GO TO SOURCE KABUL, AFGHANISTAN January 8, 2001: Hard line Taliban rulers who enforce strict Islamic law in Afghanistan have announced that the death penalty will be imposed on Muslims converting to another religion. Similarly anyone trying to convert a Muslim will experience the same fate. However, followers of other religions are allowed to practice their faith without being ostracized.…
GO TO SOURCE GOA, INDIA, January 9, 2001: Backed by the Goa Environment Federation and the Local Authorities, the Goa government has banned the use of plastics in the state starting in May 2001. Plastic can be neither burnt nor buried resulting in a problem for the product’s proper disposal. Citizens are supporting the Chief Minister’s progressive decision. An special…
GO TO SOURCE The Census Bureau of the United States predicts that by the year 2030 one in four US citizens will be over 65 years of age. Out of necessity and with good health, this multi-talented age group will be visibly present in the work force. This entertaining New York Times report covers hardworking old folks in their 80s,…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 14, 2001: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is apparently keen, along with tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela now on in Allahabad, to immerse himself in purificatory waters. Official sources say the Special Protection Group responsible for Vajpayee’s security is less than enthusiastic given the enormous logistical problems.…
Source: Reuters DHARMASALA, INDIA, January 11, 2001: The Dalai Lama is considering a request from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, to attend a Hindu religious festival in India, an official of the Tibetan leader’s government-in-exile announced. The Dalai Lama has accepted “in principle” the invitation, according to both a member of his office in New Delhi and a high-ranking member of…
Source: Shri Rajarathna Bhattar HOUSTON, TEXAS, January 13, 2001: The festival called variously as Pongal, Makara Sankranthi and Utharayana Punya Kala occurs on January 14 or 15. From the sun’s entering Makara rasi, it is called Makara Sankranthi; from the sun’s moving northwards, it is named Utharayana; and as the sun is worshipped with sweet rice pongal, it is called…
GO TO SOURCE ALLAHABAD, UTTAR PRADESH, January 12, 2001: A luxury tour operator is forced to defend itself in court after it set up next a five-star tent city at the Kumbh Mela Hindu festival site. Irate Hindu sadhus demanded that British travel agent, Cox and Kings, wind up its 74 Swiss-cottage style tents as it went against the true…
GO TO SOURCE ALLAHABAD, INDIA, January 11, 2001: “I was less interested in spiritualism and more in adventure.” So recalls Vijay Rana of BBC Hindi Service as he describes his attendance at the great Kumbh Mela two decades ago. Vijay describes the sheer joy of participating in the wave of human bodies drawing each soul towards a sacred dip at…
Source: South China Morning Post DELHI, INDIA, December 27, 2001: Authorities in Nirman Bhavan, the huge complex housing the ministries of Health and Urban Development in the Indian capital, have unleashed a specially trained monkey to keep an army of fellow simians at bay. Officials deployed four-year-old Raju to put an end to the monkey business that has been going…
GO TO SOURCE BOMBAY, INDIA, January 11, 2001: With dwindling numbers in a tight-knit community, the Zoroastrian faith has cause for concern. Most proponents of the religion originating from Iran, discourage conversion and interfaith marriage. As a result, only 125,000 Parsis live world-wide most of them in Bombay. Even though the community has prospered in India through business ventures and…