GO TO SOURCE NEW ZEALAND, March 30, 2002: As Christians celebrate Easter, latest census figures show there are fewer of them, but the diversity of faiths among New Zealanders is growing. Over a million people (27.5 per cent) described themselves as having no religion in the 2001 census compared with about 670,000 people a decade ago. New Zealand’s changing population…
GO TO SOURCE AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, Mar 23, 2002: Asians are coming to New Zealand in numbers not seen since the mid-1990s and the latest figures show that most of the migrants are Chinese or Indian. In a reversal of trends, the inflow of people outnumbers the outflow, sparking a real estate boom. According to Statistics New Zealand, the number…
GO TO SOURCE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, March 30, 2002: In Indian culture, societal and family pressures to find someone of similar backgrounds and sometimes caste often produce quick nuptials, reports the Boston Daily Globe in this insightful article. Arranged marriages, in which teenagers are introduced on their wedding day, are declining among a new generation of Indians. But the alternative is…
GO TO SOURCE CHINA, April 1, 2002: During the annual week-long Chinese New Year holiday, Buddhist and Taoist temples across China are always brimming with worshippers burning joss-sticks and praying to Buddha and other deities for good fortune. Come Christmas, young Chinese pack the Nantang Catholic Church in Beijing to soak in the Christmas feel and listen to carollers. Religious…
GO TO SOURCE STRATHFIELD SOUTH, AUSTRALIA, April 3, 2002: Dr A. Kandiah, a Tamil scholar and a prolific writer has taken up the task of publishing a book, “Hindu Temples in Australia.” This is the first book published cataloguing the Hindu Temples in Australia with a brief description of each temple. In the conclusion Dr Kandiah states: “From our survey…
Source: The Hindu SRINAGAR, INDIA, March 31, 2002: The gory incident of Saturday at Jammu’s historic Raghunath temple led to the closure of its doors for the first time in 150 years. Upset over what happened at the place of worship the head priest, Pandit V. Shastri, said, “The doors had to be closed for the first time in 150…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, April 4, 2002: Saturday’s terrorist attack on the historic Raghunath Temple, the first major strike by the Kashmiri militants in past 12 years, has shaken the residents of Jammu. The attack, which killed ten persons, stopped business activity in the winter capital on Sunday, with people preferring to stay indoors. The 150-year-old Raghunath Temple has…
GO TO SOURCE JAMMU, INDIA, April 4, 2002: Hundreds of devotees and priests on Sunday performed mass purification and joint prayers at the Raghunath temple complex here desecrated by two militants who opened indiscriminate fire and exploded a grenade killing three securitymen and five civilians on Saturday. About 40 priests from different temples across Jammu city, assisted by over 500…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 2, 2002: The VHP on Monday, states this article in the Hindustan Times, advised Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to confine himself to politics and leave matters of faith to religious leaders. “It is better if he (Vajpayee) confines himself to politics and leaves matters of faith to religious leaders,” VHP senior vice-president…