GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD/VADODARA/RAJKOT, INDIA, August 3, 2002: On the first anniversary of the January 26 earthquake, the Narendra Modi government ordered special prayers to appease the dharti mata. Various organizations all over the state are praying for a revival of the monsoon. People are resorting to several methods to solicit divine intervention to avoid a drought. In Vadodara, plans…
GO TO SOURCE HYDERABAD, INDIA, July 26, 2002: Heaps of garbage, overflowing drains and filth all around was what the Mayor, T. Krishna Reddy, got to see in the vicinity of the famous Ujjaini Mahankali temple even as the annual Bonalu festivities commence on Sunday. The Mayor warned of stringent action if the “mess was not cleared up immediately.” Though…
GO TO SOURCE KASHMIR, INDIA, August 5, 2002: This long New York Times report begins, “Shouting ‘Hail Hail Shiva!’ thousands of Hindu pilgrims crowded two narrow dirt tracks high in the Himalayan mountains of the disputed territory of Kashmir. Even though the pilgrimage is purely religious, it has not escaped the conflict in this battered territory. The threat of attacks…
Source: The Guardian (London) LONDON, ENGLAND, July 8, 2002: The Church of England has thrown its weight behind an extraordinary proposal to unite Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Hindu children in the country’s first multi-faith secondary school. The plans, backed by leading figures from all four of Britain’s main religious groups, are aimed at transforming the image of faith-based education which…
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel PEWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, June 30, 2002: When Prem Sharma came to the United States in the 1960s to study at Marquette University’s dental school, the Burma native and a handful of Hindu families would hold prayer meetings in their houses for lack of a space to worship. Having long outgrown gathering in basements, a burgeoning Wisconsin Hindu…
Source: Toronto Star ONTARIO, CANADA, June 30, 2002: When an astrologer warned Anasuya Dhanrajgir that bad luck was on her horizon, she took the road increasingly travelled by modern Hindus. In the old days, the astrologer’s advice might have suggested the 39-year-old Anasuya to take a 900-mile journey to a temple on the southern tip of India. Instead, the stage…
Source: Omaha World-Herald OMAHA, NEBRASKA, July 10, 2002: From sunup to sundown, 11 Indian workers commit themselves to the meticulous duty of crafting a Hindu temple. The visiting temple carvers work in a building tucked away in a corner of southwest Omaha. Slowly, the unique temple architecture is distinguishing itself from the area’s common strip malls. The renovation is one…
GO TO SOURCE AYODHYA, INDIA, August 3, 2002: Ram Janambhoomi Trust president Mahant Ramchandra Paramhans on Saturday opposed the Allahabad high court’s suggestion for excavation at the disputed temple site in Ayodhya. “The makeshift temple cannot be shifted to facilitate excavation as it has been existing there for long and no court or government will be allowed to effect shifting…
GO TO SOURCE VIJAYAWADA, INDIA, July 28, 2002: The Endowments Minister, D. Sivarama Raju, on Sunday said that the Government would soon set up an autonomous State level advisory council for ensuring proper conduct of puja, worship, and other rituals in temples as ordained in the scriptures. The proposed advisory council would be filled with Vedic pundits, archakas (priests) and…
Source: MSN BERKLEY, CALIFORNIA, July 28, 2002: Asian-Indians are at a greater risk of contracting heart disease, more so than others of any descent with high cholesterol and even smokers. Researchers from the University of California-Berkley Center for Family and Community Health have concluded that, “Indians around the globe have the highest rate of heart disease, usually two to three…