GO TO SOURCE DARJEELING, INDIA, March 13, 2001: The West Bengal Government has withdrawn orders on furnishing details on conversion following strong exception to it from the State Minorities Commission. The matter was taken up with the authorities after the Darjeeling district intelligence branch issued a circular asking for monthly reports on the number of persons converted to Christianity. This…
GO TO SOURCE ARLINGTON, TEXAS, March 27, 2001: While students with predominantly Christian backgrounds attended the University of Texas-Arlington in the past, there is change. Now there are 1,093 international students, the majority of them Hindus from India. The second largest group with 147, from China, others are from Iran, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan, South Korea, Nepal and Thailand.
Source: The Hindu BANGALORE, INDIA, MARCH 27, 2001: The Government’s University Grants Commission’s decision to “rejuvenate the science of Vedic Astrology in India” by starting departments of Vedic Astrology in Indian universities has infuriated the scientific community. The guidelines said that it would add to a new dimension for research in the fields of Hindu-Mathematics, Vastushastra, Meteorological Studies, Agricultural Science,…
GO TO SOURCE HAWAII, March 29, 2001: A. S. Maniyam reports today that his website (source above) is expanding to include devotional songs and more material for children. He’s also providing a translation of the complete Thiruppugazh, the famed songs in priase of Lord Murugan.
GO TO SOURCE DALLAS, USA, March 03, 2001: Participants in the Sikh ceremony called the Akhand Path, a continuous reading of the 1,430 pages of the Sikh sacred book, the Sri Guru Granth, can drop in at any time day or night. There’s a religious requirement that the kitchen always be open. The ceremony, done for reasons such as a…
GO TO SOURCE SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, March 27, 2001: The Rev. Robert Frisken of Christian Community Schools Ltd. here does not want the stories about Harry Potter, the trainee wizard, banned, but suggests the books should carry warning stickers before they are placed in school libraries. “The ordinary person is typified as being bad because they have no magic powers, and…
GO TO SOURCE SUSSEX, U.K., March 26, 2001: Smoking will become the biggest killer in developing world countries within the next 20 years, surpassing those deaths caused by the Aids epidemic according to the Institute of Development Studies in Sussex, UK’s government- based study. The report forecasts that within two decades 8.5 million people a year will be dying in…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, March 28, 2001: A study center here has launched a project that will record the impressions and experiences of Hindus in Britain, especially older generations. “The project, Life of Hindus in Britain will mark the beginning of an important process of documenting that which makes pluralistic United Kingdom a multi-ethnic and multi- cultural democracy,” Indian…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 27, 2001: Maestro Ravi Shankar was bestowed with an honorary knighthood in recognition of his services to music. “My heart is full. If only I could express the deep emotion and gratitude that I feel,” said the overwhelmed sitarist, sharing the moment with wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka. While conferring the award, England’s…
GO TO SOURCE DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, March 27, 2001: The name of Mahatma Gandhi, whose campaign of passive resistance was born in South Africa, is expected to be one of 20 to be immortalized in marble here. Special marble tiles, each engraved with the still closely guarded names, and in some cases, the palm prints of those to be honored,…