On Thursday, news agency Reuters showed its ignorance for local customs and traditions by removing a picture taken of US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley along with a swastika.
The Reuters India Photo twitter handle wrote: “Reuters has removed an earlier photo of U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with a swastika seen behind her at a Hindu temple in Delhi. The swastika is an ancient religious symbol for Hindus and Buddhists. It was also used as a symbol by Nazi Germany.”
The swastika is a symbol with major stigma in the western world, given it was the sigil of Nazi Germany. However, that is going against the grain considering it’s an important Hindu symbol. Signs and sigils have to seen the context of the space-time it's used. Even the orientation of the Hindu swastika is different from the one used by Nazis.
The word is ancient, derived from three Sanskrit words roots – su (good), asti (exists) and ka (make) meaning the maker of goodness. It’s commonly used in a host of places including the entrances of homes and temples, to mark new beginnings and over rituals such as weddings and welcoming a new born.
The decision to remove it showed that news agencies continue to operate on the sensibilities of its Western readers and not through the lens of the local culture where it's operating.
Haley, who was on a three-day visit to India, visited Gauri Shankar Temple on June 28 in the national capital. The US envoy also visited Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, where she also prepared food for langar (community kitchen). She also paid a visit to Jama Masjid and Central Baptist Church.
Daughter of the Sikh immigrants from Punjab, she touted freedom of religion during her visit to India. "We think freedom of religion is just as important as freedom of rights and freedom of peoples," she said on June 27 during her address. Haley, who is the highest ranking Indian-American official in the Trump administration, last visited India in 2014 when she was the South Carolina
With inputs from ANI
