Theos-Talk Archives (February 2004 Message tt00183)

While BJP or any other political party may not do anything to TS as an organization, there is always the danger of the local or central government taking over part of the Adyar Estat which is prime real estate in Chennai. 

Some here may recall that over 30 years ago, when TS sold some of the land in the estate to individuals for constructing homes, the then local government proposed to condemn and take over a large part of the estate for "public purposes" which every government has a right to do, it was with enormous effort that the move was ended.

So this kind of danger is always present.

mkr



---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "arielaretziel" <arielaretziel@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 14:21:26 -0000

>
>Dear Paul, to answer your question I'd have to say That the BJP is just an 
>elected national government and has no connection or influence over the TS 
>in Adyar. Thank god India is still a democracy and has not turned into a third 
>world dictatorship, atleast not yet. It only takes one strong and united 
>communist revolution (if even that's possible in a country like this) and 
>perhaps after that, the BJP or some other political party can control the TS. 
>But not at this time. Perhaps we have Annie Besant to thank for turning India 
>in the right direction towards the tradition of a free democracy, and therefore 
>protecting the International lodge from being government controled.
>
>A^A^
>
>--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "kpauljohnson" <kpauljohnson@y...> 
>wrote:
>> Dear Ariel,
>> 
>> Thanks for the clarification. If Rukmini had been an 
>> inconsequential person in TS history, standing in Arundale's shadow, 
>> then I might agree that the family connection between the 3rd PTS 
>> and the 5th and 7th wasn't very meaningful. But in light of her 
>> extremely high profile starting before her marriage, and continuing 
>> until the end of her life, I do think the Shastry family has had 
>> quite a disproportionate role in the Society's governance. (Which 
>> would already be the case with 44 of the last 53 years TS leadership 
>> being held by a father and daughter.) Nonetheless, I consider it 
>> more problematic that the OH of the ES became the PTS (oh these 
>> acronyms!). A purportedly democratic organization ought not be led 
>> by the head of a secret society with a long history of exerting 
>> inappropriate and destructive influence. IMO! 
>> 
>> Although I heard the story about a likely Brazilian successor years 
>> ago, that was before the rise of the BJP. More recently I've heard 
>> that the election of any non-Indian PTS would place the Society in a 
>> dangerous position vis-a-vis the government, and therefore will 
>> never happen. Can you comment on the plausibility of that?
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> 
>> Paul
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