Hamilton SpectatorHAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, February 21, 2004: When the Hindu Samaj Temple was destroyed in a case of hate-inspired arson after 9/11, the whole community suffered from the loss of a place to worship. Shortly after the calamity, the community pulled together and formed an organization called Strengthening Hamilton Community Initiative. The mission of the organization is to create harmony…
SourceYUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA, March 7, 2004: When the Hunji family arrived in California in 1950, there was no temple in the area. Now the Sri Narayan Hindu temple on Franklin Road is the place of worship for Hindus in the area. The Hunji family was instrumental in bringing the temple to completion in 1996. Hardial Hunji donated part of his…
SourceDURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, March 7, 2004: Thirty-four-year old Hindu Tamil priest, Guru Ravivasudevan Iyer, started using a computer software program about one year ago to assist devotees in predictions and advice about their personal karmas. The article says, “Instead of consulting the Panchangam, a Tamil astrological book, Guru Ravivasudevan Iyer bases his predictions on information contained in software called StardotStar.”…
SourceUJJAIN, INDIA, February 6, 2004: When the All-India Akhara Parishad decided to hold three Shahi Snans (“royal baths,” the biggest events) during Simhastha, the decision was amiable to all sadhus participating in the Kumbh. Shahi Snans will be held on April 5, April 22 and May 4 of this year. The article says, “All the 13 akharas of the country…
SourceAHMEDABAD, INDIA, March 18, 2004: This report from Christianity Today reads: “A fact-finding team of four U.S. congressmen has raised hopes among Indian Christian leaders fighting persecution. After a week-long tour in January requested by Indian Christians, Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) expressed shock at the persecution. ‘We are touched by the suffering of the Christian and Muslim minorities at the hands…
SourceEDISON, NEW JERSEY, March 11, 2004: The Township Council has sided with residents who fear a proposed Hindu temple in neighboring South Plainfield would disrupt their quiet neighborhood. On Wednesday night, council members cited traffic concerns, not religious denomination, in adopting a resolution in opposition to the proposed one-story, 14,000-square-foot temple. The International Swaminarayan Satsang Organization is seeking to build…
SourceVIJAYAWADA, INDIA, March 12, 2004: Tridandi Sriman Narayana Ramanuja China Jeer has said he will step up his Gita Dyoti campaign to protect the Hindu dharma. He is of the opinion that temples, particularly high revenue-earning ones like the Sri Venkateswara temple near Tirupati, had a responsibility to step up dharma prachar, preaching, “when the missionaries have stepped up their…
SourceIRELAND, March 12 2004: The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities hit out at any change in Irish law to stop the right of babies born in the Republic to automatic citizenship regardless of their parentage would be “xenophobic.” It is as yet unclear what the impact of a change in law would have for babies born in Northern Ireland,…
SourceNEW YORK, NEW YORK, March 7, 2004: In a school where most of the 200 or so classes are Wall Street-centric, Dr. Srikumar S. Rao’s course, called Creativity and Personal Mastery, is as unbusiness as business school gets, says this New York Times article. To Dr. Rao, 52, who has been teaching the course at Columbia Business School since 1999,…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, March 11, 2004: Foreign undergraduates, particularly Asian students, will outnumber their British peers at Oxford under proposals for a historic shift in the university’s role to safeguard its world-class status. According to plans drawn up by the university’s Governing Council, the British undergraduates will lose out to foreign undergraduates paying the full cost of their degree courses and…