(a) Whether Goddess Lakshmi in a museum in Australia has been defined in objectionable terms ;
(b) If so, the details thereof; and
(c) The action taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard?
(a) Whether Goddess Lakshmi in a museum in Australia has been defined in objectionable terms ;
(b) If so, the details thereof; and
(c) The action taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI JASWANT SINGH)
a) Recently, it came to the notice of the Government of India that in the Gold Museum in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, there were captions describing Goddess Lakshmi which were objectionable.
b) In the Simon Pavilion of the Gold Museum, on a panel on old Indian coins, adjectives such as `sensuous` and `seductive` were used while describing Goddess Lakshmi.
c) Our High Commission in Canberra did take up the matter with the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, Hon`ble Neil Andrew MP and with the Sovereign Hill Museums Association (the Gold Museum is an entity within the Association). The Museum authorities have now confirmed to our High Commission that the panel, where the objectionable descriptions appeared, was removed about a month ago and is not on public display any longer.