GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD/VADODARA, INDIA, March 31, 2002: Hours after chief minister Narendra Modi claimed in Mumbai on Saturday that Gujarat was returning to normal, violence broke out in many parts of the state late in the night claiming at least nine lives. The incidents come four days prior to Prime Minister Vajpayee’s scheduled visit to the state amid frantic…
Source: India Today GODHRA, INDIA, March 25, 2002: On the night of March 3, as a grim Godhra resigned itself to an extended curfew, a crack team of the state’s anti-terrorist squad was closing in on some citizens. Having made vital arrests in Godhra’s Polan Bazar in connection with the burning of the Sabarmati Express, it was waiting for information…
GO TO SOURCE GUJARAT, INDIA, MARCH 25, 2002: India’s environment regulator Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), has approved the use of a genetically modified (GM) cotton for commercial production. Agriculture minister Agit Singh told the BBC’s World Business Report he was very much in favor of GM cotton. “Farmers are clamoring for GM seeds. You cannot stop it and put…
GO TO SOURCE MORAIRA, SPAIN, March 26, 2002: A priest fed up with mobile phones ringing during Mass has installed an electronic jammer to keep his flock in tune with God. Perhaps Hindu temples will need such a device in the future. Reverend Francisco Llopis, pastor of the Church of the Defenseless, said the beeps, tunes and other digital noise…
GO TO SOURCE PUNE, INDIA, March 24, 2002: After an interval of two years during which extensive renovation work was carried out on the Sadhu Vaswani Mission premises, the new extended Satsang Hall is nearing completion. The consecration of the Hall will coincide with Reverend Dada J.P. Vaswani’s 84th Birthday Celebrations in August. A ten-day long program, which will include…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, D.C., March 28, 2002: A study conducted at Columbia University in New York has revealed that teenagers who watch more than one hour of television a day are more likely to display violent aggressive behavior. Jeffrey Johnson, who led the study, tracked 707 children from upstate New York for 17 years. Results of the study were…
Source: New York Times NORWAY, March 24, 2002: Couples in Europe have adopted a non-marriage trend and as a result more and more European children are born out of wedlock. The article states the following statistics, “In Norway, 49% of all births in 1999 were to unwed parents. In Ireland, the figure was 62%. In Britain, it was 38% and…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, March 30, 2002: Eleven people were killed and 25 others injured Saturday when suicide bombers stormed attacked the famous Raghunath Temple here. Three terrorists arrived at Raghunath temple gate at 10:30 am, exploded grenades at the temple’s gate and opened fire from AK-47 rifles. Devotees who come from across the country for their pilgrimage to…
Source: The Hindu CHENNAI, INDIA, March 29, 2002: The state-sponsored Sunday spiritual classes in 63 Hindu shrines drew some children on the inaugural day. Now the temple administrations are working to get more to attend. Sources in the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department state that executive officers of the 63 temples were advised to contact all neighboring schools to…
GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, March 28, 2002: Authorities are considering a complete ban on playing with colors, especially balloons and bulbs which could contain lethal fluids, on Holi. Although the decision on the extent of effecting prohibitory orders and curtailing movement on this festival is yet to be finalized, police sources say there might be a blanket curfew over…