GO TO SOURCE HOUSTON, TEXAS, JULY 5, 2001: Three hundred families in Jivapar village in Gujarat will soon have strong, earthquake-resistant homes. The India Development and Relief Fund – Houston has decided to adopt the village in Morbi taluka of Rajkot district and rebuilding work is expected to start early next year. The IDRF is building 204 new houses at…
Source: Sandhya Times (Hindi) MATHURA, INDIA, July 5, 2001: Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have assembled at Giriraj to walk the 23-kilometer circumabulation route of Mathura. Five hundred buses and a number of special trains have proven insufficient to keep up with the influx of pilgrims. The circumabulation route, parikrama marg, is described as “a sea of heads.” District Magistrate…
Source: Sandhya Times (Hindi) DELHI, INDIA, July 6, 2001: The ancient Hanuman Temple in Yamuna Bazaar is to be redeveloped improved. This temple is one of the ancient and popular worship centers of Delhi. A large number of people from different parts of Delhi flock here every Tuesday and Saturday for worship purposes. Plans announced today call for additional buildings…
GO TO SOURCE KATRA, INDIA, June 29, 2001: While several thousand pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi outside Jammu fume and fret, a majority of the porters and ponywalas remain on strike, protesting the pre-paid fare system. Representatives of the Shrine Board, the Notified Area Committee and the pony contractor regulate the fare system. The prepaid system was introduced recently…
GO TO SOURCE KATHMANDU, NEPAL, July 3, 2001: Four senior security officials at the Nepalese royal palace have been fired for negligence of duty after last month’s massacre in which the king, queen and seven other family members were murdered. Some of those dismissed were personal bodyguards responsible for the safety of the late king, queen and the crown prince.…
GO TO SOURCE BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, July 6, 2001: An Indian appeals court has upheld the death sentences of four people convicted of killing a 7-year-old boy as a religious sacrifice. Ranjit Mohanty was kidnapped from his parents’ home near the Orissa state capital of Bhubaneshwar, and murdered in 1997. His killers allegedly confessed during questioning by police. “This type of…
GO TO SOURCE MONSEY, NEW YORK, July 8, 2001: In case you are worried about the recent development of Christian “bhajana” (Hindu-style devotional songs) or the Catholic mass conducted much like a Hindu temple ceremony, check out this site. The Jews are faced with an entire movement called “Messianic Synagogues.” Writes Rabbi Tovia Singer at this web site, “Such congregations…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, USA, July 3, 2001: About one to two percent percent of Americans have vitilego, a loss of pigment causing white patches to appear on the skin. While the condition is not contagious, painful, itchy or dangerous, the disfigurement it can be — especially for dark-skinned people — profoundly damaging socially, professionally and psychologically. In India,…
GO TO SOURCE STRASBOURG, FRANCE, July 4, 2001: The Council of Europe said yesterday it was deeply concerned about racism and anti-semitism in Germany, slamming a broad political atmosphere of intolerance and apathy toward racist attacks in the country. Its latest report on racism and intolerance notes that the causes of racist attacks include open and latent racism and anti-semitism…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, July 3, 2001: The trial of a man accused of murdering a well-known Hindu priest has begun at Nottingham Crown Court. Harish Purohit, a high-profile member of Leicester’s Hindu community, bled to death after being stabbed 16 times in October last year. Dean Riddell, 26, admits killing Harish Purohit by stabbing him in the neck,…