www.speroforum.com INDIA, May 25, 2006: India’s government has expressed displeasure over Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks alluding to religious intolerance and laws restricting religious freedom in the country, the Apostolic Nunciature has confirmed. India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma told the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s parliament, that his ministry summoned the charge d’affaires stationed at…
www.hindustantimes.com VARANASI, INDIA, May 13, 2006: Hindu religious leaders banded together during the Magh-Mela 2006 in Allahabad to petition the government to clean up the sacred river Ganga. Collectively these sadhus, sanyasis, dandi swamis, and saints decided not to bathe in the Ganga because of the pollution and they wanted promises from the government to “ensure cleanliness of the Ganga”…
HPI PUERTO RICO, USA, May 25, 2006: The Supervisory Chaplain of the Metropolitan Detention Center, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, has sent us a letter asking for contact with ministers of the Hindu faith there. The letter reads: “We are Chaplains from a Federal Bureau of Prisons in Puerto Rico, and we are trying to enhance new community relations. As part…
www.miami.com BOMBAY, INDIA, May 27, 2006: As this city of 16 million becomes the cosmopolitan main nerve of a booming Indian economy, real estate is increasingly intersecting with cuisine. More middle-class Indians are moving in, more of them are vegetarian, and the law is on their side. “Some people are very strict. They won’t sell to a non-vegetarian even if…
www.zeenews.com YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA, May 27, 2006: The Borobudur Temple, the largest Buddhist monument on Earth, was not affected by the powerful earthquake today that left thousands dead, local officials said. A mass of forbidding black stone, Borobudur was built in the 7th century by the Javanese rulers of the Syailendra dynasty and is one of Indonesia’s most popular tourist attractions,…
www.gulf-times.com KATHMANDU, NEPAL, May 25, 2006: Nepal has been declared a secular state by the parliament of the multi-party government that King Gyanendra handed power over to in April of this year. The announcement has sparked protests by thousands of Nepalis who want Nepal to remain the world’s only Hindu kingdom. Shiva Patel, a resident of Birgunj, said, “More than…
www.balagokulam.org DENVER, COLORADO, May 28, 2006: The remarkably successful quiz contest “Kaun Banega Ramayan Expert” (KBRE) is helping to fuel the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh’s (HSS), continuing pursuit of excellence in youth leadership, Dharmic education and service to society as it continues along its path as one of USA’s leading Hindu youth organizations. The results of the KBRE contest were announced…
www.mysanantonio.com SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, May 13, 2006: Hinduism has more influence in American culture than its relatively small membership would suggest, said an American-born swami who visited San Antonio’s Hindu temple last week. “It’s more widespread than you’d think,” said Satguru Bodinatha Veylanswami, 63, publisher of Hinduism Today magazine and head of 20 monks at a monastery on Kauai, Hawaii.…
timesofindia.indiatimes.com VARANASI, INDIA, May 25, 2006: Think of Vedic gurukuls and the mind conjures up an image of a Hindu purohit (priest) chanting shlokas, his batuks (disciples) repeating in unison. Not anymore. Keeping pace with the introduction of computers at every level of education, Vedic studies have just gone hi-tech. Varanasi, the seat of Hindu learning, is now producing GenNext…
www.rediff.com INDIA, May 23, 2006: (HPI note: This editorial piece by journalist Francoise Gautier comes at a time when India’s policy of “reservations,” or affirmative action, to benefit lower classes has become a national issue.) Excerpts: At a time when the Congress government wants to raise the quota for Other Backward Classes to 49.5 per cent in private and public…