GO TO SOURCE LUDHIANA, INDIA, April 2, 2001: Durga Ashtami was celebrated with religious fervor in the city yesterday, marking the end of Navaratri, “Nine Nights,” the year’s biggest festival in honor of the Goddess. On this day girls are worshiped as the manifestation of the Goddess. Beautifully dressed little girls in various residential colonies of the city flitted from…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 2, 2001: India’s Central Government has accepted a suggestion that April 6, the birth date of the Jain Saint Mahavira, should be declared as Ahimsa day, a day on which there would be no slaughter of animals and sale of meat. State Governments and Union Territory administrations have been requested to observe Ahimsa…
GO TO SOURCE DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, April 2, 2001: The South African Hindu community, numbering about a quarter million, ends a week of special prayers Monday with celebrations at all major temples across the country. Since March 26, Ramayana week has been observed at many temples, with devotees keenly joining in recitals of the scripture and other activities. The week…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 31, 2001: India’s first Green Scientist Award has been conferred on researcher V.P. Sharma for devising environment-friendly strategies to battle malaria, which affects around 2.5 million people in the country every year. Sharma was given the award by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), a non- governmental organization (NGO) here, in recognition…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, April 3, 2001: Oxford University Press is working on an important book entitled: “Buddhists, Hindus, And Sikhs in America,” one in a critically acclaimed series of 17 volumes on Religion in American Life. It will be a history book designed as a young adult library book reference. The editors are needing to get…
GO TO SOURCE BALING, MALAYSIA, March 31, 2001: Three men were arrested yesterday in connection with the death of a Hindu priest who was found with severe head injuries at his residence at the Sri Subramaniam temple on Thursday morning. The trio — aged 16, 17 and 21 — were all unemployed. S. Munugesen, 41, an Indian national, was found…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 31, 2001: None of the universities in Delhi seem to be interested in the new Jyotisha or Vedic Astrology course introduced this year. The process of formulation of the new course began in June 2000 and has been on-going. The syllabus has yet to be chalked out. Out of the proposals received, the…
GO TO SOURCE NEPAL, March 27, 2001: Requiring wood for fuel and new land for farmland, the Nepal populace has created a deforestation crisis. Between 1979 and 1994 forest cover decreased by nine per cent and as a result bare hillsides have created landslides and flooding. The report, with the alarming 9% statistic, produced as a joint endeavor by the…
GO TO SOURCE PRIYANKA KHANNA, New Delhi, March 30, 2001: There is little place for the girl child given Indian society’s strongly ingrained preference for sons. The ratio of girls per 1,000 boys in the age group of 0 to 6-year-old has declined from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001. The shocking studies reported in this article show that…
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…