To please Hindu vote bank, Chandy set to induct Chennithala into Cabinet

Ramesh Chennithala would join the Cabinet led by Oommen Chandy, in a bid to improve party’s relation with upper class Hindu vote bank. (IE Photo)   Kerala state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala would join the Cabinet led by Oommen Chandy, in a bid to improve party's relation with upper class Hindu vote bank. Hindu Nair outfit Nair Service Society has been sulking over the Congress' reluctance to induct Chennithala, a Nair, into...

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UK Sikhs, Hindus criticise use of 'Asian' in criminality talk

British Sikhs and Hindus have launched an online petition asking politicians and media to stop using vague terms like "Asian" while talking of child sex grooming by gangs as it besmirches their communities. Four leading religious groups — the Hindu Council UK, the Network of Sikh Organisations, the Sikh Media Monitoring Group and the Sikh Awareness Society — have sponsored the online petition, The Times said in a report today. Political correctness should not stop the government from identifying "an emerging pattern of criminality"...

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Vedic varsity chancellor in 3-day custody in rape case

Chancellor of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic University Girish Varma was Monday remanded to police custody for three days after he was arrested in connection with a rape complaint filed nearly 10 months ago in Bhopal. The alleged victim, a teacher at Maharshi Vidya Mandir, Ratanpur, had accused Varma, a nephew of Mahesh Yogi, of repeatedly raping her between 1998 and 2013. A former employee of a group institution, the woman alleged that the couple had received threats to withdraw the complaint. Varma, who had refused to produce himself before...

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Construction of Hindu crematorium in Buntong to start next month

Current site: The Hindu burial ground at the Indian Settlement in Jalan Madras currently has a small building to burn the dead. The state government plans to replace this with the RM1.3mil public crematorium, which only needs a space of about 0.1 ha land for its construction. — filepic THE construction work of a RM1.3mil Hindu crematorium in Buntong is expected to...

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Voluntary service offered for Hindu temples

Not satisfied with maintenance and upkeep of ancient Hindu temples at Katasraj in Chakwal district, the All India Mahajan Jagaran Manch (AIMJM) has announced to perform karsewa (voluntary service) at these temples. "They white wash, clean and put lights in the temples before arrival of Hindu jathas from India and lock them as we leave Katasraj," AIMJM President Manch Gulshan Mahajan told Indian reporters. Mahajan had recently returned from Katasraj pilgrimage. Notably, many Hindu devotees had complained of poor maintenance of Hindu temples...

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Hindu Married to Non-Hindu Can't Get Divorce Under Act: HC

The Bombay High Court has held that a Hindu married to a non-Hindu in accordance with Hindu rituals cannot seek divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act.    Accordingly, a bench headed by Justice V K Tahilramani upheld a family court order which rejected a petition filed by Niranjani Roshan Rao, a Hindu, seeking divorce from husband Roshan Pinto on the ground that he was a Christian at the time of marriage and was professing the same religion till today.            As the family...

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NIA set to drop case against Sadhvi Pragya, others arrested by MP Police

The NIA has concluded that the Madhya Pradesh Police arrested the wrong people, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. Nearly six years after the murder of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has concluded that the Madhya Pradesh Police arrested the wrong people, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. Joshi, an accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts and the Samjhauta and Ajmer blasts in 2007, was found dead in...

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Hindu nationalist party leader on Friday rejected criticism on 2002 religious riots in India

  FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2013 file photo, Narendra Modi, leader of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its prime ministerial candidate for next year's national elections, gestures at the party's office in New Delhi, India. An Indian court on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013, rejected a petition seeking the prosecution of Modi in the killing of a former lawmaker and other Muslims during riots in the western state...

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Bid to Alienate Tribals from Hindu Religion

Taking a serious note of the efforts at converting the members of the tribal community to Christianity and “alienate them from the Hindu culture,” Kerala Vanavasi Vikas Kendram has called upon the Hindus to take up the cause of the tribals and fight for their birth rights. Delivering the key-note address at the cultural meeting organised as part of the birth centenary of Balasaheb Deshpande, the founder of Akhila Bharatheeya Vanavasi  Kalyan Ashram, Seema Surakha all-India joint organising secretary A Gopalakrishnan said  here...

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Marriage under Hindu law not a contract to be undone by a deed, says Bombay High Court

Asks family court to hear divorce appeal by couple, who had simply signed an agreement to part ways. Marriage under the Hindu law is not a contract that can be annulled by the signing of a deed of divorce by the couple themselves, the Bombay High Court has said, in a case that it termed as "very peculiar and most unusual." The court was hearing an appeal against a family court order by a city couple who, unaware of the legal provisions for divorce, had dissolved their marriage by simply signing a deed between themselves. They did not...

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Indian court rejects prosecution of Hindu nationalist leader and PM candidate in 2002 riots

AHMADABAD, India - An Indian court on Thursday rejected a petition seeking the prosecution of a Hindu nationalist party's prime ministerial candidate in the killing of a former lawmaker and other Muslims during riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002. Magistrate B.J. Ganatara's ruling comes as a boost to Narendra Modi, the state's top elected official and the Bharatiya Janata party's prime ministerial candidate in national elections to be held before May. Former Congress party lawmaker Ehsan Jafri was allegedly killed by Hindu rioters...

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HC denies divorce to woman who claimed she didn’t know of husband’s religion

The Bombay High Court Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a Hindu woman seeking nullity of her nearly 15-year-old marriage, who claimed that she was unaware at the time of marriage that her husband was Christian and hence the marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 cannot be held valid. The woman had moved the court in 2011 stating that her marriage on January 13, 1999 as per Hindu rituals was null as her husband was a Christian and continued to profess the religion even after the marriage. Her lawyer submitted to the court that...

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Senate Approves Seat For Hindu Minority

Wednesday December 25, 2013 Kabul (BNA) At the Senate Meeting chaired by its speaker Fazul Hadi Muslimyar, the senate in addition to confirming of three international documents, confirmed the draft amendments at the election law pertaining to allocation of a seat for the Hindu community at the House of People. Meanwhile, the agreement of friendship and cooperation between Afghanistan and Indonesia, the strategic agreement between Afghanistan...

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Respect Jesus teaching ; Christian bodies against Church conspiracy to include them in SC Category

Respect Jesus’ teachings and do not include us in SC categoryNew Delhi, December 24th 2013The Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM) and United Christian Democratic Forum (UCDF) have named Church Authorities of conspiring to include them in the Scheduled Caste list, which they said is not acceptable to Dalit Christians.In an open letter to His Holiness Pope Francis and Church Authorities, the PCLM President R. L. Francis, Advocate George Tomas, Rev. Ashwini Kumar and P. B. Lomeo said that Dalits converted to Christianity prefer to preserve...

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Senate Approves Presidential Order For Hindu Seat

News - Afghanistan  The Upper House of Parliament unanimously approved a Presidential order from Hamid Karzai that would create one seat for the Hindu and Sikh minority groups on Tuesday. The Lower House has rejected the order last month, saying it was contrary to Afghanistan's Constitution. In a legislative decree, President Hamid Karzai had asked Parliament to implement...

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Hindu Backlash to Lower House Seat Refusal

News - Afghanistan   Members of the Sikh and Hindu minority in Afghanistan on Tuesday criticized the Lower House's refusal to approve a Presidential Decree that would designate a single seat to them in Parliament. Although the Senate voted in favor of the change this week, it must now be forwarded on to a joint-chamber commission to have its fate decided. The...

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Sangh Parivar Takes a Leaf Out of Christian Practice

The think tanks of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are calling on Hindu families for a social cause. Taking a leaf out of the Christian practice followed in families dedicating their children to the services of the church, RSS is now taking a step forward to put it in practice in Hindu families.Speaking to Express RSS Prantha Kariyavah(state secretary) P Gopalankutty Master said that in the past in Hindu and Christian communities there...

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Call to popularise Sanskrit in the country

'There are more Sanskrit colleges and Sanskrit students in Germany than in India - the birthplace of the language.' There were more Sanskrit colleges and Sanskrit students in Germany than in India - the birthplace of the language, Commissioner for Collegiate Education B.G. Nanda Kumar said and called upon the authorities and lovers of the language to popularise it. Delivering the valedictory speech at the fifth International Vedic Science conference jointly organised by the National Institute of Vedic Sciences Trust of the Sri Sripadaraja...

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London school teaches students Vedic maths

A private British primary school chain in London has been training its pupils in Vedic mathematics for more than a decade, even as including the subject in school curriculum is a matter of debate in the country of its origin. Vedic mathematics is taught compulsorily to pupils of the multi-cultural private chain of three schools, St. James’ Independent Schools, according to its former deputy principal, James Glover. Mr. Glover says he taught...

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Nepalis Must Decide on Becoming Hindu State: BJP leader

Kathmandu, Dec 23 (IANS) Nepal, which embraced secularism in 2008, will only be declared a Hindu state if the people of Nepal want it and not just because the BJP thinks so, party leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari said here Monday. The former Uttarakhand chief minister held talks with various Nepali leaders, including President Ram Baran Yadav and Interim Election Council chairman Khil Raj Regmi in the past three days. After a decade-long people's war waged by Maoists and upon agreement among political parties, Nepal declared itself a secular...

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Hindu school teacher goes missing in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A Hindu school teacher was allegedly kidnapped by unidentified people while on her way back home from school near the Pakistan Radio Colony on Saturday afternoon. Faqir Chand, the father of the missing 25-year-old woman Sapna Rani, said his daughter is a teacher at the Peshawar Science Academy near Ayub Flour Mill on GT Road. While talking to The Express Tribune, he said Rani went to school at around 7:45am on Saturday...

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Dancers light up school to learn about Diwali festival

Annapurna Dance at Field Lane School, Rastrick. Hannah Sharp 10, Chevanah Matheson 11 and Alicia Dwyer nine. Music and dance lit up Field Lane Primary School in
Rastrick as pupils learnt about the Diwali. Annapurna Dance group visited the Rastrick school to teach children traditional dances and about the festival itself. The organisation...

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'Hindu Garjana' Has Cops on Their Toes in Tirupati

Pontiffs of various Hindu mutts during the ‘Hindu Garjana’ in Tirupati on Friday. The meeting was organised as a protest against the construction of the Heera International Islamic University at Tondavada near Tirupati | EXPRESS PHOTO The ‘Hindu Garjana’ organised in the temple town put the police on tenterhooks for some time. Heavy police bandobust was seen at the TUDA grounds where the meeting was held and also at the...

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Our Hopes Were Dashed, Say Pakistani Hindus

The Hindu Hindus from Pakistan demonstrating at Jantar Mantar on Friday. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar  A group of 29 Hindus from the Sindh province of Pakistan have been demonstrating at Jantar Mantar here for the past four days to demand that the Indian Government provide them food, shelter and jobs. On October 5 this year, the group entered India legally, seeking a better future for themselves. However, they were allegedly asked...

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Tamil writer and Vedic scholar Swaminatha Athreyan dead

His works include Samartha Ramadas Charitam, a book on Anjaneya temples Tamil writer and Vedic scholar Swaminatha Athreyan, who delved deep into the keerthanas of Saint Thiyagaraja and translated Tulsi Ramayana into Tamil, died on Thursday at Thanjavur. He was 94. Athreyan, one of the writers of Manikodi, a trail blazer in the modern Tamil literature, recreated specific incidents in the life of Thiyagaraja as short stories, that gave birth to different compositions. The collection was later published as Thiyagaraja Anubhavangal. A ...

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Fire Destroys Middle Ga. Hindu Worship Center

LIZELLA, Ga. — Middle Georgia fire officials are working to determine the cause of a blaze that destroyed a Hindu worship and community center in Lizella. Macon-Bibb Fire District Chief Richard Blair told the Telegraph of Macon that flames were shooting through the building's roof when he arrived Wednesday night. Blair says four people who were inside escaped without injuries. Fire Chief Marvin Riggins told WMAZ-TV the building's occupants...

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Hindus, Satanists banned from putting up monuments at Oklahoma Capitol

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — After hearing from Satanists, Hindus and an animal rights group, the panel that oversees the grounds at the Oklahoma Capitol says it's not taking any more requests for new displays at the Statehouse.The Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission voted Thursday to approve the ban until a court dispute over the current Ten Commandments monument is settled. It was that monument that the New York-based Satanic Temple said opened the door for it to seek its own display at the Statehouse in Oklahoma City.That was followed by...

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Khairpur Hindu traders threaten to move business to India

Thursday, December 19, 2013 From Print Edition SUKKUR: Hindu traders in Khairpur have threatened to move their businesses to India if police did not stop their atrocities against them. According to reports, local Hindu traders had been observing shutter down for last four days in Nara, Peerano Pattan, Choundiko and Sikandarabd against what they call the atrocities of Station House Officer Mansoor Nizamani. They alleged they were tortured by the police when they refused to give extortion. Representatives of traders Siri Chand and Kirshan...

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Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal Stable

Thursday, Dec 19, 2013, 18:30 IST | Place: Gurgaon | Agency: IANS Ashok Singhal. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal's condition is stable, a doctor said on Thursday. The 87-year-old Singhal, the former international president of the Hindu organization, was admitted to Medicity Medanta hospital here Monday for general checkup and treatment. "His vitals are...

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Fatwas ban outsiders’ entry in Rameshwaram villages

Source: News Bharati English  |  12/16/2013 2:44:19 PM Chennai, December 16 : Fatwas by Islamic institutions in and around Muslim dominated Rameshwam and neighbouring villages have banned outsiders from entering the villages.  Ramanathapuram district, 527 km south of Chennai, which houses Rameswaram Temple and many holy shrines, is getting out of bound for outsiders. Local Jamaath Councils have issued...

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8 Awami activists get death for murder of Hindu man

Eight student activists of the ruling Awami League were sentenced to death and 13 others were given life terms on Wednesday by a fast-track court in Dhaka for hacking to death a Hindu man during a nationwide strike in 2012. “They (the eight) will be hanged to death,” pronounced tribunal-4 judge A.B.M. Nizamul Haque at the packed courtroom as six convicts appeared in the dock. During the 10-minute proceedings of the day, the court observed that Biswajit Das’ murder case is quite different from the others. It took place in the broad...

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Buddhists, Hindus together construct Chhorten in Solukhumbu

Buddhists and Hindus in Salleri-7 in Solukhumbu district have jointly constructed a Buddha Chorten (a Buddhist shrine) as a symbol of religious harmony. A new Chorten was constructed at Chhalyamu of Salleri-7 the same place where the old Chhorten was located. The old Chhorten was replaced by a new one as it was in dilapidated condition. The Chhorten was constructed at the initiatives and support of all communities including Newar, Sherpa, Chhetri and Magar living in the area. The Chhorten was inaugurated on Tuesday. Its construction had...

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'Hindu god' Littledean cannabis couple spared jail by judge

Gloucester Crown Court Katarzyna Dryden-Chouen Gloucester Crown Court Katarzyna Dryden-Chouen HUSBAND and wife Katarzyna and Clive Dryden-Chouen have walked free from...

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Jamaat-Shibir men defy joint patrol, chase Hindus

Panic haunts around 600 families belonging to the Hindu community at eight villages of Bawra and Jongra unions in Patgram upazila under the district as Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir launched several attacks on the minority community during the last two months. Lastly on Sunday midnight, Parapukur Mandir, a heritage temple at Shafinagar village of Bawra union was attacked and six idols of gods and goddesses were vandalised there, during the countrywide hartal called by Jamaat. Joint forces started patrolling...

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Urban Outfitters forced to pull $8 Ganesh socks from sale after Hindu community accuses it of 'hurting our devotees'

Urban Outfitters has come under fire from the Hindu community over a pair of $8 socks. Rajan Zed, the president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, says that Urban Outfitters’s socks featuring the ancient deity Lord Ganesh are a misinterpretation of the Hindu religion. ‘Lord Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be wrapped around one's foot,’ Mr Zed said of the socks in a...

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An Avid Shutterbug, Driving Enthusiast, Sanskrit Scholar

By Express News Service - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Published: 17th December 2013 10:24 AM Last Updated: 17th December 2013 10:24 AM Police offering state honours to the mortal remains of Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma at Panchavadi on the premises of the Kowdiar palace on Monday | Kaviyoor Santhosh Other than being the head of the Travancore Royal Family and a ‘Padha Dasamanab’, Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma was...

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India: Hindu group congratulates Supreme Court for banishing homosexuality as ‘imported disease’

The Supreme Court in India ruled to ban gay sex last week A right-wing Hindu group in India has congratulated the Supreme Court for its “historic”, decision to reinstate a ban on gay sex. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), congratulated...

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Hindus Protest Demolition of Temple in Karachi

A large number of Pakistani Hindus today joined a protest outside the Press Club here over the demolition of an 80-year-old temple in the city's Soldier Bazar area. The Krishna or Rama Peer Mandir at Dholi Khata in Soldier Bazar has become a bone of contention between the minority Hindu community and a powerful builder, who bought the land on which the temple was built from the military estate office through a government auction. "Religious articles, including pictures and statuettes of our gods, are still...

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