GO TO SOURCE CALCUTTA, INDIA: A Hindu lower-caste “untouchable” family in eastern India is to appeal to the human rights commission after being fined for touching a statue of the Goddess Kali. According to villagers, one family member, Malati Sith, entered a Kali temple and touched the forehead of the statue, angering the upper caste brahmin community in Pursurah village,…
GO TO SOURCE THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS: In a majority vote of 104-40, the Dutch parliament endorsed a bill on Tuesday, November 28, that will legalize the practice of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Since 1993, doctors have followed approved guidelines set out by parliament, but euthanasia was still considered a crime. These guidelines professed that a patient of sound mind and…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND: “Goodness Gracious Me” is the BBC’s Asian comedy show. They all went to India to film a special, and large crowds gathered to watch as the show’s stars — Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nina Wadia and Kulvinder Ghir — along with Dave Lamb, the actor they affectionately call “TWB” (token white bloke). The show is…
Source: Hindustan Times, October 25, 2000 NAGPUR, INDIA: A city doctor is set to enter the Guiness Book of Records for creating the tallest lamp on Earth — 48 feet. The electric lamp is 12 feet in diameter and features four elephant heads around the base and a series of yakshas, mythical figures, which appear to carry the lamp. It…
Source: Hindustan Times, November 27, 2000 VARANASI, INDIA: Vedic scholars in Varanasi have taken exception to a scene in the film “Mohabbatein” by Yash Chopra, now under production, in which Amitabh Bachchan recites the sacred Gayatri Mantra with his shoes on. Just last year another movie production company (“Water”) was chased out of Varanasi for complaints over insults to Hinduism.…
Source: Hindustan Times, November 27, 2000 RANCHI, JAHRKHAND, INDIA: Now that the new state of Jahrkhand has been formed, the Jahrkhandi tribals want government outsiders to leave and tribals to take their posts. The newly formed government, they felt, left them out. “Only the tribals fought for a separate state and not the outsiders. Due to all the injustices they…
GO TO SOURCE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: There are demons here, some people say, the kind that torment and manifest themselves through the people they possess, evil spirits that can trap people inside themselves and utter foreign languages. That belief was at the root of a decision by the archdiocese of Chicago to appoint a full-time exorcist last year for the first…
GO TO SOURCE Himalayan Academy Publications announced that its comprehensive lexicon to “Dancing with Siva” is now on-line in it entirety.
Source: The Hindu, November 26, 2000 BANGALORE, INDIA: With the purpose of bringing uniform law to religious institutions, the Legislative Council passed the Hindu Religious Institutions Bill on Friday, November 25th. The Bill, replacing seven former acts in Karnataka State, will bring more than 43,000 Hindu temples, maths, and religious groups under the control of a commissioner. Officers and staff,…
Source: The Hindu, November 21, 2000 HUBLI, INDIA: A unique institution has been imparting education in dharma and tradition to a few students through the gurukula system at Mayuri Extension in Vijayanagar. Started by the Mahacharya Trust, the Mahacharya Vidyalaya selects students over nine years of age to undergo the 12-year course in Sahitya, Vyakarana, Tarka and Vedanta. Headed by…