News

SourceWASHINGTON, D.C., August 9, 2003: A US-based human rights organization has claimed that religious minorities, especially Hindus, still face discrimination in Bangladesh even though the country has recently taken steps to protect minorities. Refugees International, in its recently published report, alleged that although Bangladesh provides for “freedom of religion,” religious minorities “face restrictions in areas such as access to jobs…

Religion WatchUSA, August 9, 2003: The American hotel tradition of placing a Bible in guests’ rooms is changing as these establishments broaden their menu of religious reading material to please the new diversity of guests. USA Today (July 10) reports that the Bibles placed in hotel rooms for over a century by the Gideon International ministry has become “an unwitting…

SourceMANJULI, INDIA, August 7, 2003: An ecological disaster looms over Manjuli, the world’s largest river island, located in the Brahmaputra river in India’s north-eastern state of Assam. Majuli is rapidly eroding away, threatening the lives of the 150,000 islanders. Environmentalists say Manjuli has shrunk by more than 400 square kilometers in the past three decades, reducing the island to two-thirds…

SourceDELHI, INDIA, August 9, 2003: The Coca-Cola Company in India posted test results from the TNO company in The Netherlands which show samples of their products to test within acceptable limits (negative, in nearly all cases) for dozens of pesticides, contrary to results released by a government laboratory in India. The reports are available at their website, “source,” above.

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, August 8, 2003: It is estimated that there will be 57 million diabetics in India by 2025. An Indian drug company has launched what it claims is Asia’s first vegetarian insulin. The new insulin is derived from yeast, as opposed to pigs or cows, as most insulin in India is at present. The company which has manufactured…

SourcePATNA, INDIA, August 5,2003: The Mahapatra brahmins of Sahupura village in Buxar district of Bihar are finding that they are virtual untouchables in their own land. They perform cremation rituals and their very appearance at a doorstep is considered a bad omen.”We used to knock at the door of a house only when there was a death in the house…

SourceNASIK, INDIA, August 4, 2003: The Kumbha Mela, among the largest gatherings in the world, besides attracting devotees, sadhus and exotica-seekers, has its share of media adding to the crowd. There are at least five reporters doing live telecasts at any given point in time. The first to arrive was the NDTV outdoor broadcast van, which is not a van…

SourceSTUTTGART, GERMANY, August 2, 2003: A Ratha (chariot) festival was conducted for the first time in the streets of Stuttgart by the Hindu community on Saturday, August 2. Many German residents of the city stretched their necks out of their windows, unbelievingly, as hundreds of Hindus pulled the Elephant God on a holy vehicle through the streets. For nine days,…

SourceUSA, August 7, 2003: For a free space view of Mount Everest, click “source” above. Also available is a dizzying 3D fly-over of the world’s highest mountain.

SourcePORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD, August 4, 2003: Three Hindu women have created a record when they read the holy Ramayana for five nights at a Ramayan Yagna hosted here. The all-women panel read from the Ramayana at the religious ceremony hosted by the Hindu Prachar Kendras Ninth Annual Tulsidas Jayanti Festival here. The triad included Mayaanti Maharaj, Gita Ramsingh and…