SourceDENPASAR, BALI, December 12, 2003: Dozens of students of an elementary school on the island of Bali fell into a trance this week, before they were “exorcised” by local Hindu priests. Teachers and priests said on Thursday that the school’s failure to conduct certain rituals, and make offerings to appease troubled spirits, was to blame for the incident, says this…
SourceBHUBANESWAR, INDIA, December 13, 2003: A court in Orissa has admitted a petition seeking a ban on the making and selling of vulgar devotional songs on Hindu God Jagannath, presiding deity of the State. The Sri Jagannath Sanskruti Surakhya Parisad, which aims to promote Oriya culture and tradition, has filed the public interest petition in the State’s High Court. Petitioner…
SourceDHULIKHEL, NEPAL, December 14, 2003: A statue of the Goddess Brahmayani, which was stolen a few days ago, has been found lying at the local Tribeni Ghat in Dhulikhel, reports said Friday, and it has been handed over to the police. The theft of the ancient icon caused considerable consternation.
SourceRAWANG, MALAYSIA, December 14, 2003: The Divine Life Society, Bandar Country Homes Sub-Branch is organizing a youth yoga camp for December 27 and 28, 2003, at the National Secondary School, Tasik Puteri, Bandar Country Homes, Rawang. Topics include Creative Meditation for Students, Parents Responsibility and Moral & Ethics, Basic Hinduism and Guru Worship, Motivation and Time Management and other subjects.…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, December 13, 2003: This report from the Times of India reads: “Gujarat remains an ‘ongoing genocidal project’ largely funded by the saffron pound through a growing network of increasingly innocent-sounding, small, UK-based Hindutva organizations, a new report has warned the British government. The report, written and researched by nine women jurists and academics across six countries, was launched…
SourceBANGALORE, INDIA, December 13, 2003: Mizoram is set to become the first state in the country to ban the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture and encourage organic food produce. “I have asked the government to introduce a legislation in the forthcoming Assembly session to ban fertilizers and pesticides and encourage organic food,” Mizoram Governor A R Kohli told…
SourceRISHIKESH, INDIA, November 18, 2003: “It’s dusk. the air is filled with 200 voices chanting Hindu scriptures to the beat of clapping hands. I am sitting on marble steps facing the holy river Ganges. In the fading daylight, the pewter-colored water reflects some tiny, fist-sized ‘boats’ that carry brightly flickering candles down the fast flowing river,” begins this article by…
SourcePANAUTI, NEPAL, December 11, 2003: The ancient icon of Brahmayini in Panauti, about 40 km to the east of Kathmandu, has been stolen for the second time, the Rising Nepal newspaper said Thursday. The icon was lifted Tuesday evening after curfew was over, the daily quoted police as saying. The icon was reinstated seven years ago after having been stolen,…
SourceSEATTLE, WASHINGTON, December 12, 2003: This Reuters report reads: “Microsoft Corp. said on Friday that its latest version of Office software inadvertently contained a font featuring two swastikas, and said it would offer tools to remove and replace the offending characters from the program. The swastika, which was made infamous by Nazi Germany, was included in Microsoft’s ‘Bookshelf Symbol 7’…
SourceKONARK, INDIA, December 7, 2003: The Konark dance festival in Orissa once attracted a huge number of tourists. But attendance is poor despite its awe-inspiring setting. An open air theater with the famous Sun Temple as its backdrop has been the site of the Konark Dance Festival organized by the government for the last 14 years. The idea is to…