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'Indian Society Needs To Change'
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Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001 |
As the Kumbh Mela religious festival was coming to a close in Allahabad earlier
this month, millions of Hindu pilgrims were witness to an unusual sight: scores
of saffron-clad swamis exhorting people not to take a holy dip in the waters.
The protest, against what the swamis characterize as "obscurantist and
superstitious religious practices," was organized by the 125-year-old Hindu
reformist organization, the Arya Samaj. Its outspoken leader, Swami Agnivesh,
talked to TIME South Asia contributor Maseeh Rahman in New Delhi on why he went
to...