RSS Spokesman Encounters Controversy at University of Pennsylvania

SourcePHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, USA, October 5, 2004: (HPI note: This article contains the usual list of accusations against the RSS, India’s largest social service organization. We’ve included the entire article so readers know how it was reported.) Despite numerous attempts by the University of Pennsylvania community to rescind his invitation, Ram Madhav, spokesman for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, addressed a select…

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Hinduism Third-Largest Religion in UK

SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, October 11, 2004: Christianity is the main religion in Great Britain begins this government census report. There were 41 million Christians in 2001, making up almost three quarters of the population (72 per cent — down from 97.4% in 1900). This group included the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales, Catholic, Protestant and all other…

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Annual Hindu Festival Canceled In Edison

SourceEDISON, NEW JERSEY, October 8, 2004: A Hindu festival that has drawn tens of thousands of Indian-Americans to Edison annually for the last 15 years has been canceled by its organizers who said yesterday they don’t have enough money to cover the cost. Held in a massive tent in a parking lot at Raritan Center, the nine-night event had become…

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The Floral Festival Of Hindu-Muslim Unity

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 7, 2004: A Muslim shrine, a Hindu temple and an ancient palace are being decked with millions of flowers as a special three-day festival of Hindu-Muslim unity begins in the Indian capital Thursday. Phool Walon Ki Sair (meaning “walk of the florists” in Hindi) is a festival that has continued from the time of India’s medieval…

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Linguist Says Indian English Will Come To Dominate the Language

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 10, 2004: Indian-style English will soon become the most commonly spoken form of the language globally, a leading British language expert has predicted. “Already, a third of Indians are speaking the language, a percentage expected to rise in coming years. With the Internet spreading English like no other tool ever, and Indians at the forefront of…

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Gurjar Hindu Union Creates Temple

SourceCRAWLEY, UNITED KINGDOM, September 6, 2004: This August, the Hindu community in Crawley celebrated Shila Nyas (foundation stone laying ceremony) at the recently purchased 2.9 acre site at Appletree Farm in Ifield, Crawley. The site will accommodate the first Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre (SMCC) in the South East of England. Over 500 people including local dignitaries and members of…

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UK River Approved For Ash Scattering

SourceLEICESTER, ENGLAND, October 11, 2004: There are no temples or funeral pyres on its banks, but the River Soar in Leicestershire has been approved as an alternative holy site to India’s Ganges for Hindu funerals. After requests from the Asian community of 250,000, the Environment Agency has approved ceremonies in which the ashes of dead Hindus and Sikhs are scattered…

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Virginia’s Festival of India Grows Each Year

SourceRICHMOND, VIRGINIA, October 7, 2004: The Festival of India has moved from John B. Cary Elementary School to the Arthur Ashe Center to the old Richmond Centre to the Richmond Coliseum and now to the Greater Richmond Convention Center. That’s the difference between attracting about 1,500 people throughout a weekend as the festival did in its early years, starting in…

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Tamil Literary Festival Begins in Jaffna

SourceJAFFNA, SRI LANKA, October 10, 2004: First day of the Tamil Literary Festival-2004 organized by the Cultural section of the Northeast Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs started at 8.30am at the Jaffna Hindu Ladies College Hall, Saturday, civil sources in Jaffna said. Provincial Director Mr. R. Visakalingam presided. Students of Jaffna Hindu Ladies College sang a welcome…

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Kashmir Towns Get Renamed

SourceKASHMIR, INDIA, October 8, 2004: After forcing out minorities from the Valley of Kashmir, the fundamentalists have changed the names of many places including those of the towns, villages and even of the roads.These towns also include Anantnag which has been renamed as Islamabad; in Baramulla, the Ranghat Mohalla has been given the name of Sayeed Karim Sahib; while Post…

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