APAN, June 21, 2026 (YouTube): How did Hindu Gods travel from ancient India to Japan? For over 1,500 years, millions of Japanese people have worshiped Deities whose origins lie in Hindu civilization. From Benzaiten (Saraswati) and Bishamonten (Kubera) to Daikokuten (Mahakala/Shiva) and Kangiten (Ganesha), the sacred traditions of India crossed the Silk Road through Buddhism and became deeply woven into…
FLUSHING, N.Y. July 7, 2026 (RNS): The Hindu Temple Society of North America, officially called Šri Mahã Vallabha Ganapati Devasthãnamri, is the second-oldest traditional Hindu temple founded by Indian immigrants in the United States. It opened its doors on July 4, 1977, after years of fundraising and planning by Indian immigrants who had settled in the New York metropolitan area.…
INDIA, June 10, 2026 (YouTube): N. Swaminathan, eminent artist and head of the Thevara Padasalai of Dharumapuram Aadheenam, will be honored with the Padma Shri for his exceptional contribution to Tamil Pann Isai, traditional Thirumurai hymns, and the preservation of ancient musical discourses. Celebrated as a supreme artist and A grade All India Radio performer with an artistic journey spanning…
MUMBAI, INDIA, July 4, 2026 (Edition): Outside the aircraft hangar-sized venue, the crowd of Gen Z office workers and teenagers is thickening. Event staff scan QR codes and fasten wristbands. Friends take selfies together as they wait in a queue. As night falls, the doors open and the nearly 5,000 attendees walk in. Inside the venue in India’s commercial hub…
CHALAKUDY, INDIA, July 4, 2026 (Courant): The life-size robotic elephants in Prasanth Prakashan’s backyard workshop have ears that flap, tails that swish and trunks that squirt water. But that’s about all they have in common with their real-life counterparts revered across India as manifestations of the divine. The animatrons, crafted from fiberglass, iron and rubber, are intended to take the…
MAURITIUS, June 10, 2026 (l’express, translated from French): Minister of Arts and Culture Mahen Gondeea has announced the creation of a Trust Fund, attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, to oversee the management of Ganga Talao and improve administrative transparency. The announcement was made on Monday in Grand-Bassin during a visit aimed at assessing the sanctuary’s current state and identifying…
UNITED STATES, June 5, 2026 (YouTube): In this episode of “That’s So Hindu,” Sangeetha Shankar speaks with Hindu American Foundation’s (HAF) Devala Gupta, Easan Katir, Mat McDermott, and Fred Stella about their journeys into Hinduism. They discuss their personal spiritual practices, how the wider Hindu community has accepted them, and much more. This episode highlights the diversity within the Hindu…
INDIA, July 2, 2026 (South Asian Herald): India’s non-profit sector is preparing for a fundamental shift in the way foreign-funded organizations operate after the Centre’s sweeping amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules (FCRA), with legal experts warning that the changes could reshape governance structures, funding strategies and program delivery across thousands of civil society organizations. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation)…
INDIA, June 29, (Persecution.org): On June 22, the Government of India issued two notifications, one of which explicitly bars non-governmental organizations from using foreign funds for proselytizing. The notification prohibits the use of foreign contributions for religious conversion but allows their use to support government-specified religious activities. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) is the framework through which all NGOs…
NEW DELHI, June 30, 2026 (News Drum): India’s state-wise Hindu temple count has again drawn attention to a striking pattern. Tamil Nadu stands at the top with more than 89,000 Hindu temples, while several northern states that once had rich ancient Hindu traditions show a far more fractured surviving temple landscape. In pre-modern India, major temples were centers of royal…
