Dalit Women Suffer Abuse at the Hands of Upper Class

Source: The Guardian NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 9, 2001: This heart-wrenching article exposing the injustices against Dalit (“untouchable”) women in the feudal states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, is based on a study done by Amnesty International. Reportedly women from the untouchable class are routinely raped and harassed by upper caste villagers and landlords. To make matters worse, if rape…

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US Official Criticizes Lanka Ban On GM Food Imports

GO TO SOURCE COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, May 10, 2001: A senior US official has criticized Sri Lanka’s sweeping ban on genetically modified (GM) food imports, according to this report in India Abroad, describing it as “totally unwarranted” and without any “credible scientific evidence” to support it. Weyland Beeghly, the agricultural counselor at the US mission in New Delhi, said Thursday…

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Historian Seeks Help on Sindhi Diaspora

GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, May 7, 2001: Hiro Shroff’s project, “Sindhi Jottings,” covers the worldwide migration of Sindhis from Pakistan following the partition of India in 1947. He would appreciate input from HPI readers for his project. Contact him at “source” above.

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Malaysia Muslim Leader Would Destroy Temples

GO TO SOURCE PENANG, MALAYSIA, May 7, 2001: The Malaysia Hindu Sangam has demanded an apology of Idris Omar, a member of PAS, the Pan-Malaysia Islamic political party. This report in The Star newspaper states, “The Malaysia Hindu Sangam demanded a public apology from Idris for his statement that PAS would destroy all statues in non-Muslim places of worship if…

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China To Build World’s Largest Buddha

GO TO SOURCE CHINA, May 6, 2001: China has announced plans to build the world’s largest statue, a 509-ft Buddha. The statue of Bodhisattva is to be built at Jiuhua Mountain, one of the four major Buddhist shrines in China. It is will be the largest statue of Bodhisattva, the Buddha of Compassion, in the world. When completed, the statue…

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Ganesha Displayed in Cambodia’s National Museum

GO TO SOURCE PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA, May 9, 2001: Phnom Penh’s National Museum of Art, forgotten for many years, is once again showing the world its true colors. The extraordinary collection of bronze and stone statues on display here is unmatched elsewhere in the world. Tragically, looting and war have removed most of the decorative statues and reliefs from Angkor’s…

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Campaign to Stop Use of Live Animals in Medical Schools

GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 27, 2001: Many American schoolchildren now have the right to dissect a virtual frog or a plastic model rather than the real thing. Now American Medical schools are catching up and recommending others do the same. Dr Jerry Vlasak, a trauma surgeon, is in India to introduce methods that replace animals. Computer simulators…

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Three-Parent Kids Born

Source: BBC News Online NEW JERSEY, USA, May 4, 2001: In what may be a momentous milestone in our history, scientists have confirmed that the first genetically altered humans have been born. These births are the first cases of human germline genetic modification resulting in normal healthy children. According to researchers at St Barnabas Institute for Reproductive Medicine in New…

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Sikh Day Parade in Manhattan

GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, April 21, 2001: Forty-thousand onlookers witnessed the 14th Annual Sikh Day Parade, April 21, in Manhattan as part of the Baisakhi celebrations. The parade was led by Gurbax Singh Malhi, a member of parliament from Canada, who was the chief guest and members of the organizing committees from various Sikh gurdwaras and societies…

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