SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, May 30, 2005: Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists today took to streets here against the Jammu and Kashmir state government’s decision to impose registration tax on the Amarnath pilgrims. The annual pilgrimage is due to begin in three weeks. Jammu and Kashmir government has recently decided to impose registration tax on the pilgrims. Last year, around 300,000 devotees…
SourceCARY, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES, 2 June, 2005: Recently, the Triangle’s (a several-county area which includes Raleigh) growing South Indian population took a symbolic step toward creating a more permanent spiritual home. North Carolina’s largest Hindu temple is rising on a 9-acre plot in western Cary. Sri Venkateswara, the God of wealth and well-being, will soon reside in a US$1.5…
SourceLONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, June 1, 2005: The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) concluded a series of interactions with Hindu organizations based in the U. K. and the U.K. Government’s Home Office. In its efforts to understand the challenges faced by Hindus in the U.S.A. and the U.K., a series of meetings were held with several Hindu organizations in the U.S.A. and…
SourceMASSACHUSETTS, USA, May 22, 2005: The Hindu community of Massachusetts held a grand celebration dedicated this year to all Mothers and Motherhood (Matritva) on May 21, 2005. The day, proclaimed Hindu Heritage Day by the Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and the Mayor of Marlboro Dennis C. Hunt, attracted over seven hundred people from twenty organizations participating in what has become…
SourceDURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, May 30, 2005: Today South Africa mourns the loss of one of her most popular sons. Renowned percussionist Magendran Moodley, 38 years old, passed away after a courageous 12 year battle with cancer. A worthy torch-bearer of the rich cultural legacy left behind by his late guru Shri Gopalan Govender, Magendran forged a magical musical path of…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, May 22, 2005: The London Sri Murugan Temple, in Manor Park, east London, welcomed its first devotees at 0600 BST on May 22. According to this BBC report, it has taken almost five years to complete with money raised entirely by those who will worship there. The temple, which is expected to attract hundreds of followers daily, has…
SourceETAUNJA, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, May 28, 2005: In today’s jet age when one hears of things like people praying to a banyan tree, it is believed as superstition. But to the villagers of Etaunja, some 40 kilometres from Lucknow, things certainly are different. The residents of this village have been praying to a 250-year-old banyan tree for generations. They believe…
SourceNEW YORK, USA, May 18, 2005: A former American practitioner of yoga has cast the fitness regime in a narrow Hindu religious context and offered a “Christian alternative” says this article in the Hindustan Times (based on a report in Christianity Today magazine). “From experience I can say that yoga is a dangerous practice for the Christian and leads seekers…
SourceMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, USA, May 27, 2005: The Mayans of Guatemala – representatives of the Maya civilization that flourished during the first millennium AD in Central America – believe their ancestors came to this part of the globe 20,000 years ago from the East. One of the most dominant ethnic groups, Kekichi Maya, has always had special attraction for India in…
SourceWINNIPEG, CANADA, May 24, 2005: A man who moved to Canada from India with just $8 in his pocket is now giving C$1 million (US$794,000) to the new Hindu temple and community center in Winnipeg. Raj Pandey came to Canada in the early 1960s to get his master’s degree on a scholarship at the University of Toronto. He’s now a…