Christian Muthoot group issues circular discriminating Hindus

Muthoot group has issued, it is alleged, a circular which is intolerant in nature. It prescribes a dresscode for Hindus which is discriminatory in nature. It bans Hindu lady staff from wearing bindhi and sindoor which is of religious significance and also prevents staff from having sandalwood paste or Rakshabandhan. It should be noted that Muthoot group is run by a Christian family (Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church). See the alleged circular below and read additional information about the Muthoot Group.

The Muthoot Group is an 124-year-old business house based in India. It has interests in Financial Services, Information Technology, Media, Healthcare, Education, Power Generation, Infrastructure, Plantations, Precious Metals and Hospitality. The Muthoot Group operates in 23 states in India, and has a customer base of over 25 million. It is wholly owned and managed by the Muthoot Family.

The Muthoot family are Christians belonging to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, and is one of the most influential members among the Christian community in Kerala. M. G. George Muthoot, the third son of M. George Muthoot became the Trustee of the Malankara Orthodox Church in March 2007

Additional Details about the Group

The Group takes its name from the Muthoot Family based in Kerala. The Company was set up by Muthoot Ninan Mathai in 1887 at Kozhencherry, Kerala. It was then later taken over by his son M George Muthoot who incorporated the Finance division of the group which was until then primarily involved in wholesale of grains and timber. The company is now managed by the third and fourth generation of its family members.

Muthoot Finance falls under the category of Systematically Important Non Banking Financial Company (NBFCs) of the RBI guidelines. The company has more than 3,000 branches spread across 23 states of the country and is the largest gold loan company in India. Muthoot Finance is the largest Gold Loan NBFC and has the largest network of branches for a Gold Loan NBFC in India. 'Muthoot Gold Power' is the lifestyle product of Muthoot Finance aimed at mobilizing the Household gold in India which is estimated to be more than 15000 tonnes. Muthoot also provides various financial services such as Insurance distribution, Wealth Management, Foreign Exchange, Money Transfer and Vehicle & Asset Finance. Muthoot Finance was selected as one of the Top 10 Finance companies to work for in India by Naukri.com.  In terms of market capitalisation, Muthoot Finance is the second largest company in Kerala, first being Federal Bank.

http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=14662

Muthoot Group is one of the prime sponsors of Delhi Daredevils, the IPL team. High profile murder of Paul Muthoot had hit headlines couple of years.A recent circular issued by Muthoot group have now courted controversy because of its intolerant nature of strict warnings in the name of dresscode, which has been posted in one of the Malayalam website. (http://www.scoopindia.com/showNews.php?news_id=18855)

Attached the circular which is of self explanatory. The circular bans Hindu lady staff from wearing bindhi and sindoor which is of religious significance and also prevents staff from having sandalwood paste or Rakshabandhan. A large number of Hindus choose Muthoot branch to submit their Gold valuables when they are in need of financial resources.

It appears that, Dr. Subramanian Swamy has taken up this issue and sent a letter to the Muthoot management. [Link to Swamy's letter]. See the text below.
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/d15s1i

10th September, 2011.

To
Ms. Shiney Thomas,
Executive Secretary,
Muthoot Fincorp Ltd.
Muthoot Center
Punnen Road, Trivandrum.

Dear Ms.Thomas:

I am given to understand that you have issued a circular dated 17th March, 2011
resuring a dress code which discriminates against Hindu values and practices (see
enclosed).

If this circular is still operative, please let me know. As it stands, it is violative of a
Hindu's fundamental rights.

Yours sincerely,

(SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY)

 

Minor girls harassed by Bangalore Pastor

Pastor Shantaraju, who has been alleged by his wife of sexually explotiing minors, was arrested by the Gangammanagudi police on Saturday June 18 on charges of harassment and criminal intimidation of his wife.

Shantaraju's wife, Priyalatha had accused him of having sexual relationship with minor girls of Bethel Church and Bethel Student Centre at Jalahalli, and had even claimed that he was misappropriating the church funds.

Earlier, an 18-year-old girl at the centre had revealed to the police that the pastor was in a relationship with another girl and had even asked sexual favours from other girls at the center. He would take the girl inside his room and ask other girls to stand guard, she said. Another girl said that the pastor used to even take their photos on his cell phone without their permission and later morph them in obscene ways.

Priyalatha had also alleged that a girl at the centre had undergone abortion at the age of 16, and that there were other such girls too. He had threatened to kill her and their children, she had said in her complaint.

Source: IE

Social Service an excuse for Missionary work

In 2011, March, The department of child and women welfare secured over 29 children, who were kept at Ebenezer prayer hall at Haleyngadi railway gate without proper documents. The children were staying at the prayer hall, which is under Bethel Ministries, Bangalore. The hall was headed by Joy. He was assisted by his wife, Elizabeth, and their son, Joyal in running the centre.

While 18 of the children are from the state, seven are from Bihar and the rest are from other northern states. The incident came to light when locals complained to gram panchayat president Mahabala Salian that the prayer hall was letting out waste water in the surroundings. Mahabala Salian noticed that Children were living in a cramped hall and reported it to the Mulky police, Child Welfare Committee and Department of Women and Child Welfare officials.

The children, barring two, were boys aged between three and 15. One among the boys is 17 years old. A medical examination of the 11 year old minor girl showed that an attempt had been made to molest her. Based on that information Joy was arrested. There were no proper records of the children, no details of how they are being funded and the centre did not maintain books of account. According to the children, 80% of the children from North Karnataka were brought in by pastors. There were two Nepalese and six Mizo students from a theological college from Bangalore, who were at the centre engaged in teaching English and music.

The rescued boys are in Balakara Bhavan under the custody of the Child Welfare Committee. Girl children are protected in undisclosed location.

Bethel Ministries is a US based global evangelical organization committed to prayer, preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Internationally, this mission is accomplished through worldwide crusades with the help of foreign missionaries and the training of foreign nationals to reach the lost, within their own countries. Bethel also sponsors the building of churches, feeding and education of orphan children and the financial support of foreign missionaries.