The English Language and India’s Social Structure

SourceINDIA, APRIL 22, 2003: This lengthy article written by Sankrant Sanu begins, “India, like many other former colonies, suffers from a class-system based on knowledge of the erstwhile colonial language, which in the case of India is English. This class system has manifested as a reference and social status given to people that spoke most like their masters, with a…

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Six Million Nepalis Working Abroad

SourceKATHMANDU, NEPAL, October 19, 2003: There is no official record of how many Nepalis are living on other countries. Representatives of the nonresident Nepalis, using their own resources and means, have compiled these numbers on Nepalis living in foreign lands. There are 21 million Nepalese in Nepal, who are 89.5% Hindu. About five million Nepalis are estimated to be living…

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Hindu-Themed T-shirts, Caps and Clocks

SourceUSA, October 19, 2003: This unusual website sells a large variety of Hindu-themed merchandise, including t-shirts with slogans such as “Proud Hindu” and “We are all children of God.” They have similarly slogan-embossed coffee mugs, wall clocks, mousepads, lunchboxes, postcard and stickers. One set of items says, “Oh God, Lead us from untruth to truth. Lead us from darkness to…

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Karva Chauth Fast Popular Even with Teens

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 15, 2003: Hinduism Today correspondent Rajiv Malik reports from Delhi, “On Karva Chauth day, which was observed in North India on October 13 and 14, tens of millions of women keep a fast, taking neither food nor water, for the well being and long life of their husbands. The prominent government minister, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, dressed…

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Trinidad’s Divali Nagar Underway

Paras RamoutarTRINIDAD, October 15, 2003: An acclaimed folk group from the state of Rajasthan, India, will provide nightly performances at the 17th annual Divali Nagar for one week, from today. The group will perform at the Divali Nagar Centre, Endeavour Road, Chaguanas, until Thursday, October 23. Additionally, a pictorial exhibition on the theme of the child is being researched and…

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Three Thousand in Singapore Perform Fire Walk

SourceSINGAPORE, October 16, 2003: About 3,200 men made the ceremonial dash across a pit of hot coals at Sri Mariamman Temple yesterday, as part of the annual Hindu festival of Thimithi. The fire-walking festival has been held at the South Bridge Road temple since 1840. It is celebrated before Deepavali, which falls on October 24 this year. Hindus cross the…

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Mass Arrests in North India Over Ayodhya Rally

SourceAYODHYA, INDIA, October 16, 2003: Police in northern India continue to arrest thousands of Hindu activists even as efforts are under way to defuse tensions over their plan to rally near a controversial religious site, states this BBC article. The activists, who belong to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), are heading to Ayodhya, as part of a campaign to build…

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Bali Memorial

AAP NewsfeedBALI INDONESIA, October 12, 2003: On a mountaintop in Bali, the grieving and injured found some solace today from the horror of the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australian, a year ago today. For the 550 Australian survivors and family and friends of the dead, it was a time for both private mourning and tribal…

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Pakistan Hindus Celebrate Festival

The Pakistan NewswireKARACHI, PAKISTAN, October 9, 2003: The following report appeared on the Pakistan Newswire, which is essentially the government voice. “Sindh Minister for Excise and Taxation Rauf Siddiqui has said that it was the duty of every Muslim including rulers in Muslim countries to safeguard rights of minorities. He was addressing at a concluding ceremony of 295th year Sundrani…

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Texas School Article Clarification

HPIKAUAI, HAWAII, October 16, 2003: Arun Venugopal of India Abroad points out that yesterday’s article on Hinduism in American schools by Trisha Pasricha, age 14, was originally published in India Abroad. He says he was “amazed by the author’s writing skill.”

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