GO TO SOURCE SINGAPORE, May 12, 2001: The Singapore Government has come close to invoking the Religious Harmony Act on several occasions when religious leaders were found mixing politics with religion and putting down other faiths. After being summoned and warned by the police and Internal Security Department officers, the religious leaders stopped their activities. According to the 1990 law,…
GO TO SOURCE HYDERABAD, INDIA, April, 26, 2001 : The Andhra Pradesh government has ordered a high-level probe into irregularities at various adoption centers in and around the state capital, including child-sale rackets, following the discovery of the body of an orphan, John Abraham Bethany, buried in the grounds of an adoption home. So far, about 150 children, several of…
GO TO SOURCE FIJI, May 09, 2001: The Daily Post newspaper says a poll conducted in Suva revealed that most Hindus and vegetarians in Fiji are alarmed after revelations that French fries served by US fast food giant McDonald’s contains beef extracts. A Hindu lawyer said the community was following developments with the possibility of filing a lawsuit against McDonald’s…
GO TO SOURCE SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, May 05, 2001: Eight Indian stonemasons helping with construction work at the Sri Venkateswara Temple, in Illawara, embroiled in a payment row with a temple committee here left for their home in Tamil Nadu after getting “substantial” money in back pay in a case that got them the support of one of Australia’s largest trade…
GO TO SOURCE SINGAPORE, May 15, 2001: Singapore ranks first in Asia and 16th worldwide when it comes to meeting the needs of mothers, according to the second annual report of a US-based, non-profit organization, Save the Children. Called State of the World’s Mothers, the report was released on the eve of Mother’s Day this year. The needs identified on…
GO TO SOURCE TORONTO, CANADA, May 8, 2001: The bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada have warned the prime minister that, unless he gets involved, the church will be bankrupt by the end of the year because of a rash of lawsuits brought by victims of abuse at church-run residential schools for indigenous youth. In a letter to Prime…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 12, 2001 : The Chowdhury residence in the Central Town neighborhood, with 15 rooms and six bathrooms, is a rare modern-day example of the Indian joint family system, with 65 members of a family living under the same roof. How do they manage? “If there’s a fight, reconciliation is brought about over dinner…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 10, 2001: The language divide in India has created a class divide. On one hand, while most East Indians may speak Hindi or other dialects in their mother tongue at home, children are encouraged to pursue English fervently at school. English has been the language used in government since colonial days, and fluency…
GO TO SOURCE MOSCOW, RUSSIA, May 12, 2001: The Russian Orthodox Church, the dominant religious institution in multi-religious Russia, has blacklisted eight India-based religious organizations that it considers “harmful sects.” The list was released at a conference, titled “Totalitarian sects: Danger of the 21st century.” According to the Moscow weekly journal Profile, the blacklisted groups are the International society for…
GO TO SOURCE UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, May 11, 2001: After 8 1/2 long years, the charges against 21 individuals involved directly or indirectly in the demolition of Babri Mosque have been dismissed. On December 6, 1992, a Hindu mob demolished the 16th century masjid in the town of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds died in the subsequent…