GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, October 31, 2002: Amid an hour-long acrimonious debate, the anti-conversion bill was passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday with 140 members voting in favor and 73 opposing the motion. In the 234-member house, none remained neutral. Speaker K. Kalimuthu did not participate in the voting. Twenty members, including former Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi…
GO TO SOURCE LAUTOKA, FIJI, October 31, 2002: To mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival of South Indians in Fiji from Chennai, the Fijian Sangam has plans to hold a celebration in the spring of 2003 in Lautoka in conjunction with the Annual Sangam Convention 2003. During the celebration, a book entitled “History of Then India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam”…
Source: New India Press KOLKATA, INDIA, October 24, 2002: Clay images of two Indian Goddesses, Durga and Kali, selected for their mystical qualities and considered representative of Hinduism, will find a permanent place in the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. Shyamal Kanti Chakraborty, curator of Kolkata’s Indian Museum, said the Danish foreign ministry had written to him about Copenhagen’s…
GO TO SOURCE BHUTAN, October 28,2002: Nestled in the mighty Himalayas, Bhutan, The Land Of Thunder Dragon, is the last remaining Himalayan kingdom — an oasis of innocence in our world, where compassion and wisdom are the benchmark against which all things are measured.Bhutan is the only place in the world where the official government policy is Gross National Happiness…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 31, 2002: In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday said the minority community (meaning Christians and Muslims) had an unfettered right to establish and administer educational institutions based on religion but if they received aid from the state they would be subject to government rules and regulations. One regulation is that…
GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD, INDIA, October 31, 2002: Nearly a thousand Dalits (“untouchables”) in Ahmedabad reportedly embraced Buddhism on Sunday while followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar chanted during the ceremony. A delegation of 20 monks and nuns from Bodh Gaya, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam initiated them into the religion. Bhante Mahanama from Bodh Gaya, presided over the…
GO TO SOURCE OTTAWA, CANADA, October 31, 2002: The Canadian office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has released a guide on Islam for journalists, according to this report from Religion News Service. “A Journalist’s Guide to Islam,” heralded as the first of its kind, is intended to provide “ready and accurate information in areas that media professionals might encounter…
GO TO SOURCE DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA, October 28,2002: South Africa’s National Assembly’s Safety and Security Portfolio Committee agreed last week to recommend the Explosives Bill on November 5, a day after Deepavali. The bill, if passed, will prohibit the use of fireworks without a permit. The controversy erupted at a time when a massive firework display was held by Hindus…
Source: The Houston Chronicle HOUSTON, TEXAS, October 19, 2002: The festival of Navaratri, the nine-night Hindu festival honoring three Goddesses is celebrated in grand style by South Indian Hindus now living in Texas. Born in Chennai, southern India, where Navarathri is one of the major religious celebrations, Ranjana Narasiman says, “Sometimes I feel I’m living two cultural lives, and 24…