Mass Marriages Encouraged in Lucknow

GO TO SOURCE LUCKNOW, INDIA, May 19, 2002: More than 300 girls and boys in the city submitted applications for the match-making process which was conducted at the Sahu Shital Dharmasala on Sunday. The program, organized by the Sahu Rathod Mahila Chetna Samiti, aims at making the marriage ceremony less expensive though the holding of mass marriages. For parents with…

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Ten Years of Hinduism Today Goes Online

GO TO SOURCE KAUAI, HAWAII, May 18, 2002: Hinduism Today is pleased to announce the addition of ten years to its on-line archives, from 1979 through to 1989. Click “source” above to reach the archives, and scroll down for the earlier years. The magazine hopes to complete its archives, which currently have a gap from 1990 to 1993, within a…

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Karnataka Temple Priests Face Exams

GO TO SOURCE BANGALORE, INDIA, May 12, 2002: Hindu temple priests in Karnataka have to now qualify by passing an examination in Agama Shastra, including Sanskrit chanting and performance of rituals. This is according to the new rules drafted by the Muzrai officials under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Trust Act of 1997 which received presidential assent in December. The…

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Kedarnath and Badrinatha Temples Open After Winter

Source: The Hindu GOPESHWAR, UTTARANCHAL, INDIA, May 17, 2002: The shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath in the Garhwal Himalayas opened today after winter amid chanting of Vedic hymns and blowing of conches. This is the first time that the doors of the two shrines were opened on the same day for pilgrims. The famed temples, high in the Himalayas, are…

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Non-Resident Indian Meeting in New York Seeks Peace in Gujarat

Source: Press Release NEW YORK, NEW YORK, May 12, 2002: A group of thirty-five non-resident Indians from all parts of the United States met for three days from Friday, May 10, to Sunday, May 12, to discuss the massacre of thousands of people in Gujarat and how to restore peace and end to killings in their motherland. The meeting was…

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VHP Recruits Preachers in Kerala

GO TO SOURCE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, May 9, 2002: The VHP is recruiting dharma pracharaks (preachers) in Kerala to offset the work of Christian missionaries in the area. Interested parties are requested to apply to the VHP’s Kochi office. “There are around 29,000 Christian missionaries in Kerala, while Hindu sadhus and sants add up to only around 400,” VHP organizing secretary…

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2002 Summer Hindu Heritage Camp in India

GO TO SOURCE KARNATAKA, INDIA, May 15, 2002: The Vikasan Foundation is organizing a summer camp for Hindu children from the US between the ages of 12 and 18, to be held at gurukulas, traditional religious schools, throughout Karnataka. Through the gurukula system the organizers hope to blend the Vedic wisdom of the ancients with the technology of the modern,…

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Christian Colleges Dominate Education in India

Source: India Today DELHI, INDIA, May 18, 2002: A recent India Today has rankings of the top 10 colleges in India in various disciplines. While the exact rankings are not very significant, what is noteworthy is the large number of top-ranked colleges run by Christian –mostly Catholic — organizations, even though Christians are just a few percent of the population.…

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Kailas Pilgrimage Route Cut by Landslides

GO TO SOURCE UTTARANCHAL, INDIA, May 16, 2002: The Kailash-Mansarovar route along the Pithoragarh-Dharchoola road in Uttaranchal has been cut off following landslides triggered by heavy rains disrupting vehicular traffic, officials said in Pithoragarh on Thursday. Heavy rains, accompanied by a hailstorm, lashed Pithoragarh district on Wednesday evening causing the landslides, which blocked a four-metre stretch of the road, they…

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Maneka Gandhi Halts “Horse Sacrifice”

GO TO SOURCE ORISSA, INDIA, May 17, 2002: A scheduled “horse sacrifice” in the village of Juna Padia, about 430 km southwest of Calcutta was stopped by India minister of Minister for Culture and Animal Care, Maneka Gandhi. She, along with local officials, confiscated the horses. The Washington Times (“source” above) and the South China Morning Post reported April 15…

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