MUMBAI, INDIA, September 18, 2004: Hindus here today chanted hymns and beat drums to celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi, the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God. During the ten-day festival, icons of Ganesha, easily one of the best-loved Gods in the Hindu pantheon, will grace Hindu households all over the country. “We have been preparing for this festival for over a month and half now. First we arrange for cultural programs to honor Him and then the decorations, etc.,” Dhiren Pathak, a devotee, said. Huge icons of Ganesha are made for the festival, some of them over 20 feet tall (six metres) costing up to US$2,273. Over 20,000 artisans get jobs in Mumbai alone before the festival each year. For years, Ganesh Chaturthi was a personal or private affair, celebrated within homes. But at the turn of the 20th century, freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak converted it into a public event, using it as a platform for political propaganda and unity.

AMRITSAR, INDIA, September 16, 2004: Baba Mohan Das is rolling all the way to Pakistan, nearly 1,000 km from his hometown of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. The Baba is carrying the message of peace to the neighboring country. Once in Lahore, he plans to meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to congratulate him for the ongoing peace process. “I am doing this rolling pilgrimage for world peace, end of terrorism and friendly relations between India and Pakistan. I started it from Hanuman Temple in Madhya Pradesh from January 20 onwards. I paid a visit to the Golden Temple. Now I want to continue my visit to Lahore in Pakistan,” he told reporters after visiting the Golden Temple. He is popularly known as Ludkan Baba because of his unique style of rolling. So far, the Baba has traversed 2,500 kms without injury. Be it the monsoon rains or the desert heat, through blisters and ecstasy, amid adoring crowds and speeding traffic, the Baba rolls on and on. During the rolls, the Baba does not eat and only takes sips of water or smokes an occasional cigarette. Earlier, the Baba rolled for 3,000 km to the Vaishno Devi shrine and got his name registered in the Guinness Book of World Records.

BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, September 17, 2004: Nearly 50 Christian families in the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district will be reconverted to Hinduism on September 19. The ceremony is being organized by the VHP. Baripada, the district headquarters of Mayurbhanj, was the home of the late Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his widow Gladys for a number of years. Dara Singh, main accused in Staines’s murder, also used to operate in the area and was eventually arrested in the district. As per the provisions of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act (OFRA), Christian families have submitted affidavits stating their intention to change their religion. “It will be wrong to describe it as reconversion,” said VHP state secretary Gouri Prasad Rath. “We call it homecoming.” Launching an attack on the district administration, Rath said, “When we organize a home-coming ceremony, we have to follow all the provisions of the OFRA. But when these gullible people were converted to Christianity, no permission was required from the district administration.” Meanwhile, Christian leaders in the state have voiced their protests against such reconversions. They allege partiality on the part of the district administration in enforcing the provisions of the OFRA. “While the district administration deny permission to those seeking to change their religion to Christianity, they readily grant permission to the so-called ‘home-coming’ ceremonies,” said a Christian leader.

LONDON, ENGLAND, September 17, 2004: If Amritsar’s famous Golden Temple becomes a world heritage, Sikhs may lose control of their holiest shrine, warns a British human rights activist. The Golden Temple is being considered for inclusion on a UN list of the world’s most important places which could lead to the holy shrine becoming a world heritage, thereby becoming a Government of India property. Dr. Jasdev Singh Rai says if the move goes ahead, authority for the building will pass into the hands of the Government of India. He says it is a move that millions of Sikhs reject. Dr. Rai plans to legally challenge such a move. “If all else fails then we will go to the courts to ensure that ultimate control of the Golden Temple doesn’t pass to the Indian Government,” Dr. Rai said.