09/10/1998 - 2189

Polish Government Apologizes

Poland (VNN) - by Indradyumna Swami

Dear GBC members,

Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Recently Tamal Krsna Maharaja appreciated the service of Maha mantra dasa from Delhi in helping with a tense situation in Lucknow, India. I wanted to mention also that last month Maha Mantra prabhu rendered an extremely valuable service to the Polish yatra, by arranging meetings for us with the topmost diplomats in India, regarding the problems of religious intolerance we are experiancing here in Poland.

As many of you may know, a major festival of Indian culture in Swidnik, Poland, involving 50,000 people, was closed down by the local government and church due to our participation in the event. Because of the presence of the Indian ambassador, who is favorable to us, it became a major issue in the media here in Poland. We went on attack protesting the decision and the government strongly defended their move.

Taking advantage of the moment to draw attention to the greater issue of a growing campaign against us by the Catholic Church, we contacted Maha Mantra prabhu in Delhi requesting he help us meet leading Indian politicians. I then went to India with a small team of devotees. Almost mystically, Maha Mantra prabhu arranged meeting after meeting for us with members of parliment. With his influence we were also able to meet the minister of foreign affairs and internal affairs.

To make a long story short, the result of all the pressure put on the Polish government from India was that they officially apologised to the Indian government for what took place in Swidnik and in doing so acknowledged that the Hare Krsna Movement in not a cult, but a bonefide religious institution. This is a major step forward for us here in Poland and much of the credit goes to Maha Mantra prabhu, who took time off from his very busy schedual to help us. I was amazed at his ability in dealing with the leading political figures in India.

Your servant, Indradyumna Swami