Sat: IRO a safeguard against terror attacks

Maha Sabha secretary general Sat Maharaj at the 2019 chowtaal sammelan, Maha Sabha headquarters, St Augustine. PHOTO BY RHIANNA McKENZIE
Maha Sabha secretary general Sat Maharaj at the 2019 chowtaal sammelan, Maha Sabha headquarters, St Augustine. PHOTO BY RHIANNA McKENZIE

RIHANNA McKENZIE

“I don’t believe it could happen here.”

This was the view of Maha Sabha secretary general Sat Maharaj on the terrorist attack by white supremacists at two mosques in New Zealand on Friday which left 50 people dead, according to latest reports yesterday.

Maharaj said that although the country does have its “petty breaking and entering”, it did not share the same level of violence as the outside world.

“We have no such violence in Trinidad and Tobago at this point in time…because we have what New Zealand and many other places don’t have. We have an Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO),” Maharaj said at the annual primary schools Chowtaal Sammelan at the Maha Sabha's headquarters in St Augustine yesterday. He said the IRO works with all religious leaders to prevent such tragedies from occurring.

Maharaj expressed his horror over the events that unfolded last Friday. “A masjid, a Hindu temple or a church are places people go to seek solace and commune with God.” Maharaj added that a violent act of this nature was not something he would want to happen to the country's sacred spaces. “We as mankind must stand up and object to that,” he said, “so my condolences go out to the Muslim community all across the world.”

Maharaj was front row at the chowtaal, watching students from across the country compete. “The chowtaal is as old as Hinduism itself,” he said, “which is thousands of years old.” He added the traditions have evolved and eventually developed locally into the competition. “We are developing because we are putting it in a different context (by) putting it on a stage.”

The competition is the start of the annual Baal Vikaas Vihaar, a children’s cultural festival hosted by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha and is in its 34th year. This year, 43 primary schools competed, with an additional five secondary schools making guest appearances.

The chowtaal is a seasonal folk song, usually sung during the festival of Phagwa. It heralds the arrival of spring, or in TT, the beginning of the colourful “poui season”. Over the years, the Hindu community has come to mark the competition as a significant part of their cultural experience. Indra Mahadeo, a teacher at Debe Hindu School, said the competition “helps the children to keep their heritage alive (as they) learn about the different chowtaals and how they are sung, as the folk songs reflect different aspects of Hindu folklore. “It is a community experience,” she added, saying that to put together performances required the input of the students, teachers and parents, especially in the small rural communities, like Debe.

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