Hindu priests purify Gandhi memorial after visit by Bush sniffer-dogs

[bigtree]

March 4, 2006 10:10 PM
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=WORLD&ID=564694436261790783

NEW DELHI (AP) - Hindu priests who look after the memorial of Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi conducted a purification ceremony at the shrine after a visit from President Bush.

But it wasn't the president who offended them, it was the sniffer-dogs who scoured the area ahead of his visit.

After the dog visit, the memorial was cleansed with water brought from the Ganges river, which Hindus consider holy, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Sunday.

Bush visited the memorial on Thursday during his three day visit to India. The site, where pacifist icon Gandhi was cremated, is considered sacred and all visitors, including Bush and his wife Laura, removed their shoes before going in.

The dogs, flown in from the U.S., were part of the intense security surrounding the president, but the Hindu priests believe they tainted the site.

Letting dogs into the memorial also drew sharp protest from Hindu politicians and Gandhi's great grandson, Tushar Gandhi, who called the incident a ''national shame,'' the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

we know Bush offended them as much as the dogs . . .

[Dem2theMax]

1. More than the dogs. MUCH more.

There isn't enough holy water in the world to cleanse what * has sullied.

[Hardrada]

4. Bush actually makes me ashamed of my species

and genus. Evolution has certainly not gone far enough if throwbacks like that get "elected."

[Erika]

2. W's Will will be done

It is a national shame.

[Drum]

3. I wish they had not let the dogs in

(even tho I love those beagles.)

[shenmue]

5. I can't wait...

until we get to purify the entire U.S. by his sorry ass leaving office in 2008.

[ClayZ]

9. This country could use a good smudging

http://www.asunam.com/smudge_ceremony.html

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. " it wasn't the president who offended them, it was the sniffer-dogs" ???

.
.
.

ummmm

The sniffer dogs did this on their own ?

I don't think so

Most trained dogs do the will of their masters

And that would be

WHO?

Can't el Pretzeldent or his minions understand and respect the values of ANY country and it's religions?

That's a rhetorical question btw

(sigh)

[rpannier]

7. I've been to India

the Ganges is a pretty foul smelling river. I'm not sure that water would purify it. Unless by purify they mean spread botulism.

[TahitiNut]

8. I hope we can get them to make a service call in January 2009.

Maybe they can bring a tanker-full of Ganges River water up the Potomac.

[upi402]

11. LOL - and maybe a paddle

we'll need it

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. How do you cleanse anything with water from the Ganges?

It's one of the most polluted rivers on the planet; full of lovely stuff like raw sewage and incompletely cremated human corpses from the burning ghats, not to mention chemical runoff from tanneries.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

12. It's polluted, but it's still holy...

I can't believe they frickin took dogs in there. What a disrespectful move.

At least the water will cover up the stench of boooosh. :puke:

[TahitiNut]

13. It's still cleaner than Junior. (You don't buy the dog excuse, do you?)

:evilgrin: :silly:

[Nutmegger]

14. * corrupts all the land he steps on.

I know * offended them.

[The Pain]

15. Ok, this topic is getting slightly idiotic

The dogs were bomb sniffing dogs, it is common practice to sweep the area before the president arrives.
They invited bush to visit, they should have known there would be dogs.

be angry at new Delhi's government, not Bush over this.

I mean yes it's a really easy joke to pull off about purifying somewhere after bush visits, but the truth of the matter it is really their fault for inviting him knowing what procautionary steps would be taken if they did.

my joke to add was "The hindu government added "It was because Bu... HIS dogs, the dog sniffers visited, yeah, that's why we cleansed it"

[Ino]

16. Maybe the dogs lifted their legs

They "marked" the shrines, and the monks are just too polite to say so.