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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
SourceOREGON, USA, Friday, September 10, 2004: Jayanthi Ramana’s operatic Indian classical ballet was highly appreciated among Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s 10-day unorthodox international performance fare, the Time-Based Art Festivals. “Gajamukha,” Raman’s ballet devoted to elephant-headed Hindu deity Lord Ganesha, steeped in antiquity and ecstatic dance form Raman presented stretch back 2,000 years, all night temple rites with movements set…
SourceBURTON UPON TRENT, ENGLAND, September 18, 2004: The following request has come from Syd Bill, convenor of this event: We are arranging the launch of Burton upon Trent Inter Faith Network, on October 10, 2004. Although I have local Hindu friends, I am having difficulty in a) finding a Hindu speaker to give his/her thoughts on inter faith dialogue, and…
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, September 4, 2004: (HPI note: This book review appears in the Organizer, the main publication of the RSS). In February of this year in Godhra in Gujarat, a Muslim mob set railway carriages on fire and some 57 men, women and children, reportedly Karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, were charred to death. The reaction was swift and equally brutal.…
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…
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…