SourceNASHIK, INDIA, June 24, 2003: Nashik and Trimbakeshwar are currently in the midst of intense activity as they prepare for the thousands of pilgrims anticipated for the Sinhashtha Kumbha Mela or the Festival of the Nectar of Immortality. Over 2,500 people are working in three shifts to erect 35,000 sheds on 840 plots, each 4,000 sq. ft in area, at…
SourceVIENNA, AUSTRIA, June 20, 2003: Mr. Ashok Kaushal, a Hindu living in Vienna, Austria, has been refused by Austrian authorities to register himself and his son as Hindus. Mr. Kaushal, born in India as a Hindu has been living in Austria more than 15 years and is an Austrian citizen. When he recently had to reregister his documents in Vienna,…
SourceSOUTH AFRICA, June 24, 2003: South African President Thabo Mbeki has been invited to that country’s first Hindu convention later this year. Ashwin Trikamjee, president of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha, said the September convention would focus on the challenges facing Hindus in post-apartheid South Africa. “Our objective is unity among all Hindu organizations. We need to have a…
SourcePURI, ORISSA, June 22, 2003: The elephant will no longer be used as part of the age-old rituals in the annual rath yatra (car festival) of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, which begins on July 1. The temple authorities have decided to break with the tradition of an elephant leading the procession of the Puri king from his…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, June 22, 2003: The London Examination Board has agreed that the belief in the “Divinity of man” is the central concept of Hinduism, replacing the belief that the hereditary caste system was the “central” belief of Hinduism. “Even at short notice the board has agreed that our candidates do not have to answer questions on caste [on the…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, June 14, 2003: Srimati Basu, anthropology professor at DePauw University, U.S., has been tackling the complex system of dowry, explaining its origins and why it is still perpetuated in East Indian culture. Basu calls dowry the Indian women’s oppression under patriarchal systems and says that it is expanding into all communities in India. Families with daughters have…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, June 17, 2003: It often takes a tragedy of magnitude to call attention to a matter of grave importance. Ramu Abhinav’s suicide in Chennai has alerted the human rights commission in Tamil Nadu to demand a full investigation into the circumstances. It is too late for 16-year old Ramu whose suicide note indicated that he was fed up…
SIFY NewsASSAM, INDIA, June 14, 2003: It is common practice in East Indian culture for couples to have their astrology done to see if they will be compatible in marriage. However Goswami, a resident of Assam, feels that the public should be aware that it would be in their best interest if the potential couple go for a blood test…
SourceINDIA, June 13, 2003: In 1998 H.H. Chidananda Saraswati (Pujya Muniji) traveled to the holy land of Mansarovar and Mt. Kailash, in Tibet, with H.H. Swami Gurusharananandji Maharaj and H.H. Sant Shri Rameshbhai Oza. While there he saw the desperateness of the local situation; there were no medical facilities for hundreds of miles. People frequently suffered or even died from…
SourceJOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, June 15, 2003: The long abandoned Tolstoy Farm in Johannesburg, established by Mahatma Gandhi to promote the philosophy of Satyagraha, peace and harmony, is to get a fresh lease of life with a group of Indian-origin youth volunteering to restore it. The farm, situated about 45 km east of Johannesburg, has become run down and was abandoned…