Malaysians Celebrate Pangguni Uthiram Festival

SourceBATU GAJAH, MALAYSIA, March 27, 2005: Glittering chariots, carrying the statues of three Hindu deities, marked the colorful celebration of the Pangguni Uthiram festival beneath the glow of a full moon here on Friday night. Despite a delay of two hours caused by a downpour, thousands of devotees rushed to pay homage to the deities – Lord Ganesha, his brother…

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Fiji Hindus Object to Recent Violence

SourceNASINU, FIJI, March 29, 2005: Member of Parliament Pratap Chand yesterday warned the tolerance of the Hindu faithful was being stretched too far and could cause disunity between Fiji’s two major races. Mr. Chand was reacting to the break-in at a temple at Narere, Nasinu, last weekend where thieves climbed through a window and ransacked the temple. He said the…

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Hindu Temple Destroyed, At Least 17 Die in Pakistan Fighting

Indo-Asian News ServiceISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, March 21, 2005: Volunteers pulled out 17 bodies from the debris of a Hindu temple in Pakistan’s Balochistan province destroyed in fierce fighting between security forces and tribal fighters, news reports said Monday. More bodies were still under the temple debris in Dera Bugti town and efforts were on to take them out, Dawn quoted Mukhi…

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RSS Newspaper Charges “Conversion Menance” in Rajasthan

SourceDELHI, INDIA, March 6, 2005: Emmanuel Mission, an evangelical organization, covertly indulging in conversion activities cried wolf when caught by alert Bajrang Dal workers, according to this article in The Organizer, the RSS newspaper. In the name of Bible classes, the Mission has been ferrying people from all over India to Kota in Rajasthan, apparently for religious conversions. Rajasthan is…

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Church And State Collide Over Land

SourceU.S.A., March 20, 2005: A Hindu group had two options when they were told they could not build a temple in Apply Valley, California: Accept rejection or ask again. They decided on the latter. Following an impassioned appeal in early February, the Apple Valley Planning Commission agreed to rehear the temple project, which was approved this month. Had the city…

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Your Genetic Makeup May Determine Your Religious Inclination

SourceMarch 16, 2005: A new scientific study has revealed that there may be a connection between your genetic makeup and your inclination to live a religious life. The article explains, “The team gave questionnaires to 169 pairs of identical twins – 100% genetically identical – and 104 pairs of fraternal twins – 50% genetically identical – born in Minnesota. The…

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Banned Muslim Student Organizaton Threatens Yoga Teacher

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, March 20, 2005: Renowned yoga teacher Swami Ramdev has claimed that he has been threatened by the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). “I have received an e-mail asking me to restrain myself from teaching yoga to Muslims,” Swami Ramdev said on Sunday in the Capital at a well-attended Press briefing, a day prior to the…

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Indian Insitute of Technology Seeks to Bring Assam Tradition to Children’s Toys

SourceGUWAHATI, INDIA, March 17, 2005: Move over Spiderman and Batman, children in Assam could soon discard toys and masks depicting Western comic characters for those featuring figures from Hindu history. The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, has undertaken a project to popularize masks used in Assamese bhaonas, the collective name for the traditional plays introduced by saint-reformer Sankardev. The traditional…

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