Hindus in spitting rage over UK stamp

London: The row between the Hindus in Britain and the Royal Mail, over a new Christmas stamp depicting a Hindu man and woman worshipping baby Jesus, has deepened, after the Royal Mail refused to withdraw the stamp.

The stamp shows a man with a tilak on his forehead, identifying him as a Vaishnava Hindu, and the woman with a traditional kumkum mark on her forehead, identifying her as a married Hindu woman.

Both are seen worshipping an image of baby Christ on the stamp.

An umbrella body representing 250 Hindu organisations ?the Hindu Forum of Britain ?has demanded the withdrawal of the "disrespectful" stamp.

However, the Royal Mail has refused to accept the demand saying the stamp featured a Mughal painting, which dates back to between 1620 and 1630 AD and originates from Mumbai in India.

A spokesman for the Royal Mail confirmed they would not withdraw the stamp or amend it saying it was "not possible."

He said, "It was common for Hindu artists during that period to paint images that depicted the western culture, including paintings about Christianity. The stamp simply features a Hindu artists interpretation of Christianity's Madonna and Child scene."

"The Royal Mail does, however, apologise for any unintentional offence caused to the Hindu community, "he added.

Secretary general of the Hindu Forum Ramesh Kallidai said, "After Royal Mail refused to withdraw the stamp, Hindu leaders representing some of the largest organisations across UK have informed us that they will take this matter straight to the community to protest about it."

"It has now caused even greater resentment since the Royal Mail had not even originally consulted us before the stamp was issued. We could easily have offered them advice on a suitable depiction of the Mother and Child image that would not have offended anybody," he added.

The stamp is priced at 68 pence, which is the amount of postage for letters to India.

Hindu leaders now plan to start mass mailing of letters without stamps to the Royal Mail headquarters to clog the post office at Old Street, letters of protest by email to the Royal Mail and DTI and lobbying with friendly Parliamentarians.

If Royal Mail continues their refusal to withdraw the stamp, a mass protest outside their headquarters in London is also being planned.