GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, August 31, 2001: Ganapati was again being crafted in plaster of paris this year, despite the efforts of NGOs and the police to encourage the return to traditional clay. As a result, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is readying its hammers and crowbars to break the Ganesha idols to pieces as plaster of paris creates…
GO TO SOURCE BERLIN, GERMANY, September 1, 2001: Famed British physicist Stephen Hawking says if humans hope to compete with the rising tide of artificial intelligence, they’ll have to improve through genetic engineering. Hawking said science could increase the complexity of DNA and “improve” human beings. He conceded that it would be a long process, “but we should follow this…
GO TO SOURCE DODA, KASHMIR, INDIA: Violence unleashed by militants in the mountainous Doda district has claimed the lives of over 300 Hindus during the last seven years, defense sources said. Most of these massacres were the handiwork of Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), who wanted to create terror among minorities and force their migration, sector commander of Kishtwar brigade,…
Source: Aaj Tak Hindi Channel Telecast BHOPAL, INDIA, August 29, 2001: The Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh, Sri S.C. Tripathi, has issued an order to have all the pictures of Gods and Goddesses removed from the police stations of Bhopal. In an interview given to Aaj Tak Channel, Tripathi said that some of the heads of police stations had…
GO TO SOURCE ODHPUR, INDIA: In a mass marriage ceremony, about 80 children of Dewasi community, some of them sleeping in the lap of their parents, tied the nuptial knot at Bali village of Pali district in Jodhpur division on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturdashi, reports said on Sunday. Though the marriages have taken place in violation of the Sarda…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, August 27, 2001: Campaigners against religious “cults” across western Europe are trying to persuade the British government to follow the French and legislate against movements such as Sai Baba and the Moonies. There is growing British press interest in the man they describe as “Indian mystic and miracle worker” to the rich, famous and titled…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, August 29, 2001: A wave of killings of Hindus by militants over the past six weeks has terrorized the minority community in Kashmir. The latest victims were two Hindu monks who were dragged from a temple by militants and beheaded, police said. The slayings on Monday brought the Hindu death toll to at least 34…
GO TO SOURCE UNITED KINGDOM, August 30, 2001: UK schools which recruit teachers from overseas in a desperate bid to fill vacancies are “sucking vital resources” from the world’s poorest children, a charity has claimed. The Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) believes at least 1,000 teachers have come to the UK from developing countries, including India, in the last 12 months.…
Source: Religion News Service VIRGINIA, USA, August 30, 2001: A Muslim man said today he is filing a lawsuit against America Online, charging the Virginia-based company has failed to protect Muslim members from anti-Muslim harassment in chat rooms. “For years Muslim members of AOL have been subjected to religious harassment in Muslim AOL chat rooms,” said Kamran Memon, one of…
GO TO SOURCE DELHI, INDIA, Aug. 28, 2001: The Indian National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said the forthcoming United Nations conference on racism would be an opportunity to discuss human rights issues, including the issue of caste. The Indian Government has said that the caste system cannot be compared to racism or apartheid. Speaking to the BBC, NHRC spokeswoman Maushumi…