www.hindustantimes.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 30, 2005: For those who believe that corruption in India is almost an industry, here’s proof, begins this article in the Hindustan Times. A survey conducted by Transparency International India (TII) says Indians paid bribes amounting to US$4.8 billion (Rs 21,068 crore) in the past year. And no one would have guessed it, but the…
www.sibernews.com PARIS, FRANCE, July 2, 2005: Expatriate Tamil activists in France held an awareness vigil in front of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters in Place de Fontenoy, Paris, at 10 AM Friday urging UNESCO to safeguard the cultural heritage of Tamils in their homeland against unlawful and politically motivated erection of Buddha statues in Hindu temple…
nknaidu@connect.com.fj NADI, FIJI, July 1, 2005: The Sri Siva Subramanya Swamy Temple here begins preparations for its 12th year Maha Kumbabhishekam scheduled for July, 2006, with the Balasthapana Puja. “Balasthapana Puja” is for taking the shakti (spiritual power) from “sthoopi” i.e. the upper most part of the gopuram (temple tower) and from all the respective Deities for bringing that shakti…
www.indianexpress.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 30, 2005: Vegetarians travelling on Virgin Atlantic (VA) flights might have been misled into eating chicken and fish toppings served in the ‘Hindu Meal’ they ordered. Vipul Shah, a vegetarian, was shocked when the Hindu meal he ordered on his VA Washington-Mumbai flight came topped with what he calls a ”big smelly part.” The flight…
southasia.oneworld.net ANDHRA PRADESH/KARNATAKA, INDIA, June 30, 2005: Seers from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are planning to launch a drive against untouchability. Seers and sadhus will join hands cutting across community lines to spread the message of equality. They will campaign to allow people from weaker sections to perform puja worship in village temples. As a result, all the 32,000 small…
news.webindia123.com KARACHI, PAKISTAN, 29 June, 2005: The Evacuee Trust Property Board Of Pakistan (ETPB) has set aside a sum of US$2 million for the regular upkeep of Hindu and Sikh shrines in the country. The condition of Hindu temples in areas like Jacobad in Sindh is very poor, including the famous Katasraj Temple, which is in a dilapidated condition and…
www.vedantasociety-chicago.org CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, June 30, 2005: As part of the celebrations of its Platinum Jubilee, the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago held a conference on “Vedanta For The Global Village” at the Vivekananda Monastery & Retreat in Ganges, Michign, June 24-26. Thirteen swamis of the Ramakrishna Order and over 350 devotees participated in the 3-day event. The conference, which was…
www.navhindtimes.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 1, 2005: Many people in the United States dropped out and turned on in the 1960s as the country became involved in the Vietnam war and major cities became engulfed by race riots. Rampuri went a big step further — he disappeared into rural India and became a naked sadhu. For 21 years he wandered…
Religion News Service WASHINGTON, D.C., June 30, 2005: The U.S. Supreme Court’s ambiguous, split decisions on Ten Commandments displays has left everyone from community activists to lawyers grappling over what happens next. One religious leader sees a legal opening to erect scores of new Ten Commandments monuments across the country while an atheist group says the rulings give it license…
abcnews.go.com WASHINGTON, D.C., June 27, 2005: The US Supreme Court struggled in a pair of 5-4 rulings Monday to define how much blending of church and state is constitutionally permissible, allowing the Ten Commandments to be displayed outside the Texas state Capitol but not inside Kentucky courthouses. In its first rulings on the issue in a quarter-century, the high court…