GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA July 15, 2002: A gang of women chain snatchers struck during a temple festival at Perambur this morning and relieved five women devotees of their gold chains, totally weighing about 30 sovereigns. They mingled with the crowd posing as devotees during the kumbhabhishekam of Dhandayuthapani Thirukkoil on Temple Road in Jawahar Nagar. They took away…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 16, 2002: The Centre (e.g., the federal government of India) on Tuesday said the religious and linguistic minorities cannot enjoy “absolute rights” under the Constitution to establish and administer their educational institutions. Solicitor General Harish Salve representing the Centre told an eleven-judge bench of the Supreme Court that the minorities’ constitutional rights should…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 14, 2002: Speaking at the celebration honoring the 83rd birthday of the Jain Saint Acharya Mahapragya, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj said, “If only we could all accept ahimsa (nonviolence), it will help in destroying terrorism from its very roots everywhere in the world.” Referring to terrorist attacks in Jammu and…
GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, July 10 2002: Having failed in its endeavor to reduce addiction to liquor and tobacco-related products through its various programs, the Prohibition Department of the Maharashtra government has now turned to spirituality. The minister concerned, Dr Dashrath Bhande, has directed the district collectors to seek the help of kirtankars and provachankars (those who deliver spiritual…
GO TO SOURCE KHEDA & PETLAD, INDIA, July 13, 2002: While peace prevailed in most of the state, it was central Gujarat that witnessed communal flare-ups on the day of the Jagannath Rath Yatra. Both Kheda and Petlad towns witnessed pitched battles between the Muslim and Hindu communities on Friday night and the situation was tense even on Saturday, as…
GO TO SOURCE LUCKNOW, INDIA, July 14, 2002: The historically rich Garh Mukteshwar may well turn out to be Uttar Pradesh’s “Hardwar,” which it lost to the new state of Uttaranchal, carved out of UP in 2000. Hardwar is one of the foremost pilgrimage destinations of India. The star attraction at both sites is the holy Ganga, which the UP…
GO TO SOURCE PUTTAPARTHI, INDIA, July 14, 2002: India’s missile man and National Democratic Alliance candidate for the presidential election A P J Abdul Kalam made a low-profile visit to Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh over the weekend to meet the religious leader, Satya Sai Baba. Kalam flew into Bangalore on Saturday afternoon without any fanfare and, in the evening, left…
GO TO SOURCE LUCKNOW, INDIA, JULY 14, 2002: Recently the Union Human Resource Development Ministry felt that the standards of conducting Hindu rituals were declining. The answer, the “Karma Kand Kriya,” a three-month training course for students aspiring to become priests conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan, opened to Hindus, including the Dalits (“outcastes). “I had 24 Dalit students…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, July 14, 2002: 15,000 soldiers and 500 commandos will be deployed to protect pilgrims when they make their annual pilgrimage this month to the revered temple cave of Amarnath in Kashmir, officials said on Saturday. Security forces will guard the 320-km pilgrimage route from the start of the month-long religious event, when pilgrims make their…
GO TO SOURCE TRANQUEBAR, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, July 13, 2002: The junior pontiff of Thiruvaduthruai Aadheenam, Kasiviswanatha Paramachraya, was arrested on Saturday in connection with the attempt on the life of the Aadheenam’s chief guru Maha Sannidhanam Sri Sivaprakasa Paramacharya Swamigal on the night of July 7. A case has also been registered against him for attempting to commit suicide…