INDIA, August 29, 2023 (The Organiser, by T. R. Ramesh): Government control over places of Hindu worship across India is in violation of constitutional provisions and various court orders. Yet it continues. In Tamil Nadu alone, 400 temples and their valuable properties have been suffering colossal mismanagement and annual losses of thousands of crores for over 70 years now. The…
INDIA, August 30, 2023 (Organiser): On the eve of Raksha Bandhan, the first Rakhi was tied to Bhagwan Mahakal on August 30 in the courtyard of Baba Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. A Bhasma Aarti was also performed and laddoos were distributed among devotees. It is a tradition to tie the first Rakhi to Lord Mahakal, a form of…
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, August 30, 2023 (Free Malaysia Today): For the many migrant workers who have traveled from Nepal to Malaysia in search of better wages and opportunities, spending nights alone without the company of their loved ones has become part of their lives. That loneliness can play on their minds and, without the love of their families, there is…
FORT BEND, TEXAS, August 30, 2023 (Houston Chronicle): Eduardo Hernandez, captain at the Northeast Fort Bend Fire Station 2 in Richmond, stood patiently while a young lady finished tying a silk thread around his outstretched wrist. Around him, other firefighters sporting matching bracelets enjoyed Indian sweets as they guided children around the fire station. The visitors were members of the…
UNITED STATES, August 28, 2023 (The Print, by Sudarshan Ramabadran): Today marks the 60th anniversary of the historic March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. His work on advocating for civil rights for Black Americans was also complemented by the actions of several others, perhaps the most well-known being Rosa Parks’…
SRINAGAR, JAMMU/KASHMIR, August 26, 2023 (Asia News Network): The longest Amarnath Yatra 2023 is finally inching to a conclusion as sages are carrying Chhari Mubarak to the holy cave while no fresh batches of Yatris left for Kashmir from Jammu. So far, 440,000 pilgrims visited the Amarnath cave shrine this year. Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that…
SRINAGAR, JAMMU/KASHMIR, August 22, 2023 (The Wire): Amid a rapid decline in the footfall of pilgrims and the complete melting of the ice Shiva Lingam in the cave shrine, authorities in Kashmir have suspended the Amarnath Yatra reportedly due to urgent repairs that have been taken up even as the annual pilgrimage is officially still on. “Due to the considerable…
NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 26, 2023 (Daiji World): When Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, there were concerns that some of Afghanistan’s tiny non-Muslim minorities could vanish. Two years on, those fears are becoming realized, a media report said. While Afghanistan’s last-known Jew fled the country shortly after the Taliban takeover, the Sikh and Hindu communities are believed to…
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, August 18, 2023 (RNS): It has been over a century since Swami Vivekananda introduced the tenets of Hinduism to a Western audience for the very first time. Vivekananda’s speech at the first Parliament of the World’s Religions — part of the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago — was a message of tolerance, mutual respect and universal acceptance. The…
NEW ZEALAND, August 21, 2023 (Media Release): Hindu Youth New Zealand (HYNZ) proudly launched New Zealand’s first ever DharmaFest event last year. A completely youth-led initiative, DharmaFest is an event that brings various Dharma based groups, temples, and spiritual organizations together to showcase the beautiful dimensions of New Zealand’s diverse Dharmic communities and celebrate Vibhinnatāyām Ekatvam – Unity in Diversity.…
