SourceKOLKATA, INDIA, November 4, 2004: Chinese lamps have taken over the market of traditional Deepavali diyas (oil lamps) and candles in Kolkata. These “Made in China” bulbs are cheaper compared to the indigenous lights, and they are also available in a wide variety of designs like grapes, flowers and rice that give a psychedelic effect. This is affecting local artisans…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, November 4, 2004: Leftist parties have mounted pressure on the UPA government (ruling coalition led by the Congress Party) to impose a cess (tax assessment) on all religious institutions to fund rural development projects. The proposal is part of the Left’s tax-reform blueprint to be discussed with the government before the budget exercise for the next fiscal.…
SourceKATHMANDU, NEPAL, November 4, 2004: An Indian spiritual leader who has followers worldwide plans to reform Nepal’s Maoist insurgents with love and a breathing technique. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the 46-year-old founder of the Art of Living Foundation in India, who preaches conquering anger and other negative emotions through philanthropy and breathing practices, was in Nepal on a three-day visit…
SourceASSAM, INDIA, November 2, 2004: Monkeys lurking at an ancient Hindu temple in India’s northeast have attacked up to 300 children over three weeks, temple officials said Tuesday. “They hide in trees and swoop on unsuspecting children loitering about in the temple premises or walking by, clawing them and even sucking a bit of blood,” Bani Kumar Sharma, a priest…
SourceNEW YORK, U.S.A., October 24, 2004: East Indians immigrating to the U.S. usually bring Hindu caste traditions in some form to America, the land that the article says prides itself on its standard of egalitarianism. The article points out that the economic and religious foundation of the caste system dates back thousands of years to the origin of Hinduism. It…
SourceVRINDAVAN, INDIA, October 17, 2004: For three days in October a large gathering of Indian women met in Vrindavan to discuss the challenges facing women in India. Foremost on the agenda was female foeticide. Sadhi Ritambhara, also known as Didi Maa, delivered the following message in her speech, “The growing incidents of female foeticide are bound to create a great…
The Times (London)LONDON, ENGLAND, October 18, 2004: According to the article, Britain now has four million vegetarians and the market for this segment of the population generates over US$1.5 billion a year. With this in mind, the Food Standards Agency has been lobbying with supermarkets and manufacturers to establish rules for labelling vegan and vegetarian foods. Within a year the…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 28, 2004: In a new mantra for empowerment, many states from Kashmir to Bihar, are embracing English like never before, even if they have to make political concessions for it. Education in the Kashmir valley will never be the same again, as all government schools from this year onwards, have begun teaching English from Class I…
Associated PressBHUBANESHWAR, INDIA, October 22, 2004: (HPI does not endorse animal sacrifice in any way, but notes that 35 million animals a year are killed in US slaughter houses, a rate of 96,000/day — activity which does not generate condemnatory articles from the Associated Press.) Hindu devotees have sacrificed a total of 10,000 buffaloes, goats and chickens at the altar…
SourceKOLKATA, INDIA, September 20, 2004: It is not only the Durga icon or the pandals that fetched prizes this year during the Durga Puja festival – thanks to Finolex Cables. The company announced its Finolex Alok Suraksha Samman Awards to reward excellence in creative lighting and safety measures in the electrical arrangements in the pandals — and get some good…