It is not often that decorating a roof draws accusations of racism, but that is the charge facing an Auckland family after they painted a Hindu religious symbol on top of their house.
Lindsay Johnston's father fought in the second World War. Lindsay was outraged to drive past the Mt Roskill house and see what he considers a Nazi swastika.
"Well obviously anything to do with the Nazis or the Germans was a definite no-no and I think it's very offensive for all the returned men and for the Jewish community," Lindsay Johnston said.
But for Kerin and Ambrish Gupta, who arrived from India eight years ago, the symbol is a sign of their religious devotion. And they are horrified that the symbol has caused offence.
"We had no idea that it still had such bad connotations 60 years after the war," they said.
The swastika has been used by Hindus for thousands of years to denote peace, tolerance and good fortune.
It was in the 1920s that Hitler hijacked the emblem for his Nazi party.
The swastika originally appeared without the extra tails on the corners. They were added after a visit from local MP Phil Goff.
"I've now changed the symbol to make it look more like the Hindu version and less like the Nazi version," Kerin Gupta said. "I hope this keeps everybody happy."
The Guptas hope that New Zealanders will in time become more familiar with the true meaning of their symbol, especially in their suburb of Mt Roskill.
source: newshub archive
