South Asian students share various religious views

While students from South Asia share much in common, Tuesday night they celebrated and discussed their differences in a forum on religion. "Every religion is represented in South Asia," College sophomore Mika Rao said. "Nowhere else in the world have so many religions been created and existed together." Eight students shared their experiences with agnosticism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism. Their feelings of acceptance and rejection, strength and uncertainty, are as diverse as their religions. "I was made fun of as a child for wearing a turban," Wharton senior Vikram Chatwal said. "Defending myself all my life has built me a strong character." Chatwal practices Sikhism which prohibits the consumption of meat and alcohol, smoking, premarital sex and cutting one's hair. "We believe God is an omnipotent being," Chatwal said. "If one remains pure all their life they can transcend into a higher form of being." Wharton and College senior Naren Sriniuasan's views were quite different. "Agnostics believe that the existence of an ultimate power is unknown," he said. "The purpose of my existence is personal happiness." Students debated the relationship between culture and religion. "For most Hindus, religion and culture are intertwined," Wharton senior Harsha Krishnappa said. "We can't maintain our culture the same as we can in India, but we won't lose it either." "Culture is a way of life and intertwined with some South Asian religions," Sriniuasan said. "But to me they are mutually exclusive." A practicing Christian also shared his experiences of being rejected by the Indian community. "People have a hard time understanding that Christianity can be applied to any culture without taking away from that culture," Fine Arts graduate student Chick Chand said. Over 35 students attended the forum organized by the political outreach committee of the South Asia Society. "Because political views are personal and religion is the primary personal issue, this enables students to recognize how our own experiences shape our global views," said Rao, the society's outreach vice president.

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