Source: The Hindu LONDON UK AUG. 12, 2001: “The full text of Mr. V.S. Naipaul’s interview to the Literary Review is now available and Indian writers are not likely to be amused by what Sir Vidia thinks of them. In short, he says Indian writing exists in a historical vacuum. R.K. Narayan is singled out for “lacking a sense of…
GO TO SOURCE KATMANDU, NEPAL, Aug, 16, 2001: The Nepalese government said it would outlaw discrimination against lower-caste Hindus and pledged to pass a law ending the centuries-old system that deems certain people “untouchable.” “Effective from this day the practice of untouchability and any discrimination based on it will be considered a crime punishable by a severe sentence,” Prime Minister…
Source: News Reports SUVA, FIJI, August 13, 2001: Thieves broke into two Hindu temples in Suva today during the night and stole musical instruments from both places worth US$1,152. Committee member Satish Deo of the Ram Krishna Mandir said, “We request assistance in replacing the musical instruments as we are borrowing from other temples during prayers.” Police spokeswoman Sergeant Unaisi…
Source: India Tribune BANGALORE, INDIA, August 11, 2001: Software engineers here used to have their pick of brides in the very competitive arranged marriage market. No more. With the fall of the dot-coms worldwide has gone the premium formerly placed on the engineers. Said one engineer, “For the past four months, I have seen the majority of parents hesitating to…
GO TO SOURCE LIDCOMBE, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, August 17, 2001: The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union announced today the consecration of a statue of Lord Ganesha at their new head office here on August 22, Ganesha Chaturthi. This union had intervened on behalf of a group of Indian stone carvers at a Hindu temple under construction, ultimately winning…
GO TO SOURCE ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA, August 13, 2001: A clever tactic has been adopted by the boss of a chemical company in the state of Andhra Pradesh. To discourage smoking and drinking alcohol, the company pays the wife of a male employee a bonus of ten dollars a month when her husband abstains from the two habits. According to…
GO TO SOURCE BOSTON, USA, Aug. 15, 2001: The multibillion-dollar 1998 national tobacco pact has failed to turn back a torrent of cigarette advertising placed in magazines and aimed at children, a study concluded. “What surprises me is the sheer gall of the tobacco industry in general: their willingness to continue to find ways to get around the very agreement…
GO TO SOURCE NEW JERSEY, August 15, 2001: This major article in the New York Times reports that in recent editions of India Abroad, a weekly newspaper for Indian expatriates in the United States and Canada, advertisements have run soliciting customers for doctors who will tell the parents the gender of their unborn baby. The objective is to insure a…
Source: Straits Times HONGKONG, Aug 16, 2001: Even monks have been hit by the economic slowdown. A dwindling number of tourists has thrust Hongkong’s biggest Buddhist monastery into the red, forcing it to ponder cost-cutting measures such as voluntary retirement. Showing it is not immune to the financial troubles hitting many Hongkong businesses, officials at Po Lin Monastery said yesterday…
Source: Religion News Service USA, August 14, 2001: More than three months after Hindu and non-Hindu vegetarians sued McDonald’s USA, claiming the company failed to disclose that its french fries contained beef, the fast-food corporation announced it would provide more ingredient information to customers. In an Aug. 13 press release, the chain said the company’s Web site, www.mcdonalds.com, now includes…