SourceKOLKATA, INDIA, February 8, 2004: Calcutta’s High Court has passed a law banning any kind of caning of children in all state-run schools in West Bengal. This report also examines how five other capital cities in India are handling the issue of caning in schools. In Hyderabad, caning has been prohibited since 2002 after the Andhra Pradesh government examined a…
SourceSOUTH AFRICA, February 15, 2004: The Andhra Maha Sabha of South Africa has invited President Thabo Mbeki to be the guest of honor at its first Raam and Hari bhajana festival, writes Taschica Pillay. The festival, to be held at the Chatsworth Stadium from 5pm on Saturday until 6am on Sunday, will feature Raam bhajana groups, Hari bhajana groups and…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, February 9, 2004: During pre-Christian times many European countries practised the religion known as Paganism. In recent times, there has been a resurgence of this religion around the globe. Associated Press explains, “Wiccans consider themselves witches, pagans or neo-pagans, and say their religion is based on respect for the Earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons.” In…
SourceFREEMONT, CALIFORNIA, February 16, 2004: Seventy-seven teachers from Fremont union school district attended the “Hinduism Seminar” at Ardenwood elementary school, Fremont, according to this report from V. Murthy (“source”). He writes, “This seminar was organized by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and Indic Culture & Traditions Seminars (ICATS) at the invitation of one of their teachers, Sari Millard. Ms. Millard had…
The HinduNEW DELHI, INDIA, February 15, 2004: The Public Accounts committee (PAC), which recently visited the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala, was “horrified” at the inhuman conditions in which the pilgrims stayed there, and felt that the problems of pilgrims should not be looked at merely from the environmental angle, says this article in the Hindu. In its 63rd report,…
SourceBANGALORE, INDIA, February 8, 2004: Even as efforts are being made to make all public buildings and other places in the State accessible to the disabled, as mandated by the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, entry to temples has been overlooked. However, temples will soon be made disabled friendly. The office of the Commissioner for Disabilities has directed the Department…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, February 4, 2004: Rather than respecting other faiths, Christian fundamentalists have tried a different approach to undermining the Hindu faith. The article explains, “Christian zealots are claiming that the Vedic Sanskrit slogans were in praise of Jesus and not Hindu Gods. Pamphlets and booklets around Madurai district also make the ludicrous suggestion that Swami Vivekananda had asked the…
SourceSRI LANKA, February 5, 2004: Originally founded in 1953 by the late Srimath Mathaji Sachchithananda Saraswathy and later completely destroyed by Sri Lankan government forces in 1984, the Trincomalee Sivananda Thabovanam (Spiritual Orphanage) commenced a rebuilding process in 1998 under the supervision of Mr. Kuralamutham K. Vinayagasothy, managing trustee. The orphanage now houses two hundred children orphaned due to the…
United News of IndiaTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, February 14, 2004: While some 1.38 million people working in the Gulf region, mostly men, have made Kerala prosperous, it has also spawned a piquant problem of the “Gulf wives” — women who have been left behind to often single-handedly shoulder family responsibilities. Studies on the impact of Gulf migration show that the common complaints…
SourceNEW YORK, USA, February 12, 2004: A Hindu couple in the US have been permitted to fly a religious flag in front of their home as long as it is hidden behind some foliage. Florida residents, Chola and Leila Persaud had been slapped a notice of violation by the association in December 2003, asking them to remove the tricolored flag…