Source: The Times of India NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 13, 2000: Establishing the location of the Saraswati River alluded to in ancient Indian religious literature would authenticate its existence as a mighty Himalayan river. Over 160 Indus sites were nurtured by the Saraswati, far from the Indus River Valley. Now satellite photos and ground studies of clay, silt, sand and…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, December 19, 2000: Madonna’s wedding may assume a multicultural flare at Skibo castle in Scotland on December 22. A Hindi scholar has been asked to provide Sanskrit prayers for the ceremony and Reverend Susan Brown, the first women minister in a British cathedral, will be conducting the marriage. A senior Hindu leader in London told…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, December 19, 2000: The story of the Sidis, the Indian community of African descent which has lost contact with its African origins, has attracted enormous interest from around the world. A recent report on BBC News Online by Andrew Whitehead about the Sidis’ quest for their history has prompted hundreds of e-mails. “The song of…
GO TO SOURCE BERGEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY, December 15, 2000: Bergen County in North Jersey has become the home to the third-highest number of Indian Asians in the U.S.A. In order to keep their religion and culture thriving, the Hindu Samaj has purchased 5 wooded acres where the congregation of about 200 families plans to build a 26,000-square foot temple…
GO TO SOURCE MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, December 19, 2000: Concordia University announced it would hold an international conference on the Mahabharata June 7, 8 and 9, 2001. The themes are: methodological problems of teaching the mahabharata; character analysis based on ethical issues; and challenges and responses in the context of philosophical, social and other issues. Postal Address: Dr. Shrinivas Tilak,…
Source: Hindustan Times, Dec. 15 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, December 15, 2000: A division bench of the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition seeking entry for non-Hindus into temples. Advocate J. William John petitioned the court claiming that all Indians are Hindus, and therefore Rule 3 (A) of the Kerala Hindu Places Worship Act of 1965 preventing the entrance of Christians into…
GO TO SOURCE ARHUS, DENMARK, December 18, 2000: Ali Simsek, like millions of Turkish immigrants drawn to Europe came to Denmark in 1970. His family joined him but in all the years, Mr. Simsek never learned a word of Danish or forsook Turkish customs. When his oldest son, Bunyamin, turned 17 in 1987, Mr. Simsek arranged a marriage for him…
Source: Deccan Chronicle, Bangalore MYSORE, SOUTH INDIA, December 6, 2000: Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha (ABVM) President Bheemana Khandre has called upon heads of all Veerashaiva monasteries to unite and mobilize Veerashaivas as a separate religion to strengthen the community. Speaking as the chief guest on the “Census Enumeration – 2001 and Awareness Tour,” organized by the prominent Veerashaiva Mahasabha based…
GO TO SOURCE LEUVEN, BELGIUM, December 15, 2000: Those interested in the revival of pre-Christian, Pagan religions now underway in many parts of Europe and North America may enjoy reading the above paper by Dr. Koenraad Elst. Groups such as Lithuania-based, World Congress of Ethnic Religions work to rediscover and reconstitute the religion of their ancestors. With so little recorded…
Source: The Hindu, Chennai THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, December 14, 2000: An inquisition by the crime branch of the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, South India, has been ordered by the administrative board after a bloated lizard and a shrew tail was discovered in a prasadam (food blessed in the temple ritual) can by a devotee. Ruling out the possibility that the creatures…