Delaware Temple Dedicated

www.delawareonline.com HOCKESSIN, DELEWARE, USA, May 27, 2006: Priests invited Lord Siva into the Delaware Hindu Temple on Tuesday night. And in a few moments, 60 worshippers were reciting the God’s name more than a thousand times. By Sunday night, the names and attributes of Siva will have reverberated in the temple more than 10 million times. If that seems like…

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Pondicherry Petitions for Name Change to Puducherry

www.pib.nic.in NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 26, 2006: The Union Cabinet today approved a proposal to introduce a Bill in Parliament to change the name of the Union Territory of Pondicherry to “Puducherry.” The People of Pondicherry have been demanding renaming of Pondicherry to Puducherry as the territory was known in ancient times. It came to be pronounced as Pondicherry by…

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South African Hindus Want Marriage Act Amended

sify.com DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, May 29, 2006: Durban: Hindu leaders in South Africa have asked the government to amend the country’s Marriage Act to accommodate customs and practices of the religion. The call followed an application by one Suchitra Singh to the local High Court for recognition of her Hindu marriage to Jailall Ramparsadin Durban 18 years ago. Singh, who…

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Trinidad Judge Rules Nation’s “Trinity Cross” Award Discriminatory

By Paras Ramoutar TRINIDAD, May 29, 2006: Indo-Trinidadians have scored a resounding victory against racism and discrimination in this oil-rich Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as they celebrate the 161st Indian Arrival Day, May 30, 2006. After several years of battle, Justice Peter Jamadar, a Presbyterian, has ruled that Trinidad and Tobago’s premier national award, “Trinity Cross,” is discriminatory against…

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Java Hindu Temple Site Closed After Earthquake

www.thestar.com PRAMBANAN, INDONESIA, May 29, 2006: Indonesia’s earthquake badly damaged the famous Prambanan temple complex, sending intricate stone carvings crashing to the ground and destroying years of restoration work in less than a minute. Recognized as a UN world heritage site, the 9th-century Hindu temple and the nearby Borobudur Buddhist complex are respective reminders of the rich past of the…

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Indian Government Upset With Pope’s Comments

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…

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Hindu Religious Leaders Lobby for Clean-Up of the Sacred River Ganga

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”…

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Puerto Rico Prison System Seeks Hindu Chaplain

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…

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Meat Eaters Increasingly Unwelcome In Upscale Bombay Housing

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…

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Java Quake Spares World’s Largest Buddhist Monument, But Ancient Hindu Temple Compound Suffer Damage

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,…

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