GO TO SOURCE COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, March 6, 2001: The Centre for Buddhism International (CBI) in Kandy, the central province hill town where the Temple of the Buddha’s Tooth is the focal point, has accused Christian missionaries of invading rural villages and tea and rubber plantations, using “unethical, coercive and sometimes barbaric methods” to proselytize their faith. The organization said…
Source: Kaumudi Online NEW DELHI, INDIA, March, 2001: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will not celebrate Holi, the festival of colors, as a mark of respect for the victims of the devastating quake that hit Gujarat in January, official sources said. Spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday said there would be no celebrations on Holi, which falls on…
GO TO SOURCE RAJASTHAN, INDIA, March 5, 2001: In a path-breaking initiative, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has ordered a change in the service rules so that action can be taken against male employees of the government who beat and harass their wives. Similarly, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has also ordered an assessment of the extent of…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, March 5, 2001: A record number of 432,000 pilgrims have visited the holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji since January 1, 2001. During the same time last year, 361,000 pilgrims had Darshan of the holy cave shrine. Of the 174,000 devotees who visited the shrine last month, over 136,000 were from outside…
GO TO SOURCE BOMBAY, INDIA, March 1, 2001: Parsis, descendants of the ancient Persians and followers of the prophet Zoroaster, have an ancient way of disposing of their dead in the city of Bombay. On Malabar Hill and the tranquil park at Doongerwadi, Parsi followers bring their dead to be devoured by vultures. Bodies that have been exposed to the…
GO TO SOURCE KERALA, INDIA, February 21, 2001: Sparing the rod and spoiling the child, a medieval concept that chipped away at a child’s self esteem, has virtually been abandoned in most nations around the world. In 1989 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a move in favor of the “Rights of the Child” and the convention promoted that, “State…
Source: New York Times LAMPANG, THAILAND, December 16, 2000: Elephants are natural candidates for music-making! Their hearing is much keener than their sight, and they employ a vast range of vocalizations, many of which are heard on their recently released debut CD, by the New York-based Mulatta Records. The CD is a brainchild of Richard Lair, an American expatriate who…
Source: The Hindu NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 2, 2001: In a unanimous resolution adopted by both Houses of Parliament, India condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the Taliban’s decision to destroy the two 2,000- year-old Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. The Parliament also offered to bring these monuments to India at its own cost. The Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 5, 2001: The tradition of “but shikani” (idol or statue-breaking) practiced by Arab marauders in their quest to rule the Indian subcontinent, was done on the plea that idol or religious object worshipping was un-Islamic. One thousand years later, this intolerance has resurfaced, justifying the destruction of all statues of the Buddha in…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, February 26, 2001: A controversial finding that a meteorite from Mars might contain evidence of life has been given added credence by the discovery of a magnetic crystal that researchers say could have been made only by a microbe. Scientists at the Johnson Space Center in Houston say that a crystallized magnetic mineral, called magnetite, found…