GO TO SOURCE BANGALORE, INDIA, May 12, 2002: Hindu temple priests in Karnataka have to now qualify by passing an examination in Agama Shastra, including Sanskrit chanting and performance of rituals. This is according to the new rules drafted by the Muzrai officials under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Trust Act of 1997 which received presidential assent in December. The…
Source: The Hindu GOPESHWAR, UTTARANCHAL, INDIA, May 17, 2002: The shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath in the Garhwal Himalayas opened today after winter amid chanting of Vedic hymns and blowing of conches. This is the first time that the doors of the two shrines were opened on the same day for pilgrims. The famed temples, high in the Himalayas, are…
Source: Press Release NEW YORK, NEW YORK, May 12, 2002: A group of thirty-five non-resident Indians from all parts of the United States met for three days from Friday, May 10, to Sunday, May 12, to discuss the massacre of thousands of people in Gujarat and how to restore peace and end to killings in their motherland. The meeting was…
GO TO SOURCE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, May 9, 2002: The VHP is recruiting dharma pracharaks (preachers) in Kerala to offset the work of Christian missionaries in the area. Interested parties are requested to apply to the VHP’s Kochi office. “There are around 29,000 Christian missionaries in Kerala, while Hindu sadhus and sants add up to only around 400,” VHP organizing secretary…
GO TO SOURCE KARNATAKA, INDIA, May 15, 2002: The Vikasan Foundation is organizing a summer camp for Hindu children from the US between the ages of 12 and 18, to be held at gurukulas, traditional religious schools, throughout Karnataka. Through the gurukula system the organizers hope to blend the Vedic wisdom of the ancients with the technology of the modern,…
Source: India Today DELHI, INDIA, May 18, 2002: A recent India Today has rankings of the top 10 colleges in India in various disciplines. While the exact rankings are not very significant, what is noteworthy is the large number of top-ranked colleges run by Christian –mostly Catholic — organizations, even though Christians are just a few percent of the population.…
GO TO SOURCE UTTARANCHAL, INDIA, May 16, 2002: The Kailash-Mansarovar route along the Pithoragarh-Dharchoola road in Uttaranchal has been cut off following landslides triggered by heavy rains disrupting vehicular traffic, officials said in Pithoragarh on Thursday. Heavy rains, accompanied by a hailstorm, lashed Pithoragarh district on Wednesday evening causing the landslides, which blocked a four-metre stretch of the road, they…
GO TO SOURCE ORISSA, INDIA, May 17, 2002: A scheduled “horse sacrifice” in the village of Juna Padia, about 430 km southwest of Calcutta was stopped by India minister of Minister for Culture and Animal Care, Maneka Gandhi. She, along with local officials, confiscated the horses. The Washington Times (“source” above) and the South China Morning Post reported April 15…
GO TO SOURCE DELHI, INDIA, May 11, 2002: Officials in India are considering categorizing and labeling all cosmetics and personal hygiene products as vegetarian or non-vegetarian. The practicalities of implementing the idea are now being considered by a technical committee and the courts. Many Hindus in India are strictly vegetarian for religious reasons — and some pro-Hindu political groups often…
Source: The Hindu TIRUVANNAMALAI, INDIA, May 11, 2002: Ninety percent of the renovation work has been completed on the famed Arunachaleswara Temple in Tiruvannamalai and arrangements are being made for the kumbhabhishekam, or rededication ceremony, to be held on June 27. Presiding over a meeting on Saturday to review the arrangements for the kumbhabhishekam, PC Ramasamy, Minister for the Hindu…