Mauritius Ends Visa Requirement for Indian Citizens

SourceKOLKATA, INDIA, September 23, 2004: Mauritius has scrapped the visa system for Indian tourists from next month to give a fillip to tourism. “We have taken this very important decision to abolish the visa system for all bona fide Indian nationals willing to visit Mauritius, and this law will be effective from October,” Mauritius Tourism and Leisure Minister Anil K.…

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Samskrita-Bharati Conducts Residential Samskrit Camp In USA

SourceHOUSTON, TEXAS, September 20, 2004: To propagate Samskrit, Samskrita Bharati recently organized Mandakini, a Samskritam Sambhasan Shibharam, residential samskritam conversation camps in Boston, San Jose and Houston. There were various sessions with emphasis on spoken Samskritam. Through activities such as conversation, singing, enacting small skits, chanting and writing, the camp provides opportunities to connect to the roots of all Indian…

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Federal Court Rules Against New York Ganesha Temple Board

SourceNEW YORK, NEW YORK, September 23, 2004: A federal court ruled against the board of the Hindu Temple Society of North America in Flushing, concluding that the state court did have authority to restructure the temple’s governing body. Judge Raymond Dearie issued the decision late last Wednesday night, two weeks later than originally anticipated. What began as an internal dispute…

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Pakistan Hindus Protest Violence and Abductions

The Pakistan NewswireLARKANA, PAKISTAN, August 28, 2004: A meeting of the Hindu leaders, hailing from eight Districts of Sukkur Region including Larkana, was held here on Friday in the Hindu Dharamshala and reviewed impact of the kidnapping of Santosh Kumar, President Hindu Punchayat District Larkana, abduction of 13-years-old Kapil Dev s/o Ramesh Kumar President Hindu Punchayat Shahdadkot, torturing of Dr.…

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Florida Hindu Family Observes Sacred Thread Ceremony

Florida Times-UnionJACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, September 1, 2004: (HPI note: This is a small item carried in a local newspaper giving an account of a Hindu sacred thread ceremony. These are useful reports in educating the local community about Hindu customs and traditions.) Tushar Chakravarty has a unique experience to share with his classmates at The Bolles School. Over the summer, the…

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World Record for Surya Namaskar

SourceGWALIOR, INDIA, September 19, 2004: A unique world record was created when around 15,000 children from 180 schools gathered in Gwalior and performed surya namaskar, “sun salutation,” the famous hatha yoga sequence of postures or asanas. The children performed all the 12 asanas of the surya namaskar taking the salutation count to an astronomical 180,000. The event was organized by…

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Peace March in Kathmandu

SourceKATMANDU, NEPAL, September 21, 2004: Thousands rallied for peace in the heart of Nepal’s capital on Tuesday, pleading for an end to the Maoist insurgency that has killed more than 10,000 people in this Himalayan kingdom. Buddhist monks and Hindu priests chanted religious songs while schoolchildren joined artists, teachers, lawyers, doctors, journalists, human rights activists and business executives at the…

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Hindu Temple in San Fernando Valley Opposed

SourceRESEDA, CALIFORNIA, September 21, 2004: Efforts by the San Fernando Valley’s largest Hindu congregation to expand its temple have hit a wall of opposition from neighbors, who say the site is woefully short on parking and will bring too much traffic to the residential area. Residents near the Valley Hindu Temple, on Roscoe Boulevard near Rhea Avenue, are fighting the…

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Movie on Migration of Indians to British Guiana Premiers in New York

SourceHOUSTON,TEXAS, September 22, 2004: A long awaited, off-beat, intense and much anticipated historical film about Indian, European and African indentureship and slavery in British Guiana during the early 1800s, Guiana 1838, is ready for its premiere in New York on September 24-26. The movie, inspired by true events, is written, directed and produced by Rohit Jagessar, a US-based Guyanese, owner…

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Egyptian Cleric Says Yoga is Against Islamic Law

SourceJERUSALEM, ISRAEL, September 20, 2004: The growing enthusiasm for yoga in Egypt has received a setback with a mufti reportedly issuing an edict declaring it un-Islamic. The edict signed by mufti Ali Gomoa, considered the highest theological authority, says that “yoga is an ascetic Hindu practice that is forbidden for use in any manner — neither for exercise or for…

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