New Swaminarayan BAPS Temple Opens in South Africa

SourceJOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, September 13, 2004: More than 5,000 Hindu devotees from all over the world gathered at Lenasia, the huge Indian township south of here, to celebrate the inauguration of the first Swaminarayan Temple in South Africa. More than 200 followers from the US, the UK, Canada, Kenya and Tanzania joined devotees from all over South Africa as a…

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Udayan Care Holds Induction Program For Children

SourceDELHI, INDIA, September 20, 2004: Udayan Care (“source” above), is an NGO that is striving hard to work for the cause and betterment of lives of underprivileged children, reads this press release. It goes on: Under its aegis, comes the voluminous Udayan Shalini Fellowship Programme. The genesis of this program has been for giving Fellowships to disadvantaged girls. These girls…

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Vedic Foundation Actively Promoting Hindu Dharma

SourceAUSTIN, TEXAS, September 17, 2004: Teaching seminars on “The Greatness of Hinduism,” presenting knowledge about authentic Hinduism at the annual Hindu Students Council retreat, meeting with Congressmen, speaking at youth summer camps, and providing hundreds of people with educational publications were some of the activities of The Vedic Foundation (“source”) this summer, begins this news release. The foundation also traveled…

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Swami Agnivesh, Asghar Ali Engineer to Receive “Alternative Nobel Prize”

SourceHYDERABAD, INDIA, September 20, 2004: Two distinguished Indian religious figures, Swami Agnivesh and Asghar Ali Engineer, who have worked unceasingly for social justice and communal harmony for more than two decades, have been selected for the 2004 Right Livelihood Honorary Award, popularly known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize.” Baron Jakob Von Uexkull, Chairman of the Right Livelihood Awards Foundation, announced…

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Ganesha Chaturthi Festival Celebrated

SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, September 18, 2004: Hindus here today chanted hymns and beat drums to celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi, the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God. During the ten-day festival, icons of Ganesha, easily one of the best-loved Gods in the Hindu pantheon, will grace Hindu households all over the country. “We have been preparing for this festival for over a…

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Rolling Saint Headed for Pakistan

SourceAMRITSAR, INDIA, September 16, 2004: Baba Mohan Das is rolling all the way to Pakistan, nearly 1,000 km from his hometown of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. The Baba is carrying the message of peace to the neighboring country. Once in Lahore, he plans to meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to congratulate him for the ongoing peace process. “I am doing…

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Reconversion Ceremonies In Orissa

SourceBHUBANESWAR, INDIA, September 17, 2004: Nearly 50 Christian families in the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district will be reconverted to Hinduism on September 19. The ceremony is being organized by the VHP. Baripada, the district headquarters of Mayurbhanj, was the home of the late Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his widow Gladys for a number of years. Dara Singh, main accused…

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Sikhs Against Golden Temple Becoming a World Heritage Site

SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, September 17, 2004: If Amritsar’s famous Golden Temple becomes a world heritage, Sikhs may lose control of their holiest shrine, warns a British human rights activist. The Golden Temple is being considered for inclusion on a UN list of the world’s most important places which could lead to the holy shrine becoming a world heritage, thereby becoming a…

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Manimahesh Yatra Formally Starts on Sept 15

SourceDHARMAMSALA, INDIA, September 15, 2004: The “chhari yatra” (holy mace) of the Manimahesh pilgrimage, popularly known as Manimahesh yatra, in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh will commence from the Yogi Charpat Nath temple in the Lakshami Narayan Temple complex in Chamba town today. The yatra will be led by the pujari of the Charpat Nath shrine and the holy dip…

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Madras High Court Ignores Request for Ban on Ganesha Processions

SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, September 17, 2004: The Madras High Court today ruled out a ban on Vinayaka Chaturthi processions and dismissed apprehensions of law and order problems as “doubts based on surmises.” Passing orders on a public interest litigation petition seeking to bar the manufacture of large-sized idols using plaster-of-paris coated with chemical-based paints, a Division Bench comprising Justice N. Dhinakar…

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