SourceBHUBANESWAR, ORISSA, INDIA, September 3, 2004: The tiny toddlers in Orissa will no longer see a cane in the hands of their teachers as the State government on Thursday imposed a ban on corporal punishment in educational institutions. Chief Minister Navin Patnaik asked the officials of the school and mass education department to see that the children studying in government…
SourceNDIA, August 27, 2004: Gold has been treasured, sought after and coveted from the beginning of human history. It gave birth to the science of chemistry. To this day, it is the only guaranteed hedge against inflation in any culture anywhere in the world. In India, however, it is much more than just a precious metal. It is part of…
SourceCALCUTTA, INDIA, August 28, 2004: Puja organizers this year will have to pay a fee for immersing icons in the Hooghly, neighborhood ponds and lakes. The decision has been taken at a recent meeting between the police and the state pollution control board (PCB). Officials said the funds raised by Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) and other civic bodies around the…
SourcePUNJAB, INDIA, September 6, 2004: In Kapurthala district of Punjab, Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal is popularly called the “ecological saint.” Seechewal is on a unique mission to clean up the 110-mile-long Kali Bein rivulet and shore up its embankment. While the state government couldn’t afford to undertake the task due to the sheer scale of effort and resources required, 42-year-old…
SourceUSA, September 2, 2004: Skipping Stones: the multicultural magazine edited by a born-again Hindu, Arun Narayan Toke, is suggesting that educators, schools, institutions and communities everywhere observe September 11 as a Day of Dialogue; a day to acknowledge and celebrate our differences! Writes Toke: When we listen to others, when we know their stories, they are no longer strangers. Becoming…
SourceBALI, INDONESIA, September 2, 2004: Our thanks to Ved Chaudhary for supplying the contact information (“source”_ for the upcoming Hindu youth summit in Bali: The website announcement reads: Dear Hindu Brothers & Sisters all around the world. On behalf of the national committee of World Hindu Youth Summit 2004 , please let us inform you that you can check our…
Times News NetworkCHANDIGARH, INDIA, September 2, 2004: Respected as rakshaks (protectors) of the entire country, many of them did not sport a rakhi on Raksha Bandhan (festival in which sisters give their brothers a colored thread to wear around their wrist, symbolizing protection and the bond between them), fearing it would damage the secular fabric of the Indian Army. In…
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, August 30, 2004: With just over a month to go before polling day in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has found another issue to attack the Congress party- this time it is the alleged harassment of Bhajan mandals on Mumbai’s local trains by the city’s railway police. Shiv Sainiks sang the state song on a packed Goregaon-Churchgate local in…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, August 29, 2004: Some 180 young Hindus from around the world will meet in the Indonesian resort of Bali in November to set up a global secretariat that will seek to spread the virtues of the Hindu religion. The organizers include two young Balinese Hindus who are now here meeting community leaders in India to canvass support…
SourceJAMMU, INDIA, August 30, 2004: The 45-day annual Amarnath pilgrimage concluded on Monday with saints carrying the holy mace of Lord Siva reaching the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas. The charri mubarak, carried by around 500 saints led by its custodian, Mahant Deepinder Giri, reached the shrine, 143 km from Srinagar, around 0845 IST. A record 400,000 pilgrims undertook…