Zuma Inaugurated As South African President After Sanskrit Chants

May 9, 2009

Author: Fakir Hassen

Source: The Gaea News

http://blog.taragana.com/n/zuma-inaugurated-as-south-african-president-after-sanskrit-chants-57666/

A Hindu prayer started off the inauguration of South African President Jacob Zuma at the Union Buildings here Saturday.

As Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari joined heads of state of 28 other countries, South African Hindu Maha Sabha president Ashwin Trikamjee recited a few lines in Sanskrit before translating them into English and making a plea for divine guidance to assist Zuma in resolving a range of challenges facing the country under his leadership.

The Hindu prayer was followed by similar ones from representatives of the Muslim, Christian and African Traditional Religion (ATR) faiths before Acting President Kgalema Motlanthe bestowed the country’s greatest civil honours, the Order of Mapungubwe, on Zuma.