SourceASSAM, INDIA, March 5, 2004: The plight of captive elephants in the north-eastern state of Assam is a sad one. Before 1996, elephants could work in the timber industry and earn US$900 to $1,000 a month. A 1996 court ruling limiting the felling of trees for the logging industry has left most captive elephants out of work. Of the estimated…
SourceONTARIO, CANADA, May 12, 2004: This report was issued by Gospel for Asia, a Christian missionary organization which reports instances of “persecution” of Christians worldwide. Those that deal with India are, to HPI’s experience, often difficult or impossible to verify. This one, complaining about enforcing visa regulations, is titled “Long-Time Missionary Ordered to Leave.” The report states: “Jim Borst, has…
SourceDEOPRAYAG, UTTARANCHAL, INDIA, May 7, 2004: A massive landslide from mountains overlooking the hilly route to the twin Hindu holy pilgrimage destinations of Badrinath and Kedarnath in Uttaranchal has left hundreds of pilgrims stranded. Though no casualties have been reported, state authorities have halted traffic along the hilly route as rocks and boulders continued to fall. Brought about by unexpected…
SourceWASHINGTON, U.S., April 28, 2004: Tamil language and culture will soon be taught at the prestigious Yale University, one of the Ivy League institutions in the U.S. This was announced at a reception by economics professor T.N. Srinivasan, chair of the South Asian Studies Council at Yale University. He said a number of South Asian languages, including Bengali, Urdu, Hindi,…
SourceWASHINGTON, D.C., May 8, 2004: A group to further understanding of Hinduism and promote its ethos of tolerance and pluralism has been launched in the United States. The Hindu American Foundation would provide a voice for the two million-strong Hindu community in the US by interacting with government, media, think-tanks and the public about the religion and issues concerning them,…
SourceKAUAI, HAWAII, May 9, 2004: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher of Hinduism Today magazine, will visit Hindu temple communities in the US states of Georgia and Maryland in late May, and Ohio in early July. Your family and friends are cordially invited to attend the following public events where you can enjoy Bodhinatha’s darshan and words of wisdom. May 26-29: Atlanta,…
SourceTIRUPATI, INDIA, May 5, 2004: The Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala reopened this morning after it was closed last night for the lunar eclipse. According to the age-old temple customs and rituals, on any eclipse, either solar or lunar, the Hindu temples would be closed till the eclipse was over. The temple sources said the lunar eclipse commenced at 12:38…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, May 3, 2004: Close on the heels of the “World Dance Day,” there is good news for the Indian classical dance. Bharata natyam and kathak are among the South Asian dances that have been introduced as part of the BA undergraduate dance curriculum at the prestigious London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS). The course is the first of its…
SourceAHMEDABAD, INDIA, May 7, 2004: What is an ABCJ? What would a Jain do if all his friends in the US ate meat? Should a Jain invest in companies that produce non-Jain products? If these questions baffle you, they have also left the young generation of Jains across the world perplexed. The questions are similar to many facing young Hindus…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, April 28, 2004: British school students should be taught the basics of the country’s six principal religions: Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Buddhism, as well as Christianity and Judaism — states a report by the government’s curriculum and examinations watchdog. Education Secretary Charles Clarke said: “Religious education plays an important part in our children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural…