SourceNEW DELHI,INDIA, May 20, 2003: National and international debates on agriculture are increasingly talking of a new buzzword: agrobiodiversity (HPI’s translation: “the old way of doing things”). Diversity in agriculture can produce a variety of foods which are safe to eat and also provide fodder for farm animals. It is in contrast to the dominant viewpoint that you grow a…
SourceST. LOUIS, U.S.A., June 24, 2003: A judge has ordered 120 days in a prison boot camp for a young man who firebombed the Hindu Temple in west St. Louis County this year. Nathaniel Connor, 17, pled guilty Tuesday in St. Louis County Circuit Court of two counts each of second-degree arson and criminal possession of a weapon. Judge John…
SourcePORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS, June 25, 2003: The Hindu organizations of Mauritius are honoring Pujya Swami Purnanandji Maharaj for his 40 years of religious service to the county during a month-long celebration this June. His 75th birthday is being celebrated this month along with a whole series of activities. This program was initiated by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Sanatan Sarvodaye Sabha…
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…