GO TO SOURCE UNITED KINGDOM, May 27, 2001: Schools are to be told to scrap Easter holidays and replace them with a non-religious “spring break.” Despite objections from Christian pressure groups, supporters of the proposals say a specific Easter holiday is incompatible with a modern school system because it is on a different date each year. Moving to a fixed…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, MAY 27, 2001: According to a report on the state of children in India, almost 59 million children in India under the age of 14 years are not attending school. The report was prepared as a follow-up to the World Summit for Children 2000, and notes the progress made at the end of the…
GO TO SOURCE SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, MAY 29, 2001: Construction has begun on a new temple building for Australia’s first Hindu temple, Sri Mandir, located in the western suburb of Auburn. Approximately half of the estimated US$256,000 construction costs had been raised before the groundbreaking ceremony last Sunday. The temple will have Radha and Krishna as the presiding deities. Seven other…
GO TO SOURCE FAIZABAD, INDIA, 28 May, 2001: A prominent Hindu leader, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, and four others were injured in a bomb attack in the northern Indian town of Faizabad. Das was attacked while on his way to bathe in a nearby river. His condition is not said to be serious. He is a member of the Vishwa…
GO TO SOURCE DUBAI, May 29, 2001: Iran has condemned the “discriminatory decision adopted by the Taliban” regarding Hindus in Afghanistan where Taliban militia recently issued an edict making it compulsory for all Hindus to wear a piece of yellow cloth as an identity label. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamidreza Assefi said that such moves are clear cases of religious…
GO TO SOURCE BHUTAN, May 30, 2001: Nestled in the Himalayan Mountains between Tibet, China and India, the tiny nation of Bhutan prides itself as being the only Buddhist kingdom in the world, where a tough stance is taken to keep Christian conversion tactics at bay. The native people, known as Drupka, make up a majority of Bhutan’s approximately 600,000…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON,D.C., May 27, 2001: Over forty years ago, the first influx of Indian Asian immigrants arrived in America. As students and professionals, they paved the way for Indian immigrants to become one of the highest-paid immigrant groups. These hard-working and persevering forefathers also suffered cultural shock, from the unavailability of their favorite curries and spices to no…
GO TO SOURCE MOSCOW, RUSSIA, May 25, 2001: In a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry, Russia strongly condemns the Taliban militia’s decree to impose a dress code on Afghanistan’s Hindu and Sikh minorities. The decree is forcing non-Muslim minorities, particularly Hindus and Sikhs, to wear identity labels and prohibits them from living in the same house occupied by…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, May 25, 2001: Jews in America are outraged at the similarity between the Taliban action and the yellow star with the word “Jude,” that they were coerced into wearing when the Nazis came into power. The Jewish Anti-Defamation League in New York called the order, “a stark reminder of the exclusionary tactics employed by the…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 26, 2001: With the word “Yoga” and “expanding consciousness” everyday household words in America, India has taken on the task of restoring the ancient sciences in its colleges and universities. The University Grants Commission, responsible for much funding, is reviving courses on Vedic Astrology and Priestly Rituals, as well as establishing a new…