April 30, 2003

EVERYDAY, at dawn, in Public Gardens, one comes across a group of people practising Falun Gong. This is a practice conceived by Li Honghzhi in China, but now, owing to the ban on the practice by the Chinese government, has gone underground in China.

However, Falun Gong thrives in other centres around the world, including Hyderabad. [...] Falun Gong or Falun Dafa's basic principles are truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance. [...] Practitioners have experienced "profound improvement in (their) lifestyles." Murlidhar Naidu, a practitioner for two years, says, "I used to be arrogant; I've now become patient." A lady says a leg pain she suffered has reduced now and she feels completely peaceful.

All others have similar experiences to relate about Falun Dafa. But the other aspect of it is the persecution in China. [...] In 1999, about 10,000 practitioners in Beijing staged a peaceful protest, to appeal to the government not to launch an aggressive campaign against them.

[...] "The Chinese regime's paranoia over Falun Gong is complex - not simply an atheist State condemning a 'spiritual' practice," says M N Rajesh, a History lecturer at Hyderabad University, whose area of special interest is Central Asian Studies. "The number of practitioners at one point exceeded the Communist Party membership, and the regime felt threatened by the sheer number of practitioners. Government propaganda [defamed] Falun Dafa [...].

Many Party members were practitioners before the ban and there are somewhat different attitudes towards Falun Dafa even within the government. [...]."

But Falun Gong practitioners have continued to hold fairly peaceful protests, such as those held world over this April 25th. And here in Hyderabad, the practice continues. For, "there are no restrictions and it is free. Most importantly, it has nothing to do with age, religion, spirituality or politics."