India McDonald’s Controversy Over “No Beef” Posters

GO TO SOURCE VADODARA, INDIA, February 2, 2003: It seems to be a no-win situation for the US fast food chain McDonald’s which has now stirred up activists here for posters saying beef is not sold in its outlets. Sarvadharm Jivdaya Samiti activists entered an outlet on Saturday, asking that the display boards be removed. SJS activists said the boards…

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Major Variety of Edible Bananas May Wiped Out

GO TO SOURCE MONTPELLIER, FRANCE, January 16, 2003: Edible bananas, whose botanical forebears are traced back 10,000 years to southeast Asia, may be changing in the next decade. Research conducted by Belgian scientist, Dr. Emile Frison, head of the French-based International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain, indicates that the Cavendish Banana, which is eaten across the planet,…

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Indian-Americans Give Generously for India’s Social Causes

GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 31, 2003: An average Indian-American contributes up to US$300 a year for social causes in India. If just half the Indian population in the US donated that much, India would receive more than $250 million for social causes every year, says a survey on the giving patterns of the Indian diaspora conducted by…

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Malaysia Hosts Third International Conference on Muruga Worship

GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, January 21, 2003: The Third International Conference Seminar on Murugan-Skanda will be held in Malaysia, May 1-4, 2003. Scholars and devotees from around the world will be attending the conference as delegates and representatives of the Tamil diaspora from 45 countries are expected to participate. The inaugural function will take place at Batu Caves,…

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Tamil Nadu Celebrates Thai Pongal with Huge Kolam

GO TO SOURCE THANJAVUR, INDIA, January 30, 2003: Tiny Vayacheri village, near Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, celebrated Pongal (the season’s first rice harvest) in a big way with a king-size 100-meter-long kolam (rangoli, designs drawn on the ground with colored powders) covering an entire street. Residents believed this may have been the longest kolam in the country. A group of…

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Kerala Debates Syllabus’ Focus, Karl Marx or Gandhi?

GO TO SOURCE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, November 19, 2002: Politically-conscious Kerala is in the midst of a debate on who should get prominence in college courses, Gandhi or Marx. The controversy has been extended to the Kerala Assembly where Congress member Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan wondered how Gandhism could be relegated to the background to give prominence to Marxism in the revised syllabus…

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Cambodia and Thailand Claim Ownership of Same Temples

Source: The Nation (Thailand) BANGKOK, THAILAND, January 17, 2003: Thailand authorities have asked Fine Arts Department Deputy Director General Sod Daeng-iad to suspend renovations on two ancient Hindu Temples as Cambodia believes the temples are in Cambodia. Both countries have set up a joint demarcation committee which will survey the 798 kilometer border to clear up the question of exactly…

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Canadian Multi-Faith Community Comes Together to Stop Racism

Source: The Hamilton Spectator ONTARIO, CANADA, January 20, 2003: In the aftermath of 9-11 the Hindu Samaj Temple in Hamilton was subjected to arson. Misguided and racist individuals made an incorrect assumption that the Hindu community associated with the Hamilton temple was connected to the tragedy in New York. Since the burning of the temple, the Hamilton multi-faith community has…

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New Jersey Greets Ganesha in a Theatrical Performance

GO TO SOURCE NEW JERSEY, USA, January 27, 2003: Terrence McNally’s play, “A Perfect Ganesh,” originally produced in England, is now playing at 12 Miles West Theater Company in Montclair, New Jersey. In the play two middle-age women friends decide to vacation in India without their husbands. Both women have endured challenging personal tragedies, and have come to India because…

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H.H. Swami Jeevan Mukhthananda to Visit Malaysia

GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, February 2, 2003: H.H. Swami Jeevan Mukhthananda, Secretary General of the Divine Life Society Headquarters in Rishikesh, India, is visiting Malaysia during February. His Holiness will give a special address in connection with the Malaysian Hindu Sangam’s Hindu Renaissance program on Friday, February 7, at 7:00 p.m., at the Shree Lakshmi Narayan Temple Hall,…

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