Source: New Straits Times JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA, January 20, 2002: More than 25,000 Hindus, including many from Singapore, converged at the 50-year-old Sri Muniswarar temple in Tampoi, to witness the third Asthabhanthana Maha Kumbabishegam (consecration ceremony) here this morning. Kuala Lumpur-based priest, R. Krishnamurthy Gurukkal, was invited to perform the Mahayagam (fire sacrifice) as part of the worship of the…
GO TO SOURCE MADIKERI, INDIA, January 21, 2001: Miscreants desecrated a small shrine dedicated to Bhadrakali in Betoli village near Virajpet in Dakshina Kodagu. The main door of the sanctum sanctorum was broken, and the temple kitchen was set on fire. A major portion of the kitchen has been reduced to ashes. The incident came to light when the temple…
Source: Religion News Service BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, January 23, 2002: Bowing to a picture of the founder of judo before a match is not a violation of a individual’s religious freedom, a federal judge ruled on Jan. 10. This interesting case could have implications for other situations, such as may occur in the teaching of yoga. In his ruling, U.S. District…
Source: Religion Today BYRON, CALIFORNIA, January 17, 2002: Seventh graders in a growing number of public schools are being required to attend an intensive three-week course on Islam. Students in Byron, California were sent home with handouts informing their parents of the course contents. The students in the Ancient Culture and History class are required to memorize Islamic terms and…
GO TO SOURCE PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA, January 20, 2001: Several Indian religious organizations and groups have welcomed the proposal to bar devotees from burning camphor during the Thaipusam celebrations in Batu Caves on January 28. Malaysia Hindu Sangam president A. Vaithilingam said the burning of camphor was not a mandatory requirement and some temples in India had in fact stopped…
GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, JANUARY 8: They prefer to call this country Bharat, not India. Words like shakha, hindutva, dharma and samiti pramukh sanchalika roll off their tongues, thick with accents ranging from Birmingham to Durban. They are the latest batch of graduates — girls aged 15-25 — of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti camp held at Reshimbagh, the RSS…
Source: Indian Express DELHI, INDIA, January 19, 2002: Indian Railways, the largest railroad system in the world, has decided to ban smoking in trains, railway stations and all railway offices. Anybody violating the ban could be fined US$2.00. The decision comes in the wake of Supreme Court direction banning smoking in public places.
GO TO SOURCE JHABUA, INDIA, January 18, 2002: In what was clearly a rare spectacle in a tribal-dominated district, nearly 200,000 adivasis, hands lifted in air, intoned an oath on Thursday to save the honor of the Hindu religion and, if necessary, fight for its cause with at an impressive “Hindu Sangam” organized by the RSS under the aegis of…
Source: The Hindustan Times BANGALORE, INDIA, January 18, 2002: A 26-year-old man who allegedly tried to shoot Sai Baba on Thursday with an air pistol at his ashram in Whitefield on the outskirts of Bangalore, was overpowered by ashram volunteers. The air pistol and some pellets were recovered from the man, Somasundaram, the police said. Somasundaram was overpowered when he…