as a result of court case «bad» Tomsk fame around the world. These fears have come true, as the news of the trial over the Holy Scripture has not gone unnoticed in India, and in North Atlantic. Russian and international media record growth of indignation among the world community. The most striking example is the fact that the news of the trial caused a storm of discontent in the Indian parliament, which was forced to interrupt it's work twice a day. From the review of the media sphere one can allot the following reasons for the subsequent reaction of the public. For the Russian media, analysts and bloggers, the general reaction was the realization of the obvious absurdity and artificiality of the charges in conjunction with inappropriate application of the law on extremism. A response from the Indian public is caused by the understanding that the accusation is an insult to what is dear and sacred for them Bhagavad-Gita, and the people whose worldview is based on it. Based on the analysis of the work one can conclude the need of a secular religious studies that inform on other faiths experiences of different denominations, which will overcome mythmaking in respect of certain beliefs. You can also note the obvious difficulties in the work of the Federal Law «On counteracting extremist activities» and Article 282 of the Criminal Code in the recognition of a particular extremist literature. One-sided and unsound application of these laws have already caused a huge amount of criticism. Russian public points to the need of revision of the law or limit its scope by means of better fixation of the subject area.

Keywords

Authors

References