GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, November 24, 2002: The Editors Guild sent a team on a fact-finding mission on the riots in Gujarat and the role of the media. The team consisted of B. G. Verghese (a columnist), Dileep Padgaonkar (Executive Managing Editor, The Times of India) and Aakar Patel (Editor, Mid-Day, Mumbai), all respected members of the English language…
GO TO SOURCE KATMANDU, NEPAL, November 26, 2002: The violent Maoist insurgency in Nepal has killed thousands of people, devastated the economy and is now threatening the Himalayan Kingdom’s precious forests, officials say. Guards cannot protect forests from illegal cutting of trees because they are worried about attacks by Maoist rebels, and the government is unable to dedicate enough funds…
GO TO SOURCE DALLAS, TEXAS, November 26, 2002: Here’s a news item that will give you pause for thought: a group of researchers at Southern Methodist University have identified two seismic events that they think provide the first evidence of a previously undetected form of matter blasting its way right through the Earth. They can’t prove that this was the…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, November 25, 2002: At least thirteen people were killed, including two terrorists, following the raid at the Raghunath Temple complex in the city of Jammu, the winter capital of India’s Jammu and Kashmir state. By the time the siege ended Monday, two Indian security personnel and nine civilians had been killed and more than 50…
GO TO SOURCE PUSHKAR, INDIA, November 19, 2002: The annual full-moon festival was attended by devotees who took a holy dip in Pushkar Lake while temple bells rang and Vedic mantras were chanted. Despite the cold winds, an estimated 100,000 devotees participated in the pilgrimage that coincides with the Pushkar Fair. After bathing, food was distributed to sadhus and pilgrims…
GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, November 22, 2002: Field hockey may be India’s national game but ask any Indian which sport is the national obsession, and he would say cricket. Everything comes to a standstill when the Indian team is playing. And if India wins, which of late has not been often, it becomes a cause for national celebration. In…
GO TO SOURCE EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, November 25, 2002: A Hindu Spirituality Conference, sponsored by the Edinburgh International Center for World Spiritualities, is planned for Saturday, December 21, 2002. The Consulate General of India, Edinburgh, will host the conference from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. According to organizers, this is one of a series of conferences that “celebrates the strength and…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 18, 2002: In March 2003, Oxford Reference Online will be available to internet users. Of interest to Hindus is the Oxford Dictionary of First Names where India is listed as a common first name for children in Britain and the United States. The dictionary says, “India as a first name is presumably from…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, November 24, 2002: A group of heavily armed militants stormed the Raghunath temple in Jammu which was packed with Sunday evening devotees. Throwing grenades and firing from guns, seven people were killed, including one of the attackers, and 28 injured. The militants were still holed up inside the temple and a fierce gun battle with…
GO TO SOURCE PATNA, INDIA, November 19, 2002 : About one million Hindu devotees bathed in the holy Ganges in Bihar to mark the festival of Kartika Purnima. Pilgrims filled Patna, most having come from rural areas all over the state and neighboring Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds of Hindus from neighboring Nepal also reached Sonepur to participate in the pilgrimage. Hundreds…