Source: The Hindu, November 26, 2000 BANGALORE, INDIA: With the purpose of bringing uniform law to religious institutions, the Legislative Council passed the Hindu Religious Institutions Bill on Friday, November 25th. The Bill, replacing seven former acts in Karnataka State, will bring more than 43,000 Hindu temples, maths, and religious groups under the control of a commissioner. Officers and staff,…
Source: The Hindu, November 21, 2000 HUBLI, INDIA: A unique institution has been imparting education in dharma and tradition to a few students through the gurukula system at Mayuri Extension in Vijayanagar. Started by the Mahacharya Trust, the Mahacharya Vidyalaya selects students over nine years of age to undergo the 12-year course in Sahitya, Vyakarana, Tarka and Vedanta. Headed by…
GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA: With around 400 people under their care, Sivananda Ashram is appealing outside its homeland for additional funds for maintenance and expansion. The non-profit institution of more than 50 years, receives only RS 36/per month (US$0.78) from the government for each inmate. Orphans, destitute women, physically handicapped persons, old people, and AIDS-infected children are nurtured within…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND: Long before the first slave ships started supplying labor to the cotton plantations of the American south, and many centuries before the first Africans were brought ashore to the sugar estates of Brazil and the Caribbean, Africans were being sold as slave-soldiers for India’s princely states. Their descendants are the least visible part of the…
Source: Associated Press, November 24, 2000 MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, USA: A proposed comparative religion course for high school students has prompted debate in Memphis. The Shelby County School Board first tried to offer Bible history classes but was stopped by the state because the courses were found to focus too heavily on Protestants. It was then proposed that the board adopt…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Union Cabinet on Thursday decided to introduce the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Bill, 2000, ostensibly to remove discrepancies in the grounds for Christian men and women to seek divorce. Christian organizations have criticized the move, saying they were not consulted. The bill intends to amend the Indian Divorce Act, of 1869, since its provisions…
Source: India Today News Service, November 17, 2000 BEIJING, CHINA: According to a survey done by Chinese scientists, the world’s tallest peak, Mt. Everest, is moving into China at a speed of six to seven centimeters per year from its position on the Nepal-China border. This is nothing new, of course, as the entire India subcontinent–once separated from Asia by…
Source: Hinduism Today, November 21, 2000 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Lamar Van Dyke, one of two partners of Sittin’ Pretty Designs, offered an unconditional apology to the Hindu community for placing images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Kali on toilet seats. The company said they would withdraw the items from sale. In her apology for offending the sensibilities of the community, Lamar…
Source: Reuters, November 17, 2000 NEW DELHI, INDIA: More than half of Indian women believe that wife-beating can be justified under certain circumstances, a survey on population and health published this week said. The survey of 90,000 women across the country — conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences at the initiative of the Health Ministry — found that…
GO TO SOURCE AYODHYA, INDIA: After lying dormant for several years, the temple town of Ayodhya in India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, is once again simmering with tension. Eight years ago, Hindu zealots tore down the ancient Babri mosque in Ayodhya, which stands upon the birthplace of Lord Rama. Bloody Hindu-Muslim riots followed. Icons of Lord Rama and Sita were…