sify.com KABUL, AFGANISTAN, September 18, 2007: More than 100 Afghan Sikhs, the country’s smallest religious group, marched through Kabul with a corpse on Monday to protest attempts by Muslim villagers to stop them from cremating the body. Police later detained six of the Muslim villagers who had tried to prevent the cremation, a police officer said. One of the Sikh…
www.telegraph.co.uk UNITED KINGDOM, September 9, 2007: Ministers paved the way for more State-funded Muslim, Sikh and Hindu schools yesterday with a pledge to remove “unnecessary barriers” to religious groups. Ed Balls, the children’s minister, said additional money would be made available to allow the hundreds of private religious schools to convert to the state sector. It is thought the move…
www.newkerala.com CHENNAI, INDIA, September 15, 2007: Hindus in Tamil Nadu celebrated Vinayaka Chaturthi, birthday of Lord Ganesha, with religious fervour by invoking the blessings of the elephant-headed Deity. Special poojas, abishekams and Maha Ganapathy homam were performed in various temples of the state. Hundreds of devotees visited temples and offered worship. The innumerable temples of the Deity were tastefully decorated…
www.ibnlive.com PUNE, INDIA, September 16, 2007: It’s not just Indians who are celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi today. Meet Kimjoe, a South Korean student from the University of Pune who eagerly jots down a list of supplies for puja as she prepares for a Ganapati sthapna in her house. Fascinated by the festival’s grandeur, Kimjoe and her friends decided to make this…
www.rediff.com CHENNAI, INDIA, September 15, 2007: (HPI note: We run this piece just to show that the “Aryan Invasion” theory, in its original form as a violent incursion, remains a factor in Indian politics where some consider it fact.) Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Saturday cautioned the Centre against paying heed to “religious fundamentalist forces” on the Ram…
www.saharasamay.com MUMBAI, INDIA, September 15, 2007: Millions of people here are celebrating the Ganapati festival, a 10-day event beginning today that will see groups across the city vying to create the most colorful and attractive marquees. At least 8,000 to 9,000 Ganesha Mandals (a temporary temple build on the sidewalk) have been formed in the city and on the final…
economictimes.indiatimes.com MUMBAI, INDIA, September 15, 2007: : The Ganpati festival is just a few hours away. Unlike last year when festivities were toned down in the aftermath of July 26 floods and the epidemic that claimed nearly 1,000 lives, Mumbaikars will celebrate the festival in full swing, albeit with their belts fully tightened. Prices of Ganesh Deities and other important…
News Report MAURITIUS, September 15, 2007: HPI has learned that heavy rains near Grand Bois caused the collapse of the 108-foot tall Ganesha (see yesterday’s HPI) as it was being paraded to the seashore. The water-soaked statue collapsed into a mass of hundreds of pipes, metal bars, wood and the plaster of Paris coating. The debris blocked the road for…
ibnlive.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 13, 2007: When they think of India they think of Gandhi and Taj Mahal, but when they think of Pakistan they think of nuclear, poverty and cricket, the people across the world said in a survey conducted by BBC. In the survey conducted on the socio-economic perception on India and Pakistan after 60 years of…
News Report MAURITIUS, September 13, 2007: Volunteers helped by a team of craftsmen from India have constructed a 108-foot statue of Drishti Ganesha in this small village of Grand Bois in the south of Mauritius. The work, which has been supervised by Biswas Beeharry, has taken about a month to complete. It has been made from plaster of Paris coated…