When my neighbour Dr K S Rajah asked if I would like to join him at the new Hindu Temple in Oldbury for their Tamil New Year celebration, I had absolutely no idea what an exceptional building and strong community has been built. Led by determined trustees more than £8 million has been raised to build what has to be one of the most exciting buildings in England.
The community cohesion from the opening of the Sri Venkateswari (Balaji) Temple is remarkable, and its determined trustees most of whom are consultants in medicine, are to be congratulated on an extraordinary achievement.
I was joined at the Temple by Malcolm Harbour MEP and Cllr Deirdre Alden who is parliamentary candidate for Edgbaston. We were treated with the utmost respect, garlanded by the Trustees, given a delicious lunch - which was enjoyed by more than two thousand people - and introduced to the Indian Consul General. When asked to address the assembled company, Deirdre drew strong applause by recalling her visit to India when she and John were Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Birmingham a couple of years ago. Deirdre said that coming to the Temple really made her feel like she was back in India, and she was surprised and delighted to join their New Year celebrations, as was I.
The chairman of the Trustees Dr Rao informed us that the principle behind the Temple and Hinduism is that Unity is Divinity. Well, unity is critical to a cohesive society that welcomes and celebrates its diversity, and the Temple Trustees were right to draw attention to the similarity between the values of the Conservative Party and of Hinduism in family, respect, enterprise, toleration, and unity. I had been to several mosques and other places of worship before, but this Temple has a serenity and community to it that is quite remarkable. I'm looking forward to visiting again soon.
