India takes Gita issue with Russia authorities

India has strongly taken up the demand for banning Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, which a group linked to the Christian Orthodox Church has described as 'extremist', with the Russian authorities, Indian Ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra said.

"The matter has been taken up by the Indian Embassy in Moscow with the Russian Government at senior official level, seeking its favourable and positive intervention in the matter," Ambassador Malhotra said, as the court in Tomsk postponed its ruling on the petition banning Bhagwad Gita as 'extremist' and allegedly 'sowing' social-discord in Russia.

Describing Bhagwat Gita as extremist, a group linked to the Christian Orthodox Church has demanded ban due to conflict of interests between the Russian followers of Lord Krishna and the local authorities in the Siberian region of Tomsk.

Malhotra personally and his mission here have been publicly expressed their support to the local chapter of International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The final hearing in the Tomsk District Court is scheduled for December 28, as the Court agreed to seek the opinion of the Russian Ombudsman on Human Rights in Tomsk Region and of Indologists from Moscow and St Petersburg (all of whom favour dismissal of the case).

The case pertains to the legal relationship between a Russian registered socio-cultural organization and the local authorities. Nevertheless, the Embassy in Moscow has been publicly supportive and sympathetic in the matter.

"We believe that there are new operational concepts that link the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, we want to talk about the manifestations of that, both in terms of maritime security and other aspects of commerce and security interactions and we would talk about developments among all the key countries in the Asia Pacific region," Campbell said.

"But our talks wouldn't end there. There would also be talks on global issues. I am very excited about these developments and I think they have the potential to advance trust and understanding among all three Capitals," he said.

Campbell said the future prospects of India-US-Japan dialogue depends on progress of the today's meeting. "Well, it has taken us some time to set up this meeting.

I think, we all will see how this one goes. I think, we will make our assessment after that. We certainly would be open to more frequent discussions, but all parties would have to be comfortable with that. And I think, what we are trying to do is to take step at a time and just see how this first set of interactions goes," he said.