Source: The New Indian Express INDIA, October 21, 2002: Excerpted from an article by Swami Dayananda Saraswati: “I welcome the promulgation of the ordinance by the Government of Tamil Nadu to ban religious conversions ‘by use of force or by allurements or by any fraudulent means.’ This is a long-awaited step. A step that ensures for the citizens of Tamil…
GO TO SOURCE SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, October 27, 2002: Tom Mitchell and Bruce Cady, former telecommunications executives, are founders of Jupiter Returns, a new San Francisco company that merges business and astrology. “We want to create a brand name,” said Mitchell. “When you want a chart done for yourself or your family, you’ll call Jupiter Returns. It will be a…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, October 31, 2002: A US court has approved a US$10 million settlement in a lawsuit by an Indian American against McDonald’s Corporation for misleading customers who don’t eat meat by using beef extracts in its fries. Punjab-born Harish Bharti, the lead counsel in the case Sharma vs McDonald’s, said he was elated with…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES, November 1, 2002: Sacred Circles: A Celebration of Women’s Spirituality 2002, will be held November 8-9 in Washington DC at the Washington National Cathedral. This biannual gathering attracts more than 1,000 women from around the United States who delve into the commonalities they share while honoring their diversities. Representatives of Christian, Jewish, Muslim,…
Source: Evening Herald (Plymouth) KINGSBRIDGE, ENGLAND, October 21 2002: Children have a chance to celebrate the Hindu Festival of Light, Deepavali, at Kingsbridge Farmers’ Market on Saturday, November 2. On top of the usual selection of quality local produce, the monthly market will play host to a special Deepavali workshop run by the play resource charity SPARC. Deepavali, taught as…
Source: Media Corporation of Singapore Pte Ltd. SINGAPORE, November 2, 2002: It was a procession not only to welcome the Festival of Lights and pray for world peace, but also a procession of religious harmony as Buddhist and Hindu communities came together for this recent special event. The divine light procession began from the Leong San Temple at Race Course…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, November 1, 2002: In what they hope will be the most auspicious new political season of them all, hundreds of British Hindus took incense, diyas (oil lamps), sweets and the spirit of Deepavali for the first time ever into the UK’s Victorian houses of Parliament, only to be rebuked by a leading government minister for…
GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, October 31, 2002: Amid an hour-long acrimonious debate, the anti-conversion bill was passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday with 140 members voting in favor and 73 opposing the motion. In the 234-member house, none remained neutral. Speaker K. Kalimuthu did not participate in the voting. Twenty members, including former Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi…
GO TO SOURCE LAUTOKA, FIJI, October 31, 2002: To mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival of South Indians in Fiji from Chennai, the Fijian Sangam has plans to hold a celebration in the spring of 2003 in Lautoka in conjunction with the Annual Sangam Convention 2003. During the celebration, a book entitled “History of Then India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam”…
Source: New India Press KOLKATA, INDIA, October 24, 2002: Clay images of two Indian Goddesses, Durga and Kali, selected for their mystical qualities and considered representative of Hinduism, will find a permanent place in the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. Shyamal Kanti Chakraborty, curator of Kolkata’s Indian Museum, said the Danish foreign ministry had written to him about Copenhagen’s…