GO TO SOURCE MRITAPURI, INDIA, October 8, 2001: Has the atheist Chief Minister Antony become a devotee of the woman-saint Mata Amritananda Mayi? Antony, a member of the Congress party, would not call himself a devotee but he admitted that he had found solace in the presence of the Mata, who is lovingly called Amma. “I am no believer nor…
GO TO SOURCE YUBA CITY, USA, October 8, 2001: Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Sikhs across America have been the target of hate crimes by misguided bigots who think Sikhs with turbans and beards are linked to Osama bin Laden. A bad situation has become the catalyst for better understanding, said Dr. Jasbir Kang, a Yuba City physician and…
GO TO SOURCE October 5, 2001: The goal of a new e-mail service being offered by MeeRa Publications is to provide information, ideas, and analysis to understand and celebrate Indian culture and heritage. The service is especially focused on youth and families with young children. The first issue offers a welcome letter, this year’s Diwali Calendar, ten ways to make…
GO TO SOURCE UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, October 6, 2001: The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Rajnath Singh government in Uttar Pradesh has exempted puja related items such as mukut, icons, trishuls, havan kund, deepak, etc, from trade tax. Significantly, the decisions have come at the onset of the festive season and when preparations for Ramlila are in full swing all over the…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 4, 2001: A new report, published in the October issue of the Journal of Nutrition, underscores obesity as a growing nutritional problem. Several studies since the late 1990’s have shown that obesity is on the rise in India, particularly among more affluent women living in urban areas. In a country where more than…
GO TO SOURCE LESHAN, CHINA, October 5, 2001: After the destruction of its most famous archaeological monuments — the giant stone figures known as the Bamiyan Buddhas — by the Taliban-controlled government in Afghanistan, one of the buddhas is rising again in Western China. A team of 300 workmen are carving a replica figure into a cliff face in Schuan.…
GO TO SOURCE ISAKHAPATNAM, ANDHRA PARDESH, INDIA, October 6, 2001: Driven to despair at the unrelenting drought affecting the state this year, the government decided to invite divine intervention. Accordingly, the endowments department directed the executive officers of all temples in its jurisdiction to perform special abhishekams (ritual bathing of the Diety) on October 7 to invoke the blessings of…
GO TO SOURCE SANCHI, INDIA, October 1, 2001: Growing encroachment around places of archaeological importance, including the world heritage sites of Sanchi and Khajuraho, and over-zealous tourists not only pose a threat to their safety but also hamper conservation work. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Superintending Archaeologist S B Ota told UNI that most of these encroachments by influential people…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, October 4, 2001: Despite calls for tolerance and restraint by the authorities, at least 200 attacks on Sikhs and 540 on Arab-Americans have been reported in the USA in the week following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, international human rights watchdog Amnesty International has said. “Mosques, Hindu temples and community centers…
GO TO SOURCE DENVER, COLORADO, October 6, 2001: About 1,500 marchers converged at the state capitol Saturday, beating drums and waving flags as they called for the end of Columbus Day. The “Transform Columbus Day” rally was organized by American Indians and other activists who say Christopher Columbus was a slave trader whose explorations set off centuries of abuse for…