Source: AFP WASHINGTON, D.C., October 3, 2002: A US government advisory panel has recommended that the State Department designate 12 nations “countries of particular concern” because of their alleged violations of religious freedom, a move that could trigger sanctions against them. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said the nations should include Myanmar, North Korea, India, Iran, Iraq, Laos,…
GO TO SOURCE MADURAI, SOUTH INDIA, October 4, 2002: The popular Meenakshi Amman temple here is organizing a “108 veenai isai vazhipadu” (offering worship by playing 108 veenas), to invoke the blessings of Goddess Saraswathi for the educational advancement of the students of Tamil Nadu. Executive officer of the temple P. Bhaskaran told reporters here that the worship would be…
Source: Hindustan Times DELHI, INDIA, October 3, 2002: Historians congregated in the Capital on Wednesday to analyze India’s Supreme Court’s verdict on the ongoing debate over the National Curriculum Framework for Secondary Education [NCFSE]. It was felt that although the NCERT had been given the go-ahead to publish the new text books,there was need to analyze the content of these…
GO TO SOURCE QUETTA, PAKISTAN, October 1, 2002: A Hindu temple in southwest Pakistan was broken into and a religious icon was damaged over the weekend, a local Hindu leader said Monday. The desecration occurred in a temple in a village of Mustung district, 55 kilometers southwest of the Baluchistan provincial capital Quetta. “Some people broke into Shunkar temple in…
Source: HPI DELHI, INDIA, October 4, 2002: Sri Narendra Mohan, the editor-in-chief of the Jagran group of newspapers passed away on September 20, 2002, at the age of 68. He died at New Delhi’s Apollo Hospital following multiorgan failure. Known as the pillar of Hindi journalism, Mohan had been a member of the Rajya Sabha on the ticket of Bhartiya…
GO TO SOURCE DINAJPUR, BANGLADESH, October 4, 2002: The president of the RK Mission Dinajpur writes, “We are glad to invite you with all your kith & kin to kindly participate in Durga puja as per program given herewith, to be held from 11 October to 15 October, 2002, according to Bisuddha Sidhanta Almanac. Dasami puja will be held on…
GO TO SOURCE COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, October 2, 2002: The Honorable Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, M.P and Minister of Hindu Religious Affairs, and President of the Steering Committee, announces the 2nd World Hindu Conference to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 2-5, 2003. The main theme of the conference will be Hinduism and Society and papers to be presented at the…
GO TO SOURCE GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, October 1, 2002: Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, known affectionately worldwide as Amma, has been invited to give the keynote address at the Global Peace Initiative of Women Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the Palais des Nations (United Nations) in Geneva on Oct 7, 2002. For the first time in history, women leaders from religion, business…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 2, 2002: President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on Wednesday led a grateful nation in paying homage to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, on the occasion of his 133rd birth anniversary at his samadhi (place where his ashes are enshrined) in Rajghat here. Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhwat, Prime Minister Atal Bihari…