Hindu Slokas and Mantras are being copied ("plagiarized") and reproduced as  Christian songs. This is a form of theft, of the wealth of Hinduism and is happening in many Indian languages (Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu etc). We petition to create a new law to protect sacred Hindu texts from such "plagiarism".

Hindi Translation:
अब हम हिंदू भक्ति गीतों से चुने गए कई ईसाई गीतों को देखते हैं। ये यूट्यूब जैसे लोकप्रिय प्लेटफार्मों पर व्यापक रूप से उपलब्ध हैं। हम हिंदू शास्त्रों की रक्षा के लिए भारत सरकार को एक नया कानून बनाने की मांग करते हैं। हम यह भी मांग करते हैं कि मीडिया इस मुद्दे पर बहस करे।

Tamil Translation:
இந்து பக்தி பாடல்களில் இருந்து திருடப்பட்ட பல கிரிஸ்துவர் பாடல்களை இப்போது நாம் காண்கிறோம். இவை Youtube போன்ற பிரபலமான தளங்களில் பரவலாக கிடைக்கின்றன. ஹிந்து வேதங்களைப் பாதுகாப்பதற்கு ஒரு புதிய சட்டத்தை உருவாக்க இந்திய அரசாங்கத்தை நாங்கள் கோருகிறோம். இந்த விவகாரத்தை ஊடகங்கள் விவாதிக்க வேண்டும் என்று நாங்கள் கோருகிறோம்.

Telugu Translation:
మేము ఇప్పుడు హిందూ భక్తి పాటల నుండి దొంగిలించబడిన అనేక క్రైస్తవ పాటలు చూస్తున్నాము. ఇవి యూట్యూబ్ వంటి ప్రసిద్ధ వేదికలపై విస్తృతంగా అందుబాటులో ఉన్నాయి. హిందూ గ్రంథాలను కాపాడడానికి ఒక కొత్త చట్టాన్ని రూపొందించడానికి భారత ప్రభుత్వం డిమాండ్ చేస్తున్నాము. ఈ సమస్యను మీడియా చర్చించాలని కూడా మేము డిమాండ్ చేస్తున్నాం.

Here are a few examples:

Kanda Shashti Kavasam: sung on Lord Murugan, a very important deity in Tamil Nadu. Original Kanda Shasti Kavasam by Soolamangalam Sisters is here. Here is a Christianized version named “Andhoniar Shasti Kavacham”.

Venkateswara Suprabatham: A song to wake up Lord Vishnu in the morning. Here is a popular rendition by Bharat Ratna MS. Subbulakshmi Suprabhatham. Here is a Christian version called "Yesu Suprabatham" (Listen carefully to the Christian words). Google search reveals several videos on Youtube. This is being done in all Indian languages (Sanskrit, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi etc).

Why is this issue important?

1. This is a similar to "plagiarism", where one person steals the language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions of another person. Here Christians are stealing and misusing the sacred texts of the entire Hindu religion. Currently, Hindus have no way to protect their scriptures from this rampage.
2. This is being used to create confusion about the origin. For example, pseudo scholars assert that Thirukkural (a classical Tamil text) was based off the Bible, even though as a literary work, it is much older. Some also falsely claim that the Rig Veda (the oldest Veda) includes mention of Jesus.
3. By changing the words, and corrupting the meaning, these sacred texts are being used to promote other religions. This distorts the intentions of the original creators of these scriptures.
4. The Hindu text belongs to the world in the original form. We have saved these texts for thousands of years, and we should continue to save it for future generations.
   

    

What is the solution?

We need to create a new law to protect all ancient Indian sacred scriptures including: Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, tribal, etc The next question is: what kind of law will this be? We need to think creatively to come up with a solution. To start with, here are few examples of laws from around the world:

1. The idea of Copyleft is used in Open Source Software. Creations under Copyleft can use the software, but have restrictions on modifying the source code. Similarly, we believe everyone is free to read and enjoy Hindu scriptures, but do not have the right to modify it into non-Hindu religious text.
2. The idea of Copyright: in Great Britain, you cannot copy the “The King James Bible” because the copyright is owned by “The Crown”. In India, Christians are free to copy, and convert all Hindu slokas, mantras. Is this fair?

Start the conversation with friends and family. And more than that, we need to ask the media to discuss and debate this important issue.

Is this against Christians?

No. This is not about Christians, this is about protecting Hindu scriptures for the future. We think many Christians will support this petition.

What can we do?

1. Sign this petition.
2. Find more examples of such Youtube videos and provide link below.
3. Share this petition with your friends and family. Discuss about this.
4. With 1 Crore signatures, we can get media to debate this issue and ask Government to take action.