in.today.reuters.com BANGKOK, THAILAND, March 21, 2006: A mentally-ill Muslim smashed a landmark Hindu statue in central Bangkok which was worshipped by people of many religions and was then beaten to death, police said on Tuesday. Thanakorn Pakdeepol broke into the shrine housing the four-faced Deity statue of Brahma, venerated by Hindus as the creator and to whom people prayed for…
www.courier-gazette.com PLANO, TEXAS, March 12, 2006: Just months after a prayer meeting got the ball rolling early last summer, a new Hindu temple will be established in Plano this week. The final steps in the installation of the deity will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Sri Ganesha Temple at 910 W. Plano Parkway. “The discussion…
www.hindujagruti.org MAHARASHTRA, INDIA, March 20, 2006: The web site at “source” states: “Are you aware of the fact that Maharashtra (India) government is about to pass a bill in this summer session starting on 13-Mar-2006? The (fake) Maharashtra Eradication of Black Magic, Evil and Aghori Practices Bill, 2005 (known as Black Magic Bill) has now been submitted to the Upper…
www.crosswalk.com USA, March 21, 2006: HPI found this report from a Christian news service remarkable not for the increase in percent of Christians among teens in Japan, but for the abysmal low numbers of religious people at all. Just 30% of adults and 20% of teens consider themselves “religious.” The same trend is found in Europe, but to a lesser…
www.hindu.com ERODE, INDIA, March 20, 2006: The fifth State Hindu Resurgence Conference organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Grama Koil Poojarigal Peravai has rejected varnashrama (system of four castes) and sought an end to the practice of untouchability. Addressing the conference at the CNC College grounds on Sunday, VHP international president Ashok Singhal said untouchability had no…
www.etravelblackboard.com CHALERMPHRAKIAT DISTRICT, BURI RAM PROVINCE, THAILAND, March 20, 2006: In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, mountains are believed to be homes to the Gods. Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung, a magnificent temple sanctuary set on the summit of Phanom Rung Hill, was built between the 10th and 13th centuries. According to the stone inscriptions in Sanskrit and Khmer found at…
www.mumbaimirror.com LONDON, ENGLAND, March 19, 2006: The BBC has said it paid an unspecified amount to settle a case filed by devotees of Hindu pontiff Jayendra Saraswathi against erroneous remarks by a leading Indian journalist in one of its radio shows. The remarks were made by Vinod Mehta, editor of Outlook magazine, in the BBC Radio 4 program called “A…
www.milkmiracle.com KAUAI, HAWAII, March 19, 2006: HPI note: A reader sent this link to a six-minute video of the 1995 “Milk Miracle.” The website introduction (borrowed mostly verbatim from Hinduism Today’s report at the time) reads: “Never before in history has a simultaneous miracle occurred on such a global scale. Television stations (among them CNN and BBC), radio and newspapers…
seattlepi.nwsource.com SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, March 8, 2006: This weekend brings to Seattle the fifth Vegfest, billed as the largest vegetarian festival in the United States. Last year, more than 9,900 people attended this celebration of meat-free eating, an increase from the 2,000 who came in 2002, its first year. The festival venue at Seattle Center is doubling in size this year.…
Hinduism Today CALIFORNIA, March 18, 2006: The following two articles announce the filling of two lawsuits in the California dispute over the presentation of Hinduism in new sixth grade social studies textbooks. For the full background, see the HPI reports here and here. The first lawsuit, by the Hindu American Foundation, has been expected following the adverse action of the…