Source: The Hindu BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, June 19, 2002: The Global Council of Indian Christians has demanded an enquiry into the alleged conversion of 143 tribal Christians into Hinduism by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Orissa’s Sundargarh district on June 16. In a statement issued today, the national convener of the council, Sajan K. George, alleged that the conversions were done…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, May 11, 2002: Hospitals, and in particular maternity wards, have had to adapt to multicultural traditions and practices in an attempt to meet the needs of immigrant mothers in the last ten years. In the last decade half of all births in the U.S. have been to mothers born outside the country, compared to one in…
GO TO SOURCE CALIFORNIA, USA, June 15, 2002: Indian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley say they have done what their homeland could not: raise respect for itself. At an annual conference Friday put on by the Indus Entrepreneurs, speakers talked about how expatriate businessmen are helping transform the subcontinent’s rigid, closed economy into a success. “India’s struggle for economic freedom started…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 20, 2002: As if there is nothing better to report on in India, today’s Associated Press carried this single story on Hinduism: “The drought-plagued residents of a small village in southern India organized a ceremonial wedding for two donkeys to appease the Hindu god of rain, a news report said Thursday. Dressed up…
GO TO SOURCE DELHI, INDIA, June 19, 2002: Manushi magazine has established a relief fund for victims of the Gujarat riots. Their press release reads, “The Gujarat riots have rendered nearly 200,000 people homeless in their own home land. Equally alarming is the government’s refusal to provide necessary relief and rehabilitation. Moreover, very few secular agencies have undertaken relief work.…
GO TO SOURCE USA, June 13, 2002: Fearing they may be held responsible for the nation’s expanding waistline, U.S. food and beverage makers are going on the defensive with obesity. Some packaged-food companies are contemplating advertisements that would discourage consumers from overeating their products. A handful are giving exercise equipment to schools and expanding the health-and-wellness information on their Web…
GO TO SOURCE ROURKELA, ORISSA, June 18, 2002: Altogether 143 Christian tribals, belonging to 47 families, have been reconverted to Hinduism at an Atma Suddhi Yagna ceremony held at Tainsar village under Brahmanitaranga police station, about 30 km from here, police said. The ceremony to mark the reconversion of the tribals, belonging to the Oram community, was organized by the…
GO TO SOURCE NAHAN, INDIA, June 16, 2002: Inmates of the local Central Model Jail are on the way to reforming themselves with the help of yoga. The gradual transformation is the result of the voluntary efforts of Mr. Sharad Katara, who is a yoga teacher helping inmates bring about a better change in their lives. Inmates wake up early…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, June 16, 2002: Islamic guerrillas threw grenades and fired guns at Hindu pilgrims trudging down from a mountaintop shrine in Jammu-Kashmir, starting a battle that killed three Hindu children and three of the pilgrims’ Muslim escorts, police said Sunday. This is a revision to yesterday’s report that stated only two people were killed. Religious tension…
GO TO SOURCE KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, June 10, 2002: Afghanistan’s tiny Hindu and Sikh communities, forced to the brink of extinction by the Taleban regime, are hoping to make a social and political re-emergence at the Loya Jirga Assembly from June 10 to 16. Community leaders said their presence at the assembly was a reassertion of the rights of the nation’s…