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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Muslim Woman Constructs Siva Temple in Varanasi

SourceVARANASI, INDIA, Mar 13, 2005: Exhibiting steely resolve, a devout Muslim woman has constructed a Lord Siva temple in this Hindu pilgrimage city as “ordained” by the God. “The Lord appeared in my dreams late last year and asked me to undertake the project,” Noor Fatmi, a widow and a practising lawyer, said. “Now my task has been accomplished, I…

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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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South Dakota Hindus Start Worship in Former Church

SourceELK POINT, SOUTH DAKOTA, USA, March 15, 2005: As far as Malathy Ramakrishnan knows, no immigrants from India live in Elk Point, a town of 1,800 people in the southeast corner of South Dakota. But that didn’t stop the Siouxland India Cultural Association from locating in the tiny hamlet. “We have a small community of Indians in this area that…

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Hindus Join Interfaith Meeting In New Zealand

The New Zealand HeraldMANUKAU CITY, NEW ZEALAND, March 21, 2005: A Sikh temple in Manukau City was the scene of a pioneering effort to bring races and faiths together at the weekend. Auckland leaders of Christian, Islam, Hindu, Baha’i, Sikh and Jewish religions shared the pulpit at the new Manurewa temple of the Sikh organisation Nanaksar Thath Isher Darbar. The…

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