GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 10, 2001: Markets are relatively deserted, retailers are disillusioned. It’s apparent that a depressed economy has eaten into the country’s biggest spending season, with everyone penny-pinching. Business has been less than ever before and shows no sign of picking up even with the festival of lights only a few days away. With higher…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 7, 2001: A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the commission of sati (Prevention) Act 1987, which bans sati and its glorification, but held that the act did not apply to existing sati temples. The 1987 Act was enacted in the wake of the suicide of Roop Kanwar on…
GO TO SOURCE HOUSTON, TEXAS, November 8, 2001: A hundred teachers, counselors and psychologists from the Houston school districts gathered at the Strake Jesuit College to attend the first seminar on Hindu Culture And Values, held by the World Hindu Council of America (Vishwa Hindu Parishad / VHP) — Houston Chapter. Erudite Hindu scholars and members of the community sought…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, U. K., November 10, 2001: London-based Premier Christian Radio was given a “yellow card” by the Radio Authority for a number of breaches of program rules, including criticism of other religions. Premier said it has since introduced “rigorous measures” to prevent offensive material being broadcast in future. The authority warned of “substantial sanctions” if more occur.…
GO TO SOURCE BANGLADESH, November 7, 2001: Bangladeshi border guards have detained 124 people belonging to the country’s minority Hindu community while they were trying to cross the border into India. Police officials from the southern border district of Satkhira said the detained included many women and children. None had any valid travel documents. Local journalists say these Hindu families…
Source: By Anil Mahabir, Hinduism Today Trinidad Correspondent CHAGUANAS, TRINIDAD, November 6, 2001: The annual Divali Nagar opened tonight at the National Council of Indian Culture grounds located in Chaguanas, central Trinidad, the birthplace of 2001 Nobel Literature Laureate VS Naipaul. The feature address, at the opening ceremony, was delivered by Swami Shri Manas Datta of Mysore India. The Nagar,…
Source: India Tribune, Chicago FLUSHING, NEW YORK, October 24, 2001: The 20-foot-tall chariot of the Ganesha temple here was burned in a suspect arson attack. The chariot had been used for two decades to take Lord Ganesha around the streets of Flushing in the annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival. No one was hurt in the incident, and only the chariot burned,…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, November 6, 2001: More than 40 British private schools are asking the High Court to restore corporal punishment two years after it was outlawed. Their headmasters say that discipline has plummeted, and students have become more unruly since the cane was banned. Physically punishing children with a cane or anything else was outlawed in fee-paying…
GO TO SOURCE PARIS, FRANCE, November 6, 2001: Cultural liberalism and the new individualism of democratic societies seems to be swaying the French away from religion. People are shying away from declaring their faith and have stopped approaching the Church at times of births, marriages and deaths. They are turning to science or the state and some to other forms…
Source: The Hindu, Chennai NEW DELHI India November 2, 2001: In a significant order concerning the health of the citizens, the Supreme Court today ordered a ban on smoking in public places throughout the country with immediate effect. Affected facilities included government buildings, courts, public transports, railways, hospitals, community halls, stadia, educational institutions and public libraries. The Bench also directed…