American Hindu group asks VP Vance to ‘engage with Hinduism’
New York (PTI): An American Hindu organisation asked Vice President J D Vance to “engage with Hinduism” after he said that his wife, Usha, “encouraged” him "to re-engage” with his faith.
Vance is facing criticism over his comments regarding his interfaith marriage after saying he eventually hopes that Usha, who grew up in a Hindu household, “is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church.”
Hitting back at his critics, Vance on Friday said it was his wife who encouraged him to re-engage with Christianity.
“My wife as I said at the TPUSA is the most amazing blessing I have in my life. She herself encouraged me to reengage with my faith many years ago,” he said.
Responding to Vance’s remark, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) issued a statement on Friday calling on him to engage with “Hinduism too.”
“With respect to the Vice President, if your wife encouraged you to re-engage with your faith, why not reciprocate that and engage with Hinduism too?” said the HAF.
“Hinduism doesn’t share the need to wish your spouse comes around to see things as you do in terms of religion,” the HAF added.
The group said that, being a public figure and Vice President, Vance should acknowledge the “rights of Hindus to practice.”
“You are the VP. It’s more than reasonable (and well within precedent) for a Christian public figure such as yourself to acknowledge the positive impact of Hinduism on Hindus and the rights of Hindus to practice,” it added.
The group also criticised some of Vance's supporters for speaking against religious freedom.
"Some of the most vocal voices in your base seem to not actually believe religious freedom, one of the core concepts this nation was founded upon, as you well know, should extend to Hindus," it said.
Vance made the initial comments on Wednesday at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi.
He was confronted by a young South Asian woman over his faith and his inter-religion marriage to Usha as well as over the Trump administration’s policies on immigration.
Responding to her, Vance said that on most Sundays, Usha goes to church with him.
"... I've told her, and I've said publicly, and I'll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends, do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel, and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way," he said.
"But if she doesn't, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn't cause a problem for me. That's something you work out with your friends, with your family, with the person that you love,” he added.
However, on Friday, Vance said his wife has no plans to convert. "She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage, or any interfaith relationship. I hope she may one day see things as I do. Regardless, I'll continue to love and support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she's my wife,” he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
