SourceLONDON, UK, February 19, 2005: Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, visited the Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden, north London, and made a pitch for ethnic minority votes in the forthcoming British general elections. Kennedy slightly offended orthodox Hindus by making an overtly political speech (mostly about Iraq) at a semi-religious function whose main purpose was to hand over…
SourceHYDERABAD, INDIA, February 16, 2005: A reversal of medical tourism now has Americans making a beeline for India, seeking the latest and cheaper treatments, begins this article. Until recently, it was the other way round, with Indians rushing to the US for better cure facilities. However, with the state-of-the-art medical procedures, equipment and facilities now available in India, patients from…
SourceCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA, February 18, 2004: Indian Spiritual leader, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Ammachi), who is in Colombo on a three-day visit to console thousands of tsunami victims, has pledged to build 300 houses for the tsunami survivors. Ammachi, well-known for showering divine love on everyone equally through her embrace, yesterday arrived in Sri Lanka on the invitation of the…
SourceLUCKNOW, INDIA, February 18, 2005: Reconversion is back in focus after a VHP-affiliated outfit organized a “purification camp” for Dalit and extremely backward caste Christians in western Uttar Pradesh this week, reports Telegraph India’s special correspondent. Over 3,000 people from more than 17 villages of Etah district have been reconverted to Hinduism over a period of time, prompting Aloke Sinha,…
Religion News ServiceWASHINGTON, D.C. February 18, 2005: More than 1,000 people in America alleged abuse at the hands of 756 Catholic clergy in 2004, the nation’s Catholic bishops said today, a sign that the three-year abuse scandal continues to rock the church. In addition, officials said various dioceses paid US$157.8 million for abuse settlements, therapy and legal fees last year.…
SourceTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, February 17, 2005: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has agreed to provide a special package for the Ayyappa temple in Kerala’s Sabarimala hills and to convert it to a national pilgrimage center, the temple authorities said. According to them, Singh, who met Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president G. Raman Nair on Tuesday, also accepted an invitation to visit the…
SourceAUSTIN, TEXAS, February 17, 2005: The Hindu Community has taken a major step to bring a temple to Austin. It took a long time planning and securing money for the land but on Wednesday the ground was broken in East Travis County. The groundbreaking ceremony was three years in the making. But Austin’s 11,000 Hindu families now have 76 acres…
Rajiv Malik, HPI Correspondent,NEW DELHI, February 16, 2005: “It is unfortunate that due to some constitutional anomaly in India the minorities through their educational institutions can teach the children their concepts of one prophet and one text but we are not allowed to impart the liberal teachings of Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma through the schools and colleges run by us.”…
SourceKALMUNAI, SRI LANKA, February 16, 2005: Sporting a mark on his forehead to ward off evil, the infant known for two months as “Baby 81” was handed over Wednesday to his joyous parents, who had fought for custody ever since the tsunami tore him from his mother’s arms. Four-month-old Abilass, whose name is rooted in the Sanskrit word for aspiration…
SourceKOCHI, INDIA, February 14, 2005: The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on Monday said there has been “abnormally high” growth of Christian population in the North East, especially in districts bordering Bangladesh, and the commission had sought details from the Christian leadership. While the proportion of Christians in India has remained the same for both decades– 1991 and 2001 at…