Hinduism Today Seeks Contacts in Bangkok

GO TO SOURCE KAUAI, HAWAII, January 6, 2003: Hinduism Today is seeking a Hindu organization or individual in Bangkok to assist with the visit of our correspondent to the country in the beginning of February. We are in need of contacts among the local Hindu population. Kindly e-mail “source” above.

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Tamil Nadu’s Ancient Gene Pool Discovered

GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, January 5, 2003: India’s East Coast, especially along Tamil Nadu, is increasingly drawing the attention of archaeologists and anthropologists from across the world for its evolutionary and historical secrets. The focus has sharpened after genetic scientist Spencer Wells found strains of genes in some communities of Tamil Nadu that were present in the early man…

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Tamil Nadu’s Ancient Cities May Predate Mesopotamian Civilization

GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, January 5, 2003: A British marine archaeologist Graham Hancock has been examining a submerged city on the East Coast of Tamil Nadu. Mr. Hancock says a civilization thriving there may predate the Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia in present-day Iraq and definitely existed before the Harappan civilization in India and Pakistan. He has been excavating the…

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Deepavali in Birmingham an Interfaith Event

Source: Press Reports BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, December 24, 2002: In an effort to promote cross-cultural links, the city of Birmingham, England, connected the annual Deepavali celebration with the lighting of the towns’ Christmas lights. Held in November the annual event attracted over 5000 people, three quarters of whom were Hindu or Sikh. Indian music, prayer, dance and fireworks plus children’s rides…

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Hindus, Taoists Celebrate the New Year Together

GO TO SOURCE SINGAPORE, January 1, 2003: About 500 devotees welcomed the New Year together yesterday in a special prayer session held by two adjoining temples in Yishun, one Taoist and the other Hindu. Carrying a milk pot, Mr. Chua Peng Aik, 69, joined other Taoists and Hindus to usher in the New Year. Both temples had been situated side…

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India’s NGOs Asked to Reassess Their Roles

Source: Press Reports KANCHIPURAM, INDIA, December 31, 2002: The Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt recently released a book that contains guidelines for NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), many of which have faced criticism for indirectly inciting religious conversions through their development initiatives. “Government Schemes and the Role and Responsibilities of Non-Government Organizations,” published by a new NGO in the state called…

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Evangelists’ Letter Upsets Siva Devotee

GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, December 31,2002: Evangelists D. G. S. Dinakaran and Paul Dinakaran sparked a controversy by sending a letter to Matchi Shiva Sokkalinga Raja Vadivu Thevar, an ardent Siva devotee and authority on Saivism, expressing their happiness over Raja Vadivu’s visit to “Prayer Tower,” the headquarters of the Jesus Calls Trust in Chennai, and requesting him to…

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Andra Pradesh Privatizes Poor Temples

Source: Deccan Chronicle HYDERABAD, INDIA, December 29, 2002: It was recently announced that the State government will be pulling out of low revenue earning or “loss-making” temples. The priests of at least 24,000 temples which earn below US$500 each per annum must now search for ways to generate resources. Following the government’s decision, these temples will not get the minimum…

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Delaware Swaminarayan Fellowship Buys Evangelist’s Church

Source: Associated Press DELAWARE, UNITED STATES, December 30, 2002: Evangelist Leroy Jenkins plans to move to Columbus, Ohio, as part of a real-estate deal in which a Hindu temple would be placed at the site of his current church in the state of Delaware. Jenkins said he wants to operate his church in a former hotel on Columbus’ east side,…

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World Championship of Liars

GO TO SOURCE BURLINGTON, UNITED STATES, December 31, 2002: You probably don’t know this, and it has nothing to do with Hinduism, but Sandi Weld of Sorrento, Florida, just won the 72nd World Champion Liar Contest over hundreds of competitors. Weld won by writing: “When I moved to Iron Mountain, Michigan, (a real mining town) I brought my pet sheep.…

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