SourceDELHI, INDIA, July 15, 2004: The Ministry of Non-Resident Affairs announced today in the Rajya Sabha that the net amount of remittances sent by NRIs from different parts of the world during 2003-04 was US$18,885 million in terms of private transfers as compared to $14,807 million US $ in 2002-03.
SourceLEICESTER, ENGLAND, July 17, 2004: A call has gone out for Leicester’s entire Hindu community to help create a magical time at a major festival next month. More than 10,000 people are set to visit Leicester for the Get Connected Extravaganza 2004 which will showcase every aspect of Hindu life. Launching preparations for the event yesterday, organizers called on the…
SourceAMRITSAR, INDIA, July 12, 2004: Kamal Kishore is out to prove that he can do the impossible. A devout Hindu, this 44-year-old handloom worker living in Amritsar has started a 675-km-run to the holy shrine of Amarnath, 12,500 feet above sea level. This would seem ordinary to most, but Kamal plans to achieve this feat in one week, clocking on…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, July 16, 2004: A leading footwear company of London, which displayed the sacred Om symbol on its sandals, has apologized to Hindus and withdrawn the sale of the product after the community members protested against the “insensitive” depiction. “I take this opportunity to apologize on behalf of Lacey’s Footwear for any offence or hurt the design on the…
ReutersKATHMANDU, NEPAL, June 23, 2004: Now a “sweating” icon of Bhima, the second Pandava, is troubling Nepal amid a bloody revolution launched in the name of the great Communist icon, Mao Zedong. The stone image began dropping ” beads of sweat” on Tuesday at the renowned Bhimeshwar temple in the eastern town of Dolakha that earlier served as a trade…
SourceJOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, July 12, 2004: South African children got a glimpse of Hindu rituals and the rationale behind them at a temple here in an event aimed at fostering cross-cultural understanding. Children of devotees at the Swaminarayan Temple joined many others, including some invited from homes in Gauteng, to share the diversity and depth of culture in South Africa.…
SourceJuly 11, 2004: An HPI reader sent us this article, but we have neither the author nor the original URL, except that it appeared on the Newindpress.com website. Some educated Indians think that science is at loggerheads with religion, relegating science to the laboratory and denigrating religion to the level of superstition. The attempt to propagate this ideology has far-reaching…
SourceSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, July 15, 2004: Bail was increased from $100,000 to $500,000 today for a man accused of stealing $2 million in jewelry and thousands of dollars from a temple, and now under investigation for theft of an assault weapon. James Gilbert Richards, 27, is charged with 49 counts, including burglary, possession of forged checks, possession of false identification…
SourceJAMMU, INDIA, July 14, 2004: The official Amarnath yatra began today and keeping in mind the immense security problems, the administration has deployed around 6,400 security personnel. Special commandos from the CRPF have also been deployed at the base camp in Jammu for the first time in view of definite intelligence reports that Muslim militants may try to target it.…
Religion News ServiceOTTAWA, CANADA, July 14, 2004: HPI found this interesting as it paralleled the recent situation at a Florida housing development over restrictions on the flying of Hindu flags, jandhis, as an observance of the Guyanese and Trinidadian Hindu residents. There are also significant communities of Carribean Hindus in Canada who might benefit from this ruling: Freedom of religion…