US official forced to quit over query on Hindus

A Michigan official has been forced to quit after her provocative...

A Michigan official has been forced to quit after her provocative query on Hindus during a debate over expansion of a temple sparked outrage among the community.

Catherine Johnson, 71, stunned residents earlier this month by claiming neighbours told her several women urinated outside Shri Swaminarayan Mandir BAPS Temple during its 2000 groundbreaking8212;and asking whether it was some sort of ritual, the Detroit News reported.

The comments came during an emotionally charged meeting on December 3 about the 5 million plans to expand Hindu Temple of Canton, one of three in the community that serves Metro Detroit8217;s growing Indian community, it said.

Johnson said she was quitting because she was asked to. 8220;It was a valid question. It was something that a few citizens contacted me at home about,8221; she said. 8220;I try to ask questions about what citizens in the community would want to know.8221; But many Asian Indians said the question was an unfair characterisation of their culture and a lie. Others termed it as 8220;racist8221; and complained it underscored stereotypes about cleanliness in India.

8220;There is no ritual like that. Our religion says we are not supposed to urinate or spit in public. It desecrates other people8217;s property just like in any other religion,8221; Mukesh Patel, 56, was quoted as saying by the daily.

8220;It8217;s a misconception and it8217;s offensive.8221;

The controversy comes as immigration from India has made the community one of Metro Detroit8217;s largest ethnic groups. Metro Detroit residents claiming Indian heritage jumped 25 per cent to 194,000 in 2000, and Canton Township is home to about 3,000 Indian families. The Hindu temple8217;s expansion plans have caused controversy because neighbours claim the project would look out of place next to 300,000 homes.

Members want to demolish the 20-year-old temple and build an ornate, 35,000-square-foot, double-domed replacement deeper on property at Cherry Hill near Canton Center. Planners delayed a decision this month.