Sri Lanka to ban animal sacrifices at Hindu temples
September 12, 2018  20:50
Animal sacrifices in Hindu temples in Sri Lanka could be banned after the Cabinet approved a proposal Wednesday to enact laws banning the "primitive" methods of worship, amid calls from the Hindu community to make the ritual a "punishable offence" in the Buddhist-majority country.
   
The Cabinet headed by President Maithripala Sirisena  approved the proposal submitted by Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Northern Development and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D M Swaminathan.
Hindu Cultural Affairs Director Uma Maheswaran was quoted as saying by the government-owned newspaper 'Daily News' that the slaughter of animals such as goats and fowls in Hindu temples would be banned by this legislation.
He said the Cabinet-approved draft legislation would be sent to the Legal Draftsman's Department for final consent.
It will then be sent to the Attorney General's Department and published in the gazette. He said the law would come into effect once passed by Parliament.
According to the Cabinet Memorandum, animal and bird sacrifices in Hindu Temples or its precincts will be prohibited.
"One of the primitive methods of worship is animal and bird sacrifices, while the majority of Hindus do not accept the practice. Slaughtering of animals is carried out in public in open courtyard of the temple without considering health and mental harm of the devotees.
"Legislation to ban animal sacrifice in Hindu temples is operative in India. The members of Parliament representing the Hindu Community and Hindu Association in Sri Lanka are of unanimous view that sacrifices of any living being in the name of Hindu Religion should be banned and made a punishable offence," the memorandum stated. -- PTI
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