GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, March 31, 2002: The Pondicherry government has ordered an inquiry into alleged forced conversions of prisoners into Christianity, after six prisoners formally lodged a complaint with the state government. Though there had been allegations that P. David, the jail superintendent of Pondicherry Central Prison, was forcing prisoners to convert and was allowing Christian propagandists free…
GO TO SOURCE GUWAHATI, INDIA, April 1, 2002: Mixing religion with an initiative to revive dying art forms is what temple authorities at the Dol Gobindo mandir near here did on Saturday on the occasion of Holi. The five-day-long Dol Utsav here — thronged by thousands, apart from local villagers — is not just a celebration of religion or the…
GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, April 1, 2002: About 400 Hindu policemen and their families offered prayers at the Arulmigu Sri Ramalingam Eswarar Temple in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar on March 30. The gathering was organized by police personnel in the Klang Valley and was meant to bless them and their families in conjunction with the recent 195th Police Day…
GO TO SOURCE CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, March 31, 2002: The Pluralism Project, a long-term study by Harvard University, is offering small grants for religion departments, college students, and high school teachers to extend their research on America’s new religious landscape. The small grants for high school teachers encourages engagement with the religious communities of their own region as an integral part…
GO TO SOURCE KERALA, INDIA, April 1, 2002: Mata Amritanandamayi Devi will be conducting her North Kerala tour from 25 April up to 4 May. There will be two Brahmasthanam Festivals during the tour, one in Palakkad and one in Talssery. The other places she will visit are Vadakara, Kannur and Kanhangad. Amma is now on her trip to Singapore…
GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 29, 2002: The government has agreed to allow the development proposed by the management of the century-old Marathandavar Temple in Maran, said Malaysia Indian Congress president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. He said there should be no worries as the temple on a 3.6ha site had been gazetted as a heritage site by…
GO TO SOURCE KAUAI, HAWAII, March 31, 2002: Hinduism Today is researching an article on the sacred thread ceremony being performed for girls. In the course of the research, we have found paintings and sculptures of Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga and other Goddesses both with and without the sacred thread. If someone is familiar with this aspect of Goddess iconography, kindly…
GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD/VADODARA, INDIA, March 31, 2002: Hours after chief minister Narendra Modi claimed in Mumbai on Saturday that Gujarat was returning to normal, violence broke out in many parts of the state late in the night claiming at least nine lives. The incidents come four days prior to Prime Minister Vajpayee’s scheduled visit to the state amid frantic…
Source: India Today GODHRA, INDIA, March 25, 2002: On the night of March 3, as a grim Godhra resigned itself to an extended curfew, a crack team of the state’s anti-terrorist squad was closing in on some citizens. Having made vital arrests in Godhra’s Polan Bazar in connection with the burning of the Sabarmati Express, it was waiting for information…
GO TO SOURCE GUJARAT, INDIA, MARCH 25, 2002: India’s environment regulator Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), has approved the use of a genetically modified (GM) cotton for commercial production. Agriculture minister Agit Singh told the BBC’s World Business Report he was very much in favor of GM cotton. “Farmers are clamoring for GM seeds. You cannot stop it and put…