GO TO SOURCE UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, December 17, 2000: Chief Minister Rajnath Singh’s decision to ban beauty contests has caused heated debates among opposition parties and BJP allies. Comments range from total agreement by Muslim organizations and religious leaders, to total disagreement by a female opposition leader who described the ban as an attack on the fundamental rights of women.…
GO TO SOURCE SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, December 20, 2000: After 14 years and 15 million dollars, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has abandoned a project that was aimed at controlling tobacco use among the youth. 8,388 school children and 640 teachers in 40 school districts were targeted for the study. The curriculum, arming the children with tools to resist peer…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, DC, December, 2000: The Pew Internet and American Life Project surveyed over 1,000 congregations to see to what extent they’re using the Internet for religious work. The survey found that churches are using the Internet to offer virtual tours of their grounds, webcast their services, and post church bulletins, allowing consumers to shop for churches, just…
GO TO SOURCE LUCKNOW, INDIA, December 17, 2000: Even as the country struggles with the challenges of over-population, the RSS strongly disapproves of “small families.” As noted in their recently prepared booklet, to be distributed during a month-long, door-to-door campaign in Northern India, the RSS attributes the rising number of unwed mothers to increased use of condoms and other family…
Source: The Times of India NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 13, 2000: Establishing the location of the Saraswati River alluded to in ancient Indian religious literature would authenticate its existence as a mighty Himalayan river. Over 160 Indus sites were nurtured by the Saraswati, far from the Indus River Valley. Now satellite photos and ground studies of clay, silt, sand and…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, December 19, 2000: Madonna’s wedding may assume a multicultural flare at Skibo castle in Scotland on December 22. A Hindi scholar has been asked to provide Sanskrit prayers for the ceremony and Reverend Susan Brown, the first women minister in a British cathedral, will be conducting the marriage. A senior Hindu leader in London told…
Source: Outlook Magazine NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 20, 2000: The government has secretly initiated a move to open up tribal-owned properties for acquisition and commercial exploitation, according to a report in the leftist “Outlook” magazine. The Union ministry of mines has put up a note marked “secret” — No16/48/97-M.VI — for the committee of secretaries to encourage an amendment to…
Source: Hindustan Times, Dec. 15 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, December 15, 2000: A division bench of the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition seeking entry for non-Hindus into temples. Advocate J. William John petitioned the court claiming that all Indians are Hindus, and therefore Rule 3 (A) of the Kerala Hindu Places Worship Act of 1965 preventing the entrance of Christians into…
GO TO SOURCE ARHUS, DENMARK, December 18, 2000: Ali Simsek, like millions of Turkish immigrants drawn to Europe came to Denmark in 1970. His family joined him but in all the years, Mr. Simsek never learned a word of Danish or forsook Turkish customs. When his oldest son, Bunyamin, turned 17 in 1987, Mr. Simsek arranged a marriage for him…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, December 19, 2000: The story of the Sidis, the Indian community of African descent which has lost contact with its African origins, has attracted enormous interest from around the world. A recent report on BBC News Online by Andrew Whitehead about the Sidis’ quest for their history has prompted hundreds of e-mails. “The song of…