Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'The Australian tourist was on the wrong' that was published in Newsband

The Australian tourist was on the wrong

Australian man who was a tourist in India sported a tattoo of a Hindu goddess. A bunch of people in Bengaluru threatened him with dire consequences when they spotted on his shin the tattoo of goddess Yellamma — who is worshipped in parts of southern India. A policeman corralled him to a police station and got him to write out an apology. The police might have been taken by surprise over the reactions of the religious group and probably considered it a safe option to force the visitor to apologize to the emotionally wounded group. But many learned Indians made a big issue of this incident and supported the Australian tourist.

Now the Australian said he had heard of the Deity. Sensitivity towards local traditions and iconography is expected in all civilized societies. We Indians are very respectful of the same when we travel and have every right to expect it from our visitors. Tattoo was on the leg of the Guy which meant disrespect to many. A section of the country worships Yellamma as their God. They felt sad, bad and a sort of disrespect to find a tattoo of their God on someone’s leg. They questioned the person bearing the tattoo who unfortunately happened to be a foreigner. And the police officials too understanding the gravity, handled the situation well. Where the question of religious intolerance comes here? Let us not try to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Every country has written and unwritten laws of the land. If an Australian does not understand that sporting a goddess' tattoo on the shin is particularly offensive to the sentiments of the Hindus, then it is his problem. He must understand and respect the cultural aspects of his actions. Would he try sporting something un-Islamic in Saudi Arabia? Will he even survive one single night there? India may be the largest democracy on the planet but that does not mean that anything goes. A certain level of awareness is called for global citizens in whatever country they are living in or visiting. As simple as that! This whole thing is much ado about nothing.

The person who has helped the individual to have a tattoo should be held and told about the significance of this issue. The outsider would understand that better.

Nobody gave a damn when several Indians were attacked, humiliated, abused and even killed on the grounds of racism in Australia recent times. Can't understand why we are overreacting to an event that involves an Australian tourist in India. Protecting a Nation's religious dignity and spiritual beliefs is not intolerance but an individual's inherited responsibility. Even the advanced Americans would not have tolerated if an Indian tourist in US would have got carved a tattoo of their God on the leg or any other part of the body.