Nearly 15,000 Indians settled in Moscow and the organizers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) situated there are worried at the prospect of the Indian Bhagavat Gita being branded as an extremist literature and facing a legal ban in the next few days.

The Russian state prosecutors have filed a case in Siberia’s Tomsk city court seeking to get the Russian translation of Bhagavat Gita As It Is written by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the ISKCON, declared as extremist literature. They have also sought a ban on the distribution of the book on the Russian soil and a declaration citing it as ‘spreading discord’ among people.

The court will deliver its judgment on Monday and the Hindus living in Moscow are apprehensive of the court banning Bhagavat Gita, the ultimate sacred scripture for the Hindus in India and abroad.

The Hindus have already appealed to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the issue with his counter part during his present Russian tour.

After the case has been filed, the court has sought the opinion of the Tomsk State University which, the Hindus and the ISKCON aver, is not qualified to give its expert opinion on the sacred text.

“Based on the university’s advice, the court is likely to give its verdict against the Bhagavat Gita and ban its distribution in Russia,” said ISKCON organizers in Moscow. (JUBS)