SourceKATHMANDU, NEPAL, August 18, 2004: An indefinite rebel blockade of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, has stopped food and other supplies reaching the city. Two major roads linking Kathmandu with the rest of the country are virtually deserted. There are few visible signs of the Maoists, but drivers are staying off roads through fear of reprisals. The Maoist demands include the…
SourceLONDON, UK, August 9, 2004: A Kashmiri pandits exhibition held recently in London by Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT), which through the film “Terrorism Unleashed” and exhibits highlighted the plight of Kashmiri pandits, has led to a fierce controversy. Francois Gautier, a journalist who lives in India, lamented the lack of response and interest in the Indian community and the…
SourceKAUAI, HAWAII, August 18, 2004: HPI reader Ranjit Arab point out that the article published in HPI August 16, “President Bush Incudes Hinduism In Comment on America’s Religious Pluralism,” summarized from the Los Angeles Times, incorrectly reports the exact words of the president. Instead of saying at the Beaverton, Oregon, meeting, “…you are equally American if you’re a Christian, Jew,…
SourceCHICAGO, U.S.A., August 9, 2004: HPI note: The following two summaries are from the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune, the city’s leading papers, on the same event, the dedication of the new Hindu temple: Hindus in Chicago have a good reason to rejoice. A US$15 million dollar temple now graces the area, and Readers Digest has called the…
SourceCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, August 9, 2004: For thousands of Hindus in the United States, a temple in Bartlett was transformed through age-old rituals into holy ground Sunday morning. “Before the ceremonies, it was just a structure, an architectural beauty,” BAPS Shree Swaminarayan devotee Uttam Dubal said of the building, part of a $15 million, 27-acre BAPS complex in Illinois. “Now the…
Religion News Service FLUSHING, NEW YORK, August 17, 2004: The next chapter of an entrenched legal battle for control of one of the largest Hindu temples in North America will be written in federal court. The twisting tale of the Hindu Temple Society of North America in Flushing, N.Y., is one of disputed bylaws, an authoritarian board of trustees and…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, August 13, 2004: Septuagenarian Guru Valmiki Banerjee is not a happy man these days. The doyen of classical dance is appalled by the denigration of art and culture in India. Referred to as the “Brahma of the dance world” by noted Odissi exponent Mayadhar Raut, Banerjee has been instrumental in introducing various dance techniques in ballets with…
Source LABASA, FIJI, August 17, 2004: A man who destroyed statues of Hindu Deities in a temple at Labasa earlier this month was yesterday granted bail by Magistrate Ramachandra Rudranathan. Onisivoro Tuiwainikai, 27, of Vunimoli, Labasa, pleaded not guilty damaging property, larceny and three counts of insult to religion. Tuiwainikai, who was represented by lawyer Harry Robinson, is alleged to…
SourceBEAVERTON, OREGON, August 15, 2004: This article in the Los Angeles Times reports on comments President Bush made during campaign meetings in Oregon. Excerpts: President Bush’s critics accuse him of wearing his religious faith on his sleeve. But this last week, the president more often seemed to be keeping it under a bushel. At town hall-style events from Niceville, Fla.,…
SourceBRISTOL, UK, August 16, 2004: A Bristol museum is hosting workshops this week that it hopes can help brothers and sisters realize their value to one another. The workshops at the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum will explore the ancient Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan, which celebrates the special bond between siblings. The festival includes the ritual tying a thread…