news.in.msn.com CHENNAI, INDIA, December 28, 2007: Officials of the famous Meenakshi Temple in Madurai maintain that Delhi’s Akshardham is smaller than at least three different temple complexes in Tamil Nadu. “Madurai’s Meenakshi Temple and the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Thiruvannamalai are definitely larger temple complexes,” said B Raja, joint commissioner of the Meenakshi Temple. He pointed out that the outermost wall…
english.aljazeera.net NEPAL, Decemeber 28, 2007: Nepal’s provisional parliament has approved a motion to abolish the monarchy and declare the Himalayan country a republic. More than two-thirds of parliament voted to amend the country’s interim constitution. Friday’s vote ensures the king will be removed immediately after constituent assembly elections scheduled for mid-April next year. The agreement ended months of political deadlock…
english.aljazeera.net KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, December 27, 2007: A Hindu woman has had her attempt to stop her estranged husband from divorcing her in an Islamic court, and converting their youngest son to Islam, thwarted by Malaysia’s highest court. Subhasini also wants a divorce but says it should be decided in a civil court. The federal court rejected her request on…
news.in.msn.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 20, 2007: The Akshardham temple in Delhi has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the world’s largest Hindu temple complex. A senior official of the Guinness World Records Ltd travelled to India last week to present two world record certificates to the head of Swaminarayan Sansthan, Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Michael…
timesofindia.indiatimes.com PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD, December 26, 2007: Three Indian musicians will join the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Trinidad, from India to teach Indian music and dance forms to those interested in Indian culture. The three are dancer Pooja Malhotra, musicologist Raskia Ekbote, and tabla player Sangeeta Agrawal. The Mahatma Gandhi Institute, located in Caroni, central Trinidad, is a cultural organization promoting Indian…
mha.gov.in NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 27, 2007 (HPI note): Each year, the Government of India’s Ministry of Home Affairs releases a report (URL above) entitled, “Receipt of Foreign Contributions by Voluntary Associations.” Most of the donations go toward relief work, rural development, medicine and education. “Maintenance of priests/preachers/other religious functionaries” is 15th on the list of purposes, receiving $21 million…
www.hinduonnet.com KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, December 24, 2007: In the wake of protests by ethnic Indians over the demolition of Hindu temples in Muslim-majority Malaysia, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has ordered continuous monitoring of all Hindu shrines, a move to assuage the feelings of the community alleging their marginalisation in the country. The task of monitoring has been given to Works…
geongrid.geo.arizona.edu KAUAI, HAWAII, November 16, 2007: Kauai’s Hindu temple got a foundation built to last 1,000 years, and it just took longer to dry. Sure, builders love modern reinforced concrete which reaches full strength in two days, whereas the ancient fly ash concrete takes three months. Yet, the quick-curing concrete only lasts for decades, while the other lasts for millennia.…
www.hindu.com KUNMING, CHINA, December 23, 2007: Indian troops shared their expertise in yoga with their Chinese counterparts and learned martial arts skills from them on Saturday, the second day of their first-ever joint military exercise. It happened in the capital city of southwestern Yunnan province. The People’s Liberation Army men’s “Chak De, Chak De” cheers filled the air as they…
geongrid.geo.arizona.edu KAUAI, HAWAII, December 22, 2007: Hinduism Today magazine is seeking a writer to produce a feature story on the impact of sea level change on the Hindu religion. At the URL above is an interactive map showing the areas inundated by a one to six meter change in sea level. The task would be to ascertain what Hindu populations…