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…
GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, August 26, 2001: After ten days of elaborate and devoted pujas to celebrate Lord Ganesha’s birthday, hundreds of murthis were ceremoniously immerged into the sea at the southern port city of Chennai. Politicians offered prayers to the Lord for success and the removal of obstacles. Meanwhile in the state of Assam, Lord Ganesha’s festival was…
GO TO SOURCE UNITED KINGDOM, August 27, 2001: The once huge domestic market for tea in India is shrinking. Indian tea producers have warned that they are heading for a crisis. With prices of tea at their lowest point for three years –one kilo costs just US$1.37 — and soft drinks replacing tea as the domestic drink of choice, they…
GO TO SOURCE USA, August 30, 2001: The evangelical web site, Persecution and Prayer Alert issued the following report. HPI has not received independent confirmation of the incidents mentioned here, but the site usually has a reliable source for its information. “Late Sunday night, as Christians were celebrating a festival, Hindu militants ransacked a church building in the Indian state…
Source: Rediff on the Net TRIPURA, INDIA, Aug, 29, 2001: Tribal Hindus in Tripura have formed vigilante groups to thwart attempts by separatist militants to convert people to Christianity at gunpoint, community leaders said. “It is a very serious threat to Hinduism with armed militants of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura forcibly converting tribal villagers to Christianity,” said…
GO TO SOURCE TEXAS, USA, Aug. 25, 2001: A Texas company’s attempt to patent a type of basmati rice became a touchstone for anti-globalization protest in the 1990’s. But the long-simmering issue was largely settled this week, when the United States granted a narrower patent to the company, Ricetec of Alvin, Texas. The United States originally granted the patent in…
Source: Afternoon Dispatch MUMBAI, INDIA, August 23, 2001: Celebrating Ganesha’s birthday with pomp and gaiety has always meant prosperity for merchants in the city. While this still holds true for those shopkeepers selling puja accessories such as flowers, incense sticks, coconuts, fruits, Ganesha murthis, and the ever popular modaka (a round sweet made from rice, coconut, and sugar), other merchants…