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Hindus are asking Poland, Ukraine and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to ensure racism-free 2012 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2012), currently underway till July one co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.

Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was quite shameful if Europe could not deliver a racism-free football tournament even in 2012.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that reported incidents of racist monkey chanting directed at Netherlands players during an open training session in Krakow (Poland), vicious racially motivated assault on Indian students in Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv (Ukraine) few weeks back and anti-Semitic slogans by Polish fans were highly unacceptable and upsetting in today’s world. A strong political will and a stronger stance against racism were needed and authorities needed to monitor hate crimes closely.

Rajan Zed sought personal intervention of President BronisÅ‚aw Komorowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland and President Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych and Prime Minister Mykola Yanovych Azarov of Ukraine on the issue of reported racism. Poland and Ukraine should be more welcoming of the foreigners and “others” who looked different, Zed added.

Zed urged leaders of the majority Roman Catholic Church in Poland and Orthodox Christian Church in Ukraine and other religions/denominations in these countries to openly come out against racism, because religion told us to help the helpless.

Euro 2012, the 14th European Championship for national football teams organized by UEFA, is scheduled to be held at Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv in Ukraine and Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan and Gdansk in Poland. Sixteen teams are said to be participating.

Gridley City Council in California to open with Hindu shlokas

Gridley City Council in California (USA) will open its meeting with a Hindu prayer in Sanskrit on June 18, containing verses from world’s oldest existing scripture.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver the invocation from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before the City Council. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayer. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.

Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, will recite from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, besides lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures. He plans to start and end the prayer with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.

Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”, which he will then translate as “Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, and Lead me from death to Immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge councilmembers to keep the welfare of others always in mind.

Zed is a global Hindu and interfaith leader, who besides taking up the cause of religion worldwide, has also raised huge voice against the apartheid faced by 15-million Roma (Gypsies) in Europe. Bestowed with World Interfaith Leader Award; Zed is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, Spiritual Advisor to National Association of Interchurch & Interfaith Families, etc.

Jerry Ann Fichter and Dave Garner are Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem respectively of Gridley whose tagline is "A small town that loves company" and it is known for its "Silk Stocking Row".