WINNIPEG, CANADA, August 29, 2004: Mahatma Gandhi’s long walk through history has paused in an unlikely spot, the central Canadian prairie city of Winnipeg. A life-size statue of the “father of the nation” complete with his signature walking cane, has arrived in central Canada to become the showpiece of a new Museum for Human Rights. The 500-kilo bronze statue created by Ram Vanji Sutar, whose sculptures of Gandhi are displayed around the world, was presented by the Indian government and is the museum’s first exhibit. “Gandhi is first on the list of the greatest people involved in the human rights movement in the past century,” said Naranjan Dhalla, who helped organize the exhibit. His likeness was unveiled Friday and put on display at a downtown Winnipeg park, where it will remain until the museum opens nearby in four years. “It is a great tribute not only to Mahatma Gandhi, but also to the whole of Indian culture, which preaches tolerance, truthfulness and non-violence,” said Pratap Singh, spokesman for India’s high commissioner to Canada. “He embodies all of these values, and so having a place for him in a museum of human rights in a multicultural and multiracial society like Canada is a great honor.” Singh said his country has been trying to eradicate these problems since establishing a human rights commission in 1993. He also charged that most countries still struggle with human rights issues.

DELHI, INDIA, August 30, 2004: The Department of Posts has released a postage stamp today in commemoration of India’s Heritage in Grammar and Mathematics which was influenced by the accomplishments of Panini, one of the greatest grammarians of all time whose work revolutionized the use of language not only in India but also in the rest of the world. The stamp is in the denomination of Rs. 5. Panini, whose lifetime was believed to be between 520 BC and 460 BC, was born in Shalatula, a town near Taxilla on the Indus river in the present-day North-West Province in Pakistan. Panini’s brilliant account of the structure of the Sanskrit language seeks to provide a complete, maximally concise and theoretically consistent analysis. It unfolds a theory of human language where the infinite language is generated by finite grammar which modern linguistic acknowledges as the most complete, generative grammar of any language yet written.

DELHI, INDIA, August 30, 2004: Delhi’s Municipal Corporation has given the go-ahead to the second phase of privatization of cremation grounds in the city. The move, they expect, would put an end to the harassment that people have to put up with while performing the last rites at crematoriums. Complaints had been received about people being harassed by officials over policies and being over-charged while buying wood for pyre. In the first phase of privatization over 18 crematoria had been handed over to NGOs and private societies. Encouraged by the good response, the MCD’s standing committee last week gave approval to the second phase of privatization under which the maintenance of 13 cremation grounds and three electric crematoria will go into the hands of private players.

NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 5, 2004: “A large number of CD’s are being sold in the market today which portray the Hindu Gods and Goddesses in an extremely indecent manner, and I have appealed in writing to the President of India, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Chief Minister of Haryana and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha to immediately ban the sale of such CD’s.” This information was given to the HPI correspondent in a telephonic interview by Shri Mahesh Chand Sharma, former Mayor of New Delhi and president of the Bhartiya Janata Party’s [BJP] cell responsible for cultural, literary and welfare activities. According to Shri Mahesh Chand Sharma, certain cassettes and CD’s with titles such as Ramayan, Geeta, Siva Marriage, Krishna Leela and other Hindu religious titles portray half-clad Hindu Goddesses in dance and song sequences. Says Shri Sharma, “Not only are these obscene CD’s openly sold, they are also being shown in parts on certain cable channels.” Shri Sharma, went on to state, “Initially the production of such CD’s started in the state of Harayana in the Haryanavi language but gradually other versions are also coming out.” Strongly condemning this wrong trend of making mockery of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in the name of parody and comedy, Shri Sharma says, “Production of such obscenity is unfortunately the handiwork of some misdirected youth who want to make a quick buck and want to become rich overnight. It seems there is some mafia behind the financing and production of such insulting stuff. Hindu organizations and intellectuals must come forward and condemn the making of such CD’s and requisite legal action must be taken against the people indulging in such vulgarity.”

DELHI, INDIA, September 2, 2004: Pilgrims and regular travelers will be delighted to use the comprehensive schedule of India’s railways now posted on the Internet for the first time. Click “source” to go to the site.