Source: Religion News Service HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, March 20, 2002: Siddheshvari Devi Ji could use “On the Road Again” as her theme song. Devi Ji, better known as Didi Ji, is one of the few female Hindu swamis in North America and she’s almost always on the road. She carries all of her worldly possessions in a suitcase as she travels,…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 25, 2002: Groups of cotton farmers from four states have threatened to disobey the government ban on the use of genetically modified BT Cotton seed, unless a final decision on commercialization of the gene-vitalized seed is arrived at soon. The announcement comes less than 24 hours before a crucial meeting of the Genetic…
GO TO SOURCE GAYA, INDIA, March 25, 2002: About 200 Buddhist monks, led by Bhadant Surai Sasai, on Saturday encircled the Mahabodhi Temple and sat on an indefinite dharna, or protest, demanding the transfer of the temple management to an all-Buddhist committee and effective ban on the entry of people with shoes on in the temple. The Mahabodhi Temple is…
GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, March 24, 2002: The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha, launched the “Anna Dhan” program in 63 temples across the state today. Under this program, voluntary contributions will be used to feed the poor. She inaugurated the program this afternoon by serving food to 200 people at the Kapaleeshwarar temple. A hundi, offering box, is…
GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD,INDIA, March 17, 2002: After meeting with Justice Mohammad Shamim on a recent visit to the state of Gujarat, the National Commission for Minorities was given assurance that the state government will rebuild mosques and dargahs (Sufi shrines). With over 69 damaged sites listed by the Gujarat Chand committee, the project could be a major one. A…
GO TO SOURCE SUVA, FIJI, March 22, 2002: Fiji’s High Court has banned corporal punishment, saying it’s a breach of their constitution. In a landmark ruling, judge Jayant Prekash said the provisions of corporal punishment in the criminal procedure code and in the Ministry of Education guidelines contravene the constitution. The ruling follows a submission from the Human Rights Commission…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 21, 2002: Researchers at the premier mental health institution, The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore, say that yogic breathing exercises, such as Sudarshan Kriya, has been found to achieve results as good as the best drugs in treating depression patients and alcoholics. Presenting the results at a recently…
GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 23, 2002: Hindu spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi Devi will be making her first visit to Malaysia early next week. Ammah, as she is popularly known, is committed to demonstrating love and compassion for the poor and teaches that spirituality is the science and art of harmonious living. She is reported to have hugged…
GO TO SOURCE AFGHANISTAN, March 24, 2002: After the Cold War, the United States spent millions of dollar to supply Afghan schoolchildren with textbooks filled with violent images and militant Islamic teachings, part of covert attempts to spur resistance to the Soviet occupation. The primers, which were filled with talk of jihad and featured drawings of guns, bullets, soldiers and…
GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD, INDIA, March 24, 2002: An outpouring of emotions greeted the National Human Rights Commission team that visited the state three weeks after the communal violence began. While a jittery officialdom tried to explain to the NHRC that it did all it could to contain the riots, the victims of the riots narrated quite another story —…