Pundit on doctor in racist rant : 'He's shamed all East Indians'

Pundit Satyanand Maharaj called for the doctor to be punished forthwith. Maharaj, the spiritual leader of the Satya Anand Ashram in San Juan said, “The racism of the doctor and his wife reflect a darkness of the soul that should be punished and not allowed to take further root in our society.”

He called on the Medical Board to “take urgent steps to suspend the licence from this doctor for a period of no less than a year, and order counselling for both he and his wife, along with some sort of restitution to the doctor’s abused staff member.”

In a statement the pundit said the racist rant, which went viral last week, is simply unacceptable in modern TT society.

“It is repulsive that during the holy season of Divali – which symbolises light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance – that such a dark and ignorant statement could be made by a person swearing to the Hippocratic Oath to protect all lives.”

The doctor who is from South Trinidad, was heard in a voice message telling members of his staff to ask job applicants to send their photographs so he could determine their ethnicity, as most of his patients are of a particular race and did not appreciate being treated by doctors and nurses from a different race.

Pundit Maharaj said, “Most Hindu parents dream of their children becoming doctors or lawyers or engineers. These professions offer financial freedom and demand a degree of intellectual and professional maturity. It is therefore sickening to witness on social media a doctor and wife hurling racial epithets as persons. They have shamed the Hindu and East Indian community and should be made to pay for that.”

He said both the doctor and his wife who are heard making the offending statements bear Hindu/East Indian names and hence an unequivocal condemnation from the Hindu/East Indian community and organisations representing this segment of society, should have been immediate and clear.

“Sadly, the major Hindu organisations somehow feel this is not an issue for them to engage. I, however, as a citizen of TT cannot stand idly by as a silent onlooker.

“The darkness of racism continues if not answered with the light of denunciation. As Hindus, we cannot sit doing pujas in mandirs extolling the highest virtues of Hinduism, but when we walk out into the real world those teachings are forgotten.

“The Hindu pantheon of divinity reflective of the one God manifests in many forms. Hindu deities assume all hues of the rainbow.

“The darkness of Kali Mata to the illumination of Bramha, span the entire spectrum. So at the very superficial level of the skin, the Hindu person cannot afford to be racial,” Maharaj said. Repeated efforts by Newsday to reach the doctor for a comment via his office telephone number have so far been futile.