Source: The Hindu JAIPUR, INDIA, August 19, 2001: Community tensions prevailing in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan took a serious turn today with the reported dismantling of an idol of a folk deity of the Mali community at a “chabutra” — temporary festival platform — in Subhash Nagar on the outskirts of Bhilwara city. The idol was found broken this morning…
GO TO SOURCE VADODARA, INDIA, August 20, 2001: Following a wish Maharaja Sayajirao III made to shun violence and be totally religious, six decades ago, master craftsman Krishnarao Chavan, stopped making Ganeshas that showed the deity killing the “Sindrasur” demon. “The Maharajas of the Baroda state always worshipped Ganesha icon that showed the Elephant God vanquishing the evil “rakshas” with…
Source: The Deccan Herald HYDERABAD, INDIA, August 23, 2001: The installation of Ganesh icons for Ganesha Chaturthi in the hostels on Osmania University campus, here by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, has evoked protest from the Progressive Democratic Students Union which is seeing it as a step towards including more of Hinduism in the academic atmosphere on campus. The ABVP…
GO TO SOURCE INDIA, August 23, 2001: Pakistani and Indian officials have pledged to work together in a growing battle with the US about rights to basmati rice. A decision in the US this week to grant patents to a US company for new strains of rice similar to basmati has provoked an angry reaction. Commerce ministers from the two…
GO TO SOURCE USA, August 19, 2001: At close to 1.5 million, Hindus now form the fifth largest religious group in America after Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. Recently, the increased attention to Hinduism has come from a clash with an American icon — McDonald’s. This PBS radio segment conducted by Fred de Sam Lazaro illustrates how the McDonald’s french…
GO TO SOURCE COLOMBO, Sri Lanka Aug. 20,2001: Some 3,000 Sri Lankan Buddhist pilgrims in India cannot afford to fly home because airlines are demanding a $40 war-risk insurance surcharge. The pilgrims left the island before the LTTE attack, and were due to return this week. The pilgrims, who had saved to raise the money for the journey of a…
GO TO SOURCE INDIA, August, 13, 2001: Under a new program launched by the Indian Postal Department, the country’s villagers will be able to send and receive letters through email accounts set up in their name. The Postal Department has begun this novel scheme on an experimental basis in five southern and western Indian states. The department’s secretary, BN Som,…
GO TO SOURCE KATHMANDU, NEPAL, Aug 21, 2001: India has assured Nepal that it will not build a dam that could flood the birthplace of the Buddha, Nepalese officials said on Sunday. Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, who arrived in the Nepalese capital on Friday seeking closer trade ties, wants to soothe anger in this Himalayan nation over the dam…
GO TO SOURCE SINGAPORE, Aug 20, 2001: South-east Asia has become the new theatre for terrorist operations by Muslim extremist groups, and experts warn this makes Singapore a possible target. They said that the number of supporters of Saudi billionaire-fugitive Osama bin Laden and his global terrorist network Al-Qaeda is growing in countries like the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. As…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 17, 2001: Divorce laws are about to change dramatically for Christian women. The Cabinet has accepted all recommendations of the Law Ministry on major changes in the Indian Divorce Act. The changes, which have been approved by the most prominent church groups, will be passed in Parliament next week. Under the new provisions,…