Faith in the line of fire

Attacks on Auburn’s Sri Mandir Temple take a violent turn, reports GAURAV PANDEY

On the night of March 19, two masked attackers sprayed the reasonably fortified SriMandir Temple in Auburn with about eight rounds of bullets, one of which found its way inside the temple. Although no one was hurt in the attack, it was another blow to the psyche of an already harassed community.

“We condemn these attacks, as we would condemn one on any religious building in Australia; multiculturalism requires one to respect the other communities,” says Rama Ramanuja Acharya, public relations officer, Australian Council of Hindu Clergy.  “Our sympathies are with the temple priest Jatin Kumar Bhatt, who lives within the temple complex with his family, and the larger Indian community. We request the government to do all in its power to find the culprits.”

“The Indian community feels scared and threatened and they are very concerned about the temple,” says Rajeev Kapoor, president of the temple. “We need to nab these anti-social people and put them behind bars.”  

The police are conducting their investigation. “Forensic experts came and checked the temple from inside, where the bullet was lodged,” Kapoor says.

A police patrol of the temple was organised after a delegation met with local government minister Barbara Perry and the police commissioner.

The police also arranged a ‘community safety audit’ of the temple and its surrounding locations on April 5, with an intention of seeking information on existing or potentially dangerous threats and discussing security measures. “It commenced with a briefing in the Montgomery Room at Auburn Council and continued out to the temple location with interested stakeholders from NSW Police, council and community taking part,” says Kapoor, adding that he was “happy with the way the investigation is going.”

“In the past, Sikh gurudwaras, in densely populated areas have also been attacked a number of times by some unthinking, intolerant bigots,” complains Bawa Jagdev Singh, secretary, Sikh Council of Australia. “Those who look different from the common norm face rejection until they are accepted as a part of the society, which often takes a very long time.”

Many of these places of religious worship are located in residential areas – a fact that does not go down well with some of the local residents. “There have been concerns raised in the past, but those issues have been addressed locally and directly with the neighbours,” Acharya says, adding, “The site itself was originally earmarked for a church, so it is zoned as a religious site.” 

Bawa Jagdev acknowledges the problems, such as “noise pollution” and “traffic congestion,” experienced by local residents due to regular gatherings of a large number of people in cramped places.

“Religious institutions built in the less crowded developing areas don’t have such issues,” he adds.

Yet Rajeev Kapoor notes that the incidents are a recent development. “The Sri Mandir Temple has been at this site since 1977. These incidents only started three years ago. The only problem I can think of is people park their cars in the neighbourhood when there is a function in the temple – as with churches and gurdwaras in residential areas – but that doesn’t mean that someone should come past and open fire on the temple”.

Acharya feels that deploying private security, like at the Jewish temples, may not be a viable idea as it is an “expensive proposition” for a minority community.  “I don’t think we have the financial wherewithal to provide 24-hour security to the temple.” 

“Security camera footage doesn’t give one a clear enough picture,” Acharya points out. “We have been considering a move out of this place as it’s very difficult for anyone to do anything when a youth passing by the temple does something like this and disappears.”

It was not the first time that the temple has been at the receiving end of someone’s irrational wrath. Incidents where bottles and eggs were hurled inside and abusive graffiti written on its walls have been common. Last year, in an attempt to deter miscreants from indulging in such acts, the temple authorities had raised its fence, reinforced external windows with shutters and installed surveillance cameras. 

The drive-by shooting incident is a sign of the growing audacity of the elements involved in these attacks. The incident also underlines, though, another and perhaps bigger challenge the Hindu community faces – its own painfully passive response to provocation. 

“The problem is that the Hindu community tends to keep a low profile. They are more focussed on damage control,” Acharya agrees. 

“There is a need to educate those holding differing beliefs than ours about our ways of life, religion and culture: there is a need for us to understand and respect their ways of life,” Bawa Jagdev says.

Auburn, the suburb where the temple is located, is no stranger to crime. Being the heartland of Migrant Australia, the area has long been plagued by high unemployment rates, crime, and conflict between and within different ethnic groups. The suburb – a melting pot of various cultures and religions, dominated by Muslims and Christians – has seen a steady rise in such crimes over the years, as the opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue have remained limited.

Whatever the outcome of the investigations may be, future visits to the temple will undoubtedly carry a frisson of doubt – a situation one does not expect to face in a country that claims to be proud of its multiculturalism.