Source: Asian Age NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 20, 2001: After eight long years, the Sahmat exhibition Hum Sab Ayodhya can now be displayed to the public. Extolling the evolution of Ayodhya, the public showing was originally put together by distinguished historians Mr. K.N. Panikkar, Irfan Habib, and Ravinder Kumar. Shortly after launching in 1993, the exhibition was banned by the…
GO TO SOURCE SRINAGAR, INDIA, July 21, 2001: Twelve people were killed in a big explosion near Sheshnag, 28 kilometers from southern Kashmir, on the heavily guarded route to the pilgrimage cave at Amarnath, victims of an attack by suspected Muslim separatist guerrillas. Among those killed were two police officers. The other casualties were a militant, three civilians and five…
Source: Religion New Service NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 21, 2001: More than a dozen members of the Shiv Sena party were arrested July 21 when they started to scrub the floors of the mausoleum with cow urine and water from the Ganges River, according to the Associated Press. Hindus hold both the river and cows as sacred. On July 15,…
GO TO SOURCE BOMBAY, INDIA, JULY 18, 2001: The Parsi community of Bombay — who leave their dead out in the open to be consumed by vultures — have turned to science to aid them in their centuries-old ritual. The Bombay Parsi council has installed giant solar reflectors to speed-up the process of decomposition of corpses because there are not…
GO TO SOURCE BOMBAY, INDIA, July 19, 2001: Nationalists protested in front of the U.S. Consulate here Thursday, saying the name of President Bush’s cat — “India” — was an insult and should be removed from the White House Web site. “Mr. President, don’t make a mistake. Indians are lions not cats,” read posters held up by some of the…
GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, July 21, 2001: Yesterday was the last night of indulgence for meat-eaters as the one-month period of abstinence begins today with the onset of the month of Shravan. And indulge they did, according to this report in the Chalo Mumbai news web site. Manjunath Shetty, owner of Ashoka Restaurant & Bar in Dadar, said, “Business…
Source: Religion News Service WASHINGTON, D.C., July 20, 2001: Will the family dog have a heavenly home or be shut out from the streets paved with gold? Americans are split on whether pets will gain entrance to heaven when they die, a new ABC News/Beliefnet poll shows. Forty-three percent think pets will go to heaven while 40 percent think heaven…
GO TO SOURCE KATHMANDU, NEPAL, July 17, 2001: Nepal’s parliamentary Law and Justice Committee today approved the most controversial clause in the bill proposing an 11th amendment to the Muluki Ain, or civil code, that would now allow women to retain parental property even after marriage. The change is taking place after extensive research in all areas of the country…
Source: Hinduism Today HAWAII, USA, July 17, 2001: Several responses to a query sent out on HPI regarding German laws on children’s name has elicited several responses indicating there are no such laws. The issue arose when a Tamil father in a German town was told he could not give his new-born daughter anything other than a German name. It…
GO TO SOURCE LAOS, July 18, 2001: In the communist state of Laos, officials in have declared Christianity the “No. 1 enemy of the state.” Christians in droves are being forced to sign a declaration officially renouncing their faith. According to The Bible League, those who refuse to sign the document face prison sentences under very hard conditions. Laos ranks…