Source: Religion News Service OTTAWA, CANADA, March 5, 2003: Religious services in the Canadian armed forces are controlled exclusively by a few major Christian groups, discriminating against other faiths and minority Christian churches, a Pentecostal minister has charged in a human rights complaint. The forces have no Jewish, Hindu or Muslim chaplains, says Rev. Sheldon Johnston in the letter of…
GO TO SOURCE KATHMANDU, NEPAL, February 28, 2003: Bharat Keshar Simha, retired major general of the Royal Nepalese Army and honorary ADC to His Majesty the King, was recently elected unanimously as the president of the World Hindu Federation at their recent meeting in Gorakhpur, India. Asked whether the WHF, being a religious organization, can influence politics, Mr. Simha stated,…
GO TO SOURCE ST. LOUIS, UNITED STATES, February 23, 2003: Security is being stepped up for the Hindu Temple of St. Louis that was firebombed twice in a week. Federal agents are trying to determine if the attacks were youthful mischief or hate-fueled religious bigotry. No one was injured by the attacks as the temple’s massive metal doors blocked the…
GO TO SOURCE ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, March 1, 2003: The police and FBI are at a loss why a fire bomb was thrown at the Hindu temple in St. Louis, Missouri, on the night of February 22. Officials have registered the attack as a hate crime case. “It seemed to be a crude bomb or Molotov cocktail, which set fire…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, UK, February 28, 2003: The following material is from the Paknews.com website: “The British Government is under pressure by its Asian nationals to look into reports that funds collected in the name of charity here are being sent to extremists in India. Indian Muslim Federation UK has demanded that VHP and RSS should be banned for…
GO TO SOURCE KAUAI, HAWAII, March 3, 2003: Hinduism Today is planning for a story on the one-million plus Hindus of Myanmar (formerly Burma). The New York Times story as “source” above gives a lot of information about the country, though little about Hinduism there. If you know someone in Myanmar who can help with the visit of our reporter…
GO TO SOURCE BANGALORE, INDIA, February 25, 2003: At least 24 people were injured, along with damage to vehicles and shops, in communal violence that erupted in the Anepalya and Neelasandra areas in the city on Tuesday. The problems began around 8:45 p.m. when devotees of Goddess Annamma Devi, playing music, passed in procession through a masjid in the area.…
GO TO SOURCE TORONTO, CANADA, February 28, 2003: A special memorial service honoring Dr. Kalpana Chawla will be held at the Hindu Mandir and Cultural Center, Messissauga, Toronto, March 8, 2003. Dr. Chawla, first Indian woman astronaut, was killed in the recent explosion of the space shuttle Columbia. Kindly contact “source” above for additional information.
GO TO SOURCE UNITED STATES, February 27, 2003: Mahamandaleshwar Maheshwaranandaji is starting a World Peace Tour today which will include various cities in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, including a World Peace Forum in Sydney. Kindly contact Swami Bhaktanand at “source” above for information on specific locations and dates.
GO TO SOURCE GUJARAT, INDIA, February 25, 2003: The Gujarati state government has plans to introduce a new law stopping the practice of unethical religious conversion. State Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari declared the Freedom of Religion Bill would be brought before the state assembly during the session that opened on Tuesday. The law — known as Dharam Swatantrata Vidheya —…