GO TO SOURCE KATHMANDU, NEPAL, June 11, 2001: Dressing up to resemble the late King Birendra, a priest was banished from Kathmandu in a “katto” ceremony dating back to Nepal’s ancient times. This ceremony, a rare Hindu rite performed on the eleventh day after the death of the King, is meant to cleanse the soul of the late King Birendra…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 13, 2001: “We will never go back to Pakistan,” asserts Chander Pal, one of several Pakistani Hindus living here quietly since fleeing their country to escape persecution by Islamic zealots. “Here we feel at home. In Pakistan each day was like hell, but we suffered indignities silently as we had no choice,” he…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA June 11, 2001: A decade-old dispute over possession of an unauthorized Shiva-Hanuman temple on the railway land, close to Bhairon Marg, took an ugly turn on Sunday with a man belonging to one faction firing at a rival who was performing puja. The attack, police said, was an attempt at taking control of the…
GO TO SOURCE HOUSTON, TEXAS, June 11, 2001: For over twenty years, Houston-based internationally acclaimed musical duo Chandrakantha and David Courtney have charmed audiences with their performances of Hindustani classical music and bhajanas. Like thousands of others all over the Houston, they too experienced the wrath of Tropical Storm Allison last week. In the aftermath of the floods that all…
Source: Deccan Herald BANGALORE, INDIA, JUNE 9, 2001: According to a rough estimate prepared by the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) there are at least 1,000 unauthorized roadside Hindu shrines in Bangalore. Shrines erected on footpaths, parks, and public thoroughfares are mushrooming all over the city. Roadside shrines, a strange phenomenon, endemic to Bangalore, are supported by the generosity of the…
GO TO SOURCE VIRGINIA, USA, JUNE 5, 2001: Over 70 individuals attended the 11th annual Hindu Student Council National Camp over Memorial Day weekend. The camp was held at the High Road campsite in Virginia. Students came from universities all over America. Along with sports and nature hikes, the day’s activities included yoga and meditation exercises. Interactive discussions gave campers…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 14, 2001: It is an oddity of Indian law that only VIPs, government offices and public sector undertakings are allowed the honor of displaying the country’s flag on their premises. Now a 31-year-old businessman, Naveen Jindal, having been cited for flying the flag on his factory, has challenged the law in court. The…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, D.C., June 14, 2001: Several influential US lawmakers wore a yellow badge with the inscription “I am a Hindu” in solidarity with Hindus in Afghanistan as the US House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Taliban’s anti-Hindu edict. The bipartisan “Sense of the Congress”, non-binding resolution, originally authored by Democrat Rep. Eliot L. Engel…
GO TO SOURCE KATHMANDU, NEPAL, June 12, 2001: In early autumn this year, the new king of Nepal, Gyanendra, will go before Goddess Taleju Bhawani, the living goddess of Nepal, in Her incarnation as a young girl. The Kumari, or virgin, as she is called, is selected periodically and reigns until puberty. The king can only be crowned following her…
Source: New York Times CHICAGO, USA June 9, 2001: Despite persistent concerns, genetically modified crops are spreading so rapidly that it has become almost impossible for consumers to avoid them. Wind-blown pollen, commingled seeds and black-market plantings have extended these products of biotechnology into the far corners of the global food supply — perhaps irreversibly. Some agriculture experts say that…