This Months Article

Starting: Sun April 1, 2001
Ending: Mon April 30, 2001

Messages: 146

• Will the real Tarun Tejpal stand up please?
• Anil Narendra, Organiser, April 1, 2001
>>> Shri Tarun Tejpal and his team of "tehelka.com." must he congratulated for their explosive and sensational expose. Indeed they have done a commendable work to expose corruption especially in defence area. However, there are some serious questions that also need answers. ......
 
• Bad fish must be identified and thrown out
• Shyam Khosla, Organiser, April 1, 2001
>>> Disrupting parliamentary proceedings for a day or two to force the Government of the day to respond to Opposition's concerns may be explained away as a clever tactics though it is not a legitimate parliamentary practice and does undermine the parliamentary system. ......
 
• The excesses of secularism
• M. V. Kamath, Organiser, April 1, 2001
>>> It is nobody's case that there are no fanatics among Hindus and it behaves all right-minded Hindus to condemn such extremists among them. But to compare the demolition of the Babri masjid with the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statue by the Taliban is going overboard in self-flagellation. ......
 
• Horseplay at Harward
• Vasant Sharma, Organiser, April 1, 2001
>>> Most readers may be aware that the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) and its Siamese twin the Aryan Migration Theory (AMT) have been deep-sixed for good. Yet many academics in the West continue to recycle material from hundred-year-old books under the exalted title of "Western Indological Researches". Witzel of Harward University is the chief purveyor of old rubbish. ......
 
• Minorities panel waits for Christian parties’ overtures
• Rajeev Khanna, The Asian Age, April 1, 2001
>>> The National Commission for minorities, which is brokering proposed talks between the RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal and Christian groups, has said it is waiting for the Christian organisations to consult each other and make up their mind on the issue. ......
 
• George Cross
• Sayantan Chakravarty, India Today, April 2, 2001
>>> The FIR against Sonia Gandhi's private secretary is a plain corruption issues says the CBI. But an embarrassed Congress complains of vendetta. ......
 
• The Glasshouse Gag
• Ms Tavleen Singh, India Today, April 2, 2001
>>> It took me a few minutes to work out whether the Signora was speaking English, Hindi or Italian as she tossed her carefully coiffured head and spat out her accusations against the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. ......
 
• Lynch Mob Journalism
• Swapan Dasgupta, India Today, April 2, 2001
>>> Among the more astonishing features of the press conference in Delhi last week addressed by Union ministers Nitish Kumar, M. Venkaiah Naidu and the hapless Srinivasa Prasad was their collective reluctance to attack shoddy journalism. ......
 
• China, US heading towards new Cold War?
• Harvey B Stockwin, The Times of India, April 2, 2001
>>> China and the United States seem to be slowly heading towards an intensified Cold War. China has denied access to American citizens and residents, some of whom are accused of spying, and has declined to give the US access to its spy plane, which was forced to land in the southern island of Hainan on Sunday morning. ......
 
• Thomas had ties with Bhagwat
• Rajeev Deshpande, The Pioneer, April 2, 2001
>>> Was dabbling in the affairs of some "cultural organisations" all that suspended Ministry of Home Affairs official Thomas Mathew did while sitting in his North Block office? ......
 
• His mission was to destabilise S India
• Krishnaprasad, Deccan Herald, April 2, 2001
>>> Pakistan-based Deendar Anjuman Chief Syed Zia-Ul-Hassan, who masterminded the serial church blasts in South India last year, also heads a militant outfit called Jamat-E-Hijbul Mujahideen, according to the chargesheet filed by the state police. ......
 
• Ramakrishna Mission opens first Australasian center
• Paritosh Parasher, India Abroad, April 3, 2001
>>> The Ramakrishna Mission opened its only Vedanta Center in the Australasian region with a well-attended grihapravesham, or housewarming, ceremony in this harbor city. ......
 
• Accupuncture origin in Ayurveda
• K. Kannan, The Hindu, April 3, 2001
>>> In what could bring about a change in the current perception of Ayurveda, a practising Ayurvedic doctor from Haldwani has claimed that the roots of Chinese acupuncture are to be found in this ancient Indian science. ......
 
• Straight Answers (Interview with Laxman Shreshta)
• Nupur Mahajan, The Times of India, April 3, 2001
>>> Q. What is wrong with contemporary Indian artists, considering the deplorable reviews they got after the Tate show in London?
A. Everything is all right. Indians down the ages have been the best artists, and this continues to date. Western art world wrote the art history and never included Indian art. Its’ been a conspicuous thin......
 
• Partners in spirit, partners in fact
• William Jefferson Clinton, The Times of India, April 3, 2001
>>> Over the past eight years, I had the privilege of travelling to nearly 100 nations around the world on behalf of the United States of America. There are few trips that meant as much to me than the journey I took last year to India. This week, I will return to India. ......
 
• Let the nation beware
• Arvind Lavakare, The Rediff on Net, April 4, 2001
>>> Almost every journalist worth the name has finished doffing his hat or blowing her kiss to the Tehelka team's work that's now baptised as "cowboy journalism". Almost every Opposition party has finished salivating with the servings of Tehelka's turkey, laced though it was with venom from two parts of the Indian Penal Code, vintage 1860. ......
 
• Sino-American crisis deepens
• Harvey Stockwin, The Times of India, April 4, 2001
>>> The delay in resolving the crisis over the crashed Chinese F-8 fighter and the US Navy's EP-3E reconnaissance aircraft, which made an emergency landing on China's Hainan island, may lead to further deterioration of Sino-American relations. ......
 
• US Congressmen move bill to lift sanctions against India
• T V Parasuram, Rediff on Net, April 4, 2001
>>> Two US Congressmen, who recently visited India, have introduced a legislation to get the post-Pokhran sanctions lifted saying continuation of the embargo is detrimental to the development of a "significant emerging relationship" between the two countries. ......
 
• Nepal may cease to be a Hindu kingdom
• Keshav Pradhan, The Hindustan Times, April 4, 2001
>>> Nepal's identity as the world's only Hindu kingdom may come under a cloud when the millennium's first census begins this summer. Various ethnic groups have lately launched a vigorous campaign to prevent their classification as "Hindu" as in previous census records. ......
 
• George Is No Saint
• Tavleen Singh, India Today, April 9, 2001
>>> Till last week it looked as if the Congress party's star, so long in the doldrums, was finally on the ascendant. The prime minister looked tired, the Government weak, the excuses for corruption in high places shabby and the Congress, taking full advantage, went on the rampage. ......
 
• Two Wrongs isn’t Right
• Swapan Dasgupta, India Today, April 9, 2001
>>> It is entirely possible to look at the almighty fuss over the National Film Awards as a real-life variant of the Pinky and The Brain show on Cartoon Network. A group of left-leaning aesthetes were offended by the jury's genuflection before Bollywood commercial cinema and promptly detected a conspiracy by the Hindutva brigade to take over the arts world ......
 
• Tripura rebels ban Kirtan Instruments
• The Telegraph, April 1, 2001
>>> After lying low for sometime, NLFT militants have started interfering in the traditional religious rites of the people. ......
 
• Accupuncture origin in Ayurveda
• K. Kannan, The Hindu, April 3, 2001
>>> In what could bring about a change in the current perception of Ayurveda, a practising Ayurvedic doctor from Haldwani has claimed that the roots of Chinese acupuncture are to be found in this ancient Indian science. ......
 
• Govt offered help in repairing damaged monuments
• Jahnavi Contractor, The Times of India, April 3, 2001
>>> The Indian Archaeological Society (IAS), a Delhi-based organisation, has approached the state ministry for youth culture and sports with proposals to restore around eight state protected monuments that were damaged in the recent earthquake. ......
 
• Expose or skulduggery?
• A. T. Thiruvengadam, The Hindu, April 3, 2001
>>> An anchor of a TV network while discussing the Tehelka episode said ``we have become the laughing-stock of the world''. The demand of the opposition parties, especially the Congress, for the resignation of the government and not for a thorough probe to find out the truth is making us a ``greater laughing-stock'' of the world. ......
 
• Was America Hunting for a New Killer Submarine?
• www.stratfor.com, April 4, 2001
>>> The loss of the EP-3E aircraft means the demise of some of the United States’ capabilities to eavesdrop along China’s coastline. It also could eventually spell more trouble for relations between the two countries. ......
 
• Clinton so sad he refuses to eat
• Deepal Trevedie, The Asian Age, April 5, 2001
>>> “I am shaken up. I can’t find the right words. It’s so depressing.” Former US President Bill Clinton, who spent over five hours in Kutch on Wednesday, told the American Indians accompanying him that “the tragedy is unimaginable.” ......
 
• Religious equations dictate political strategies in Kerala’s forthcoming elections
• George Iype, Rediff on Net, April 5, 2001
>>> There's something about election fever -- in Kerala, at least, it affects even the Church, leaving the Marxists-led ruling Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led opposition, the United Democratic Front, with no alternative but to sing to the tunes of the Christian establishment. ......
 
• Advani and Fernandes hit out at Oppn. Over Tehelka tapes
• The Times of India, April 5, 2001
>>> Leaving no one in doubt how the battle between the NDA and the Opposition parties will progress in the days to come on the Tehelka tapes issue, Union Home Minister Advani and former defence minister George Fernandes continued their offensive at a public meeting here declaring that nothing could shake the government at the Centre. ......
 
• Bush sends strong signal on Indo-US ties
• Chidanand Rajghatta, The Times of India, April 7, 2001
>>> US President George W. Bush emphatically signalled his intent to enhance Indo-US relations by inviting External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to the Oval Office for talks following the latter's discussions with National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice. ......
 
• Shades of Sanskrit
• The Telegraph, April 7, 2001
>>> A proposal to turn Sanskrit into a "spoken" language is bound to sound a little startling, even if it comes from as high an authority as the prime minister himself. But in a world which is rapidly turning into a wasteland for traditional humanities studies, the promise of reviving interest in a classical language is definitely invigorating. ......
 
• VHP brings back the ‘gypsies’ rooting for original home
• Priya Solomon, April 8, 2001
>>> The Sangh Parivar has decided to take Hinduism to the distant shores. Lord Ram's children are to be reclaimed. A two-day conference being held in the capital from Sunday at the National Museum, has white-skinned people claiming to originally belong to India, speaking a language somewhat similar to Hindi, and claiming to be good fortune tellers interacting with the people of their ancestral homeland. ......
 
• How scholars abroad view Pakistan
• Mohammad Waseem, Dawn, April 8, 2001
>>> Conferences on South Asia held in England, the US, Japan, India or elsewhere bring out interesting observations about politics in Pakistan. Most analyses of foreign scholars revolve round Islam and military as the two leading factors shaping politics in this country. ......
 
• Minority’s right to run its institutions not absolute : SC
• Press Trust of India, The Indian Express, April 9, 2001
>>> In a major ruling, the Supreme Court has held that though the Constitution does not provide for any limitation on the right of a minority community to administer its educational institutions, the Government can make regulations to maintain the institution’s character. ......
 
• Destruction of Buddha Statues -- Islamic or Unislamic
• Vinod Kumar, The Hindu Renaissance, Chaitra Shukla 1, 5103
>>> On Monday February 26, 2001, Afghanistan's Taliban militia supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar, an Islamic scholar himself, issued a decree: "Based on the verdict of the clergymen and the decision of the supreme court of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) all the statues around Afghanistan must be destroyed." ......
 
• Jogi finally pipes down on Balco
• Ambrish Kumar, The Indian Express, April 5, 2001
>>> Facing tremendous pressure from workers of the Bharat Aluminium Limited Company (BALCO) who have been denied wages for the second month and with the imminent possibility of the agitation over its sale to Sterling collapsing, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi today asked the Centre for talks. ......
 
• Return Of The Militants
• Joshua Hammer, www.stacks.msnbc.com, April 6, 2001
>>> For an avowed militant who has dedicated his life to the destruction of the state of Israel, Sheik Abdullah al-Shami could hardly appear more affable. Ushering a pair of visitors into his headquarters on the fifth floor of a nondescript office building in Gaza City, the fortyish leader of Islamic Jihad's political wing smiles warmly, eyes twinkling behind his gold- framed glasses. ......
 
• Russia’s fascination with ‘Valmiki Ramayana’ continues
• Arun Mohanty, India Abroad, April 8, 2001
>>> Russia is perhaps the only European country where the Valmiki Ramayana, written by the Hindu sage Valmiki, has been translated into the local language several times in tens of thousands of copies. ......
 
• VHP will train 3 lakh youths to fight Pak-sponsored terrorism
• The Times of India, April 9, 2001
>>> The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said on Sunday that it would recruit 30 lakh ‘Bajrang youths’ and train three lakh of them to fight Pakistan-sponsored militancy in the country. ......
 
• Spirits in a material world
• Karishma Upadhyay, The Times of India, April 10, 2001
>>> Madonna is still ‘The Material Girl’. But she’s turned a trifle too spiritual of late. She derives her inspiration from the east, she says. Back home, quite a few who’s who of the city are turning to the art of living in a big way, along with maintaining their high-profile way of living. It would be difficult to categories them in any one field for they are spiritual and they love material Aide too. ......
 
• Spirits in a material world
• Karishma Upadhyay, The Times of India, April 10, 2001
>>> Madonna is still ‘The Material Girl’. But she’s turned a trifle too spiritual of late. She derives her inspiration from the east, she says. Back home, quite a few who’s who of the city are turning to the art of living in a big way, along with maintaining their high-profile way of living. It would be difficult to categories them in any one field for they are spiritual and they love material Aide too. ......
 
• Ultras burn Buddhist temple in Tripura
• www.expressindia.com, April 10, 2001
>>> A Buddhist temple and several huts of the Chakma community were ransacked and torched by all Tripura Tiger Force insurgents in Dhalai district of Tripura, police said on Tuesday. ......
 
• Taliban ideal born in small Indian school
• Janaki Bahadur Kremmer, The Washington Times, April 10, 2001
>>> In this crowded, fly-infested town where the Taliban was born, Islamic seminarians see the Afghan rulers as heroes and see nothing wrong with the destruction of two historic stone Buddhas in Afghanistan. ......
 
• Fifth death anniversary of Dr. Chittaranjan
• V A Gopala, April 10, 2001
>>> Dr. U Chittaranjan was a very popular doctor in Bhatkal. He had no enemies. He was an active RSS worker. Later he had joined the BJP and became MLA of that constituency. All his political opponents too were having very good rapport with him. ......
 
• Our media’s avowed loves
• Arvind Lavakare, Rediff on Net, April 11, 2001
>>> Vajpayee and Advani's meek surrender to the Tehelka tapes has lifted our media to a new high of cockiness, arrogance almost. The comments that the press and television are making day-in-day- out and encouraging the public to make -- are all helping to create the impression that every Indian institution save the media is vile and vicious, corrupt and contaminated. ......
 
• MQM charges ISI with fomenting sectarian trouble in Pakistan
• The Daily Excelsior, April 11, 2001
>>> Altaf Hussain, chief of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), has blamed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for fomenting sectarian violence in Pakistan through "their hired assassins and so-called religious leaders". ......
 
• The new global threat
• Daniel Pipes, The Jerusalem Post, April 11, 2001
>>> Last Friday, a 33-year-old Algerian Islamist (or fundamentalist Moslem) named Ahmed Ressam achieved the possibly unique distinction of being sentenced on the same day in two courtrooms in two countries for roughly the same crime. Early in the day, a court in Paris convicted Ressam in absentia for belonging to a network of Islamist terrorists and sentenced him to five years in prison. ......
 
• Sudanese Bishops Appeal to U.S. Catholic Conference to Help Stop War
• Zenit.org, April 11, 2001
>>> The Sudan Catholic Bishops' Regional Conference (SCBRC) issued a memorandum, to the delegation from the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC), during their late March visit to Sudan, Peters Voice News agency reported. ......
 
• Pak wants UN to oversee its border with Afghanistan
• K J M Varma, Rediff on Net, April 10, 2001
>>> Pakistan may ask for United Nations observers to be placed across its 2,500 km boundary with Afghanistan to oversee its compliance to UN sanctions against the Taleban for countering the joint moves by Russia and France to press for similar sanctions against Islamabad for its continued support to Afghanistan's ruling militia. ......
 
• Indus script remains a mystery
• Ariel: Literary Notes, Dawn, April 11, 2001
>>> Great hopes were being pinned on the decipherment of the Moenjodaro script on the seals found in excavations. The seals were entrusted to Prof Aska Parpola of Helsinki University, an expert in Aryan and pre-Aryan languages. ......
 
• Court can’t solve Ayodhya tangle, says Advani
• Anil Anand, The Hindustan Times, April 11, 2001
>>> Home Minister L K Advani told the Liberhan Inquiry Commission on Ayodhya today that the temple dispute could only be resolved through negotiations or legislation as a court verdict would not provide a solution to the problem. ......
 
• Uma: Babri was symbol of slavery
• The Asian Age, April 12, 2001
>>> The Union sports minister Uma Bharati has said, that she believes that the disputed structure in Ayodhya which was demolished on December 6, 1992 was a symbol of slavery. ......
 
• India and the Islamic world
• C. Raja Mohan, The Hindu, April 12, 2001
>>> The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee's on-going visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran brings into bold relief one of the more exciting aspects of India's current foreign policy - a conscious effort to engage the key nations of the Islamic world. Mr. Vajpayee's visit to Iran follows the fruitful trip to Saudi Arabia by the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, in January - the first ever by an Indian Foreign Minister since Independence. ......
 
• Madrassas in the Valley: Jehad factories or schools for the poor
• Muzamil Jaleel, The Indian Express, April 12, 2001
>>> THE three-day international Deobandi meet which ended near Peshawar in Pakistan today may not have had any participants from here but its echoes are being heard loud and clear in about 60 madrassas across the Valley. ......
 
• AGP failed to disfranchise Bangladeshis: Singhal
• Rediff on Net, April 12, 2001
>>> Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Ashok Singhal Thursday said the people of Assam had lost faith in the ruling AGP as it had "failed to fulfil its promise of disfranchising illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the state." ......
 
• The last cry of the secularists?
• Francois Gautier, Rediff on Net, April 12, 2001
>>> Since some time, India's intellectual elite, the historians, some journalists, film-makers, writers and social activists, have been making a lot of noise, complaining that they are being hounded by the Saffron Brigade, that the RSS/BJP combine is edging them out of their position and that generally, the country's secular fabric is being "torn apart." ......
 
• Pakistani Diplomat Detained in Nepal
• The Associate Press, April 12, 2001
>>> A top Pakistani diplomat was detained for questioning in Nepal after police found 35 pounds of explosives in a home where he was staying, an official said. ......
 
• Ayodhya movement strengthened nationalism: Advani
• The Economic Times, April 12, 2001
>>> Union home minister L K Advani, who developed Hindutva into a potent political tool, today forcefully defended the Ayodhya movement as one that strengthened the cause of nationalism and said the courts, too, recognised the de jure status of the temple. ......
 
• ‘Babri’, a symbol of slavery: Bharati
• The Economic Times, April 12, 2001
>>> Union sports minister Uma Bharati, who reiterated her belief in construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, told the Liberhan Commission on Wednesday that the Babri masjid there was a “symbol of slavery’ as it was known by the name of an “aggressor.’ ......
 
• Tripura tribals fight for religious freedom
• Sanjib Deb, The Asian Age, April 12, 2001
>>> The rivalry between the two outlawed militant out fits has taken a turn for the worse with the All-Tripura Tiger Force deciding to oppose the proselytisation of the tribal society to Christianity by the National Liberation Front of Tripura. They also urged all sections of people to prevent any such attempt. ......
 
• Pak diplomat was involved in the hijacking of IA plane
• Times of India, April 13, 2001
>>> Pakistani diplomat Mohammed Arshad Cheema who was caught with 16 kg of RDX in Nepal was also involved in the hijacking of Indian Airlines airbus IC 814 in December 1999, home ministry sources said here on Thursday. ......
 
• Sino-Pak ties: India factor
• Prof Khalid Mahmud, Dawn, April 14, 2001
>>> The opening of the Chashma nuclear power plant on March 28 was just a reminder of the wonderful years of a trustworthy relationship - that the Chinese have never failed us. We could always count on them for help and assistance when other doors were closed on us. ......
 
• More arrests for blasphemy in Pakistan
• The Tablet - World Church News, April 14, 2001
>>> Another Christian has been arrested in Pakistan on a charge of blasphemy. A schoolteacher, Parvaiz Masih, from Daska, 100 miles south of Islamabad, was reported to have uttered derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. Students told their parents, and demonstrations broke out demanding Parvaiz’s arrest. The penalty for defiling the Prophet’s name is death. ......
 
• National Security and Media
• Subhash Kapila, Organiser, April 15, 2001
>>> India recently witnessed the spectacle of Tehelka tapes that attempted to show political corruption in defence deals. The media bigwigs in both electronic and print have gone berserk in projecting the tapes as some extraordinary and unprecedented little realising the immense harm it could cause to national defence preparedness and possible loss of confidence to international investors. ......
 
• The menace of media hype
• M. V. Kamath, Organiser, April 15, 2001
>>> Now that the anti-BJP media hype has slowed if not died down and talk of overthrowing the Government has receded, the time has come to inquire what the Tehelka.com is all about and what it sought to achieve. ......
 
• Taliban, Hindu Kush and Hindu Genocide
• Francois Gautier, groups.yahoo.com, April 16, 2001
>>> The West seems to have suddenly woken-up to Muslim fundamentalism in South Asia when the Taliban broke down the Bamyan statues, in spite of frantic appeals from all over the world. But there is a bit of hypocrisy in the outrage triggered by this destruction. ......
 
• The Indian army is not a tired army (Interview - Lt Gen John Ranjan Mukherjee)
• Rediff on Net, April 16, 2001
>>> Lieutenant General John Ranjan Mukherjee, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, General Officer Commanding of 15 Corps in J&K, is reputed to be among the finest officers in the Indian Army, to deal with the situation in the Valley. Besides manning a large portion of the Line of Control, the corps is involved in anti-insurgency operations in the state. ......
 
• India is not the same as Bharat: VHP
• Rediff on Net, April 16, 2001
>>> The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's 'international' general secretary, Pravin Togadia, said on Sunday that India and Bharat have different connotations for the people of the country. ......
 
• Tibet’s Ancient Medical Tradition Thrives in India
• Lisa Tsering, www.indiawest.com, April 16, 2001
>>> India - A 30-minute hike up from the onion sellers and smoke-spewing busses of Kotwali Bazaar, and midway to the yupscale cybercafes and video parlors of McLeod Ganj a pricey Rs. 100 taxi ride away, the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute maintains its quiet, industrial facade while giving little idea of the riches within. ......
 
• ‘Personal law is major hurdle to Muslim women’s progress’
• S. Balakrishnan, The Times of India, April 17, 2001
>>> The Shah Bano case caused a major stir in the Muslim community. The supreme court had ruled in favour of Bhopal-resident Shah Bano in a case relating to grant of maintenance to a divorced Muslim woman. The verdict was nullified by an act of parliament by the Rajiv Gandhi government. But the Shah Bano episode made many Muslim women to think in terms of their rights. ......
 
• RSS – inspired group to promote Indian science with books, CDs
• Smeeta Mishra Pandey, The Times of India, April 18, 2001
>>> Why should scientists learn Sanskrit? Because science is best explained in ancient Indian texts, say members of the RSS-inspired Samskrita Bharati, an organisation that promotes the language in the country. ......
 
• Suva to host World Hindi convention in June
• Shailendra Singh, India Abroad, April 6, 2001
>>> The capital of the Pacific island nation of Fiji is to play host to the World Millennium Hindi Convention from June 21 to 23. ......
 
• New Hindu temple ‘Ekta Mandir’ and community center for Durban
• Fakir Hassen, India Abroad, April 11, 2001
>>> Thousands of guests from a number of countries are expected to attend the official opening of a new Hindu temple and community center here, which took the local Gujarati community nine years to complete. ......
 
• Temple destruction (Letter)
• Kallol Bhattacherjee, Frontline, April 13, 2001
>>> The two-part article by Richard M. Eaton (December 22, 2000 and January 5, 2001) gave the impression that temple desecrations in medieval India were not directed to convert the Indian population to Islam but were chosen acts whereby the triumphant Muslim rulers tried to engrave their saga of victory by building a house to their god after demolishing the one belonging to the vanquished Hindu ruler. ......
 
• Catholics ‘are running out of priests’
• Nicholas Pyke, The Independent, April 14, 2001
>>> Britain's four million Roman Catholics have been warned that they are running out of priests, and that weekly Mass will soon become a rarity in hundreds of churches. ......
 
• Citizen Shantilal
• Shobha De, The Times of India, April 15, 2001
>>> Shantilal Mutha isn’t on anybody’s A-list - at least, not in our metros. Page Three ignores the man completely, mainly because Page Three is not aware of his existence. Which may be why Shantilal Mutha was not present at Bill Clinton’s banquets in either Mumbai or Delhi. Bill Clinton therefore didn’t pump his hand aid drawl: “Let’s do a picture together.” ......
 
• ‘The burden of text books should be reduced, but there is no question of diluting any subject’
• Santwana Bhattacharya, The Indian Express, April 15, 2001
>>> The Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi is known for courting controversy. Under the umbrella of value-based education, his ministry is planning to introduce Sanskrit as a compulsory subject in schools. ......
 
• BJP suffers because of setting high standards of probity for itself
• BJP Today, April 16-30, 2001
>>> Well known satirist and editor of the immensely popular Tamil weekly “Tughlaq”, Cho Ramaswamy said in New Delhi on March 23 that the reason why the Bharatiya Janata Party felt deeply hurt by the allegations against it because the Party had set for itself very high standards of conduct for itself and its leaders. ......
 
• The Congress demolished the Babri Masjid
• A Sohail Siddiqui, BJP Today, April 16-30, 2001
>>> The Muslim leadership at the time of Shah Bano controversy was basking in the glorious victory it scored in getting the Supreme Court verdict nullified by the Parliament. Politically, it was a major victory for Muslim clerics. ......
 
• Syed’s Bamiyan claim rebutted (Letters to the Editor)
• Rahul Gautam, BJP Today, April 16-30, 2001
>>> After observing that the Persian word “but” meaning “idol” is derived from Buddha, he writes “Thus the origin of the word indicates that in the Muslim mind idol worship had come to be identified with the religion of Buddha. To the Muslims they were one and the same thing. ......
 
• Is Taliban’s act justified in Quran? (Letters to the Editor)
• Dr K. P. Agarwal, BJP Today, April 16-30, 2001
>>> Apropos of Syed Shahabuddin’s letter the world is feeling outraged at the Taliban’s destruction of two statues of Buddha in Afghanistan. But even a cursory reading of Quran shall tell us in clearest terms that Taliban is simply complying with the commands of Allah as contained in it. ......
 
• S. African Indian Ishwar Mangaroo’s plan for Hindu temple scuppered
• Fakir Hassen, India Abroad, April 16, 2001
>>> A wealthy South African Indian businessman's plans to build a private Hindu temple on his residential property have been scuppered by his mainly white neighbors. ......
 
• Report calls for police checks on Catholic clergy, staff and volunteers
• Robert Barr, The Associated Press, April 17, 2001
>>> All clergy, staff and volunteers in the Roman Catholic Church should be subject to police checks to stamp out sexual abuse of children, a report commissioned by the church said Tuesday. ......
 
• Don’t spare the rod, Sushmaji
• Arvind Lavakare, Rediff on Net, April 17, 2001
>>> It was simply waiting to happen. And now, buoyed by the Tehelka tempest, Dileep Padgaonkar has actually done it -- spat and scorned at the Press Council of India. ......
 
• Priest reconverts to Hinduism amid vedic chants
• Subodh Ghildiyal, The Deccan Herald, April 18, 2001
>>> Amid vedic chants and sprinkling of Ganga jal, Father Anthony Fernandes was today rechristened Shankar Dev. He returned to the Hindu fold after 12 years as Christian, becoming the first priest to reconvert. ......
 
• Exclusive! How Sonia’s PA V George amassed his millions
• Prabha Chandran, www.indya.com, April 18, 2001
>>> At the height of his powers senior Congress leaders used to kowtow to him and V George allegedly amassed a fortune through alliances with politicians, fixers and bureaucrats, many of whom are now squealing to the CBI. He is the most surprising casualty of the Tehelka tapes. ......
 
• Slain terrorists planned to ‘capture’ Ayodhya
• Sharat Pradhan, Rediff on Net, April 18, 2001
>>> The three Pakistani terrorists killed in an encounter in Lucknow on Wednesday planned to 'capture' Ayodhya and kidnap some VVIPs, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police M C Dwivedi said. ......
 
• In Defence of George
• John Elliot, The Newspaper Today, April 19, 2001
>>> Why is everyone always so nasty about George Fernandes? It seems that a vast majority of people - especially Delhi's privileged elite - revel in running him down. They accuse him of: having sold out on his old beliefs (do they still want him to go round blowing up railway lines, calling strikes, and throwing foreign companies out of the country?); of harbouring rebels in his house and garden ......
 
• When Travancore stood for Tolerance
• Prafull Goradia, The Pioneer, April 19, 2001
>>> Hardly a month passes when someone or the other does not cry out aloud that the evil design of the Sangh parivar is the establishment of a Hindu rashtra. A Hindu theocracy is a contradiction in terms, but the argument will be more convincing if it is presented after first facing the loud cry frontally. ......
 
• Ramayana reinvented for alien times and stage
• Rashmee Z. Ahmed, The Times of India, April 19, 2001
>>> The Ramayana has come to the London stage in symbolic obeisance to a hydra-headed phenomenon the West's fascination with exotic Eastern faiths and a growing hunger within young British Hindus to develop a strong cultural identity. ......
 
• Public execution and an ‘American Taliban’
• Tahir Mirza, Dawn, April 19, 2001
>>> Something very strange is going to happen in America on May 16 - something close to the public execution of a criminal, reminiscent of the kind of state-sponsored killings that are routinely denounced here as mediaeval when practised in other climes and other societies. ......
 
• ‘We go against Islam by refusing to stop injustices like triple talaq and polygamy’
• The Indian Express, April 19, 2001
>>> Hasina Khan, 28, grew up in a slum in Mumbai struggling against poverty. Her mother worked as a maid to educate her while she pitched in with tuitions. Her life changed in 1985 when she walked into the little office of Awaaz e Niswaan (AEN) which was across the street in Mohammad Ali Road in Mumbai. ......
 
• Double threat to Hindus
• Paul Wilkinson, The Times, April 20, 2001
>>> A Powerful undertow of ethnic hatred between Bradford’s whites, Muslims and Hindus fuelled the riots which left two pubs fire-bombed, shops looted and eight people injured last weekend. ......
 
• Outrage as preacher refuses to condemn Chinese abortions
• Toby Harnden, The Telegraph, April 20, 2001
>>> Pat Robertson, a former presidential candidate and a pillar of the religious Right, has plunged his Christian Coalition into turmoil by declining to speak out against forced abortions in China. The Bible-thumping television evangelist, who said three years ago that Disney World would be hit by a hurricane because it had hosted a Gay Day rally, is now caught up in a storm largely of his own making. ......
 
• Communal tension at Tezpur
• The Assam Tribune, April 21, 2001
>>> With hardly twenty days left for the Assam Assembly election a tense situation prevails here following the second incidents hurting religious sentiment and provoking protests within a week in Sonitpur district. ......
 
• Time sorry for Mohammed image
• BBC News, April 22, 2001
>>> The international news magazine Time has apologised to Muslims after an image of the Prophet Mohammed in its 16 April issue sparked riots in Kashmir. ......
 
• RSS and Minorities
• M. G. Vaidya, Hindu Vision
>>> R.S.S. believes in the plural structure of society. Therefore, it recognizes that there is bound to be a majority-minority syndrome, and hence each group, whether in the majority or minority, will have a distinct identity and distinct character. ......
 
• Reviving river Saraswati
• Hindu Vision
>>> Research on and revival of River Saraswati will benefit over 20 crore people in the entire north-west India directly and will be an achievement unprecedented anywhere else in the world. It will also be a lesson in history on the scientific, technological and philosophical contributions made to the world by the civilization nurtured on the banks of the Saraswati. ......
 
• The ‘Sacred’ Ecology of Hinduism
• Yogesh Vajpeyi, Hindu Vision
>>> An Oran is to conservation what an oasis is to water. Orans are islands of vegetation set aside by the Bishnois of Rajasthan for worship under community protection and management near each of their villages. Nobody can axe a tree or kill an animal here. ......
 
• The Boy Who Wrote A Scripture
• Swami Chaitanya Keerti, Hindu Vision
>>> King Janak once hosted a huge Conference of pundits from all over the country to discuss the ultimate truth. Janak offered the winner a reward of 1,000 cows with their horns plated with gold and decorated with jewels. A great debate ensued, in which 12-year-old Ashtavakra's father also participated. ......
 
• Anti-India Indian Muslim
• Hindu Vision
>>> In an interview to a Delhi-based Hindi daily 'Shahi' Imam of Jama Masjid, Sayed Ahmed Bukhari, has gone to the extent of saying that now he did not want Kashmir to remain a part of India. "Ab hum nahim chahate kashmir Hindustan ke saath rahe. Mera zamir isko bardast nahin karta (Now I do not want that Kashmir should remain in India. My conscience does not allow it)". ......
 
• Chinese Destroying Tibetan Culture
• Eva Herzer, Hindu Vision
>>> We found that in Tibet reproductive rights of women are being openly violated. They are being forced to keep the number of children down to one. There have been many cases of forced abortions, and this is happening when Tibet doesn't have a population problem. Tibet never had any population problem. ......
 
• ‘There is no evidence to show that the distinction between Aryans, Dasas and Dasyus was a racial distinction’
• Dr. BR Ambedkar, Communalism Combat, April 2001
>>> That the theory of the Aryan race set up by Western writers falls to the ground at every point goes without saying. This is somewhat surprising since Western scholarship is usually associated with thorough research and careful analysis. Why has the theory failed? ... Anyone who cares to scrutinise the theory will find that it suffers from a double infection. ......
 
• Rathyatra retraced
• Teesta Setalvad, Communalism Combat, April 2001
>>> After eight years of pro crastination, the proceedings of the Justice MS Liberhan Commission investigating the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992 have reached the conclusive stage. Evidence of the key accused in the entire episode, however, still requires to be led, before arguments from either side can begin. ......
 
• The Bengali Motherland
• Pabitra Kumar Ghosh, Mayer Dak
>>> The National Puja Association of Bangladesh ('Puja Udjapan Parishad') protested against the extreme level of torture and persecution faced by the Hindu minority in that country. The persecution reached another climax in 1993. ......
 
• Survey Finds Catholics Becoming Less Religious
• The Examiner, April 14, 2001
>>> A survey conducted by a Church publication, Satya Deepam revealed that 80 per cent of the Catholics in Kerala do not attend the Sunday Mass and only 50 percent of them practise abstinence on Fridays. The survey was conducted among 1,000 Catholic individuals, ninety-five percent of whom were youngsters. ......
 
• RSS Sar Sanghchalak visit in Gujarat - Press Note
• VISHVA SAMVAD KENDRA, GUJARAT, April 17, 2001
>>> Karnavati - Tuesday - Shri Sudarshanji, Sar Sanghchalak of RSS expressed that while in the process of rehabilitating quake affected villages, let us exploit the rural technology for reconstructing the new houses to make the villages self-reliant. ‘‘We must also emphasis,’’ he added, ‘‘to provide employment to every villager and ensure to strengthen the sense of family life with the ultimate goal of making an ideal village.’’ ......
 
• India festival in France beckons Indophiles
• Ranvir Nayar, India Abroad, April 21, 2001
>>> You are a nonresident Indian (NRI) in Europe and are suddenly homesick. You would like to go and see the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay for the 17th time? ......
 
• S. African Hindu youth lauded for hosting big religious gathering
• Fakir Hassen, India Abroad, April 21, 2001
>>> Fifteen South African Hindu youth organizations that pooled their resources to present possibly the biggest religious gathering in the mainly Indian area of Lenasia, south of here, have been lauded by visitors from many countries across the world. ......
 
• Advani puts Ayodhya tangle in perspective
• Shyam Khosla, Organiser, April 22, 2001
>>> L. K. Advani’s deposition before the Liberhan Commission has attracted well-deserved attention in the media and political circles. The response is on expected lines-a mixed one. Concerned citizens looking for a peaceful resolution of the Ayodhya dispute has acclaimed it as a frank and truthful narration of events and hints of a roadmap for an amicable solution of the tangle. ......
 
• The role of the media in public life
• M. V. Kamath, Organiser, April 22, 2001
>>> We are living in dangerous times. Journalism is taking a new turn. Technology has entered into the picture. The dividing line between ‘on record’ and ‘on record’ conversations is beginning to thin out. Everything is now ‘on record’. Even innocent telephone conversations can be taped without one party to the conversation being aware that he is being tapped. ......
 
• Christian Missionaries funding militants in N-E-VHP
• Organiser, April 22, 2001
>>> Working president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Ashok Singhal has held the Baptist Mission responsible for aiding and abetting militancy in North-Eastern region. Talking to mediapersons in Agartala recently he charged that lakhs of rupees were poured into India from foreign countries for the Christian organisations, and a large amount of these funds was being diverted for arms procurement for the militants. ......
 
• Secularist Imposters’ bete noire
• Ramesh Patange, Organiser, April 22, 2001
>>> The Marxist ideologue and former West Bengal Chief Minister had been called as a witness before the Liberhan Commission inquiring into the case of the Ayodhya demolition. He seems to have waxed eloquent and strayed from the issue under discussion when he said that the Taliban vandalism of demolition of the Bamian Buddha colossi and the disputed structure demolition at Ayodhya belonged to the same category. ......
 
• China steps up efforts to curb Islamic fundamentalism
• Anil K Joseph, The Newspaper Today, April 24, 2001
>>> China has established a formal organisation to curb the rise of religious fundamentalism and ensure orderly growth of Islam in the Communist state. Under this, the China Islamic Affairs Steering Committee (CIASC) was established here on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. ......
 
• And what exactly is wrong with idol-worship?
• Rajeev Srinivasan, Rediff on Net, April 24, 2001
>>> The destruction of the Buddha images at Bamiyan set me to wondering. What is the origin of all this iconoclasm? Why is idol worship bad? On thinking things through, I can only find two reasons: one, that worshipping an idol implies an unreasoning blind faith. Two, that it is a marketing tactic to differentiate one's religion from another faith that has gone before. ......
 
• Religion is like soap-powder
• Rajeev Srinivasan, Rediff on Net, April 25, 2001
>>> The second possibility is interesting: the possibility that the ban on idol-worship is marketing differentiation. I have long argued that religion is like soap-powder. In essence all soap-powders are the same, but through clever marketing pitches, we consumers begin to feel that our particular soap-powder is somehow superior to that used by others. ......
 
• U.S. survey finds persistent bias against Asian-Americans
• Sonya Hepinstall, Yahoo News, April 25, 2001
>>> A national survey released on Wednesday found a quarter of Americans have a negative bias toward Chinese-Americans and Asian-Americans in what the study's sponsor called a "wake-up call" to everyone who thinks Asian-Americans do not suffer discrimination. ......
 
• Putin Aims to Keep Tight Reins on Religions
• Zenit.org, April 25, 2001
>>> Vladimir Putin's changes in the Presidential Commission for Religion indicates that Russia is moving toward greater secularization, a move that could spell trouble for the Catholic Church, observers say. ......
 
• American Jesuit’s Book Spurs Vatican Inquiry
• Teresa Watanabe, The Los Angeles Times, April 25, 2001
>>> In an escalating conflict between religious pluralism and Roman Catholic orthodoxy, the Vatican is investigating an American Jesuit theologian who proposed, in an award-winning book, that people can find salvation by means other than Jesus Christ. ......
 
• Vatican’s embryo research taboo
• The Guardian, April 25, 2001
>>> The Vatican's most dangerous foe in Italy right now is paralysed, locked in a wheelchair, unable to speak and likely to die prematurely. His name is Luca Coscioni and he is hurling his own mortality into an anguished debate about using human embryos to research incurable diseases. ......
 
• Liberals ‘doctored pope’s speech’
• Rory Carroll in Rome, The Sydeny Morning Herald, April 25, 2001
>>> A power struggle in the Vatican has burst into the open with a claim that liberals edited one of the most influential speeches in papal history. ......
 
• Defensive structures along Jammu border - Pak objections are ‘untenable’
• B L Kak, The Daily Excelsior, April 26, 2001
>>> India has rejected Pakistan's definition of the existing International Border in Jammu as "working boundary". The Government is determined not to permit Pakistan to prevent Indians from constructing defensive structures along the International Border. ......
 
• Geelani launches anti-India tirade
• Basharat Peer, Rediff on Net, April 26, 2001
>>> Firebrand Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Wednesday night called the present ceasefire in Jammu & Kashmir meaningless and limited to the media. ......
 
• Babies sold like loaves of bread in India’s cyber city
• Peter Popham, The Independent, April 26, 2001
>>> A trade of breathtaking cynicism has been exposed in the south Indian city of Hyderabad, in which the babies of Indian tribal women have been bought and sold like loaves of bread. ......
 
• A ready reserve army for the ISI
• Pramod Kumar Singh, The Pioneer, April 26, 2001
>>> It is a reserve army, tailor-made for the operations of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) of Pakistan - an indigent migrant population harbouring little or no loyalty to the host country. ......
 
• Hindu women spread the word
• Lovejit Dhaliwal, BBC News, April 26, 2001
>>> Bright and busy, Sunitee Kadgil is struggling to fit in a number of people who want her to perform Hindu death rites, house-warmings and naming ceremonies. ......
 
• Monks protest at Pope as Greece goes on strike
• Michael Howard, The Guardian, April 27, 2001
>>> Monks at the all-male community of Mount Athos, one of the most revered places in Orthodoxy, will stage an all-night vigil tonight to pray against the Pope's historic visit to Greece next Friday. ......
 
• Patterns of Global Terrorism 2000
• US Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, April 2001
>>> The year 2000 showed that terrorism continues to pose a clear and present danger to the international community. ......
 
• Sri Lanka: Window to India’s Past, Present & Future
• People’s Reporter, April 25 – May 10, 2001
>>> Nature has used India as an oyster clasp for its genetics. A pearl of the rarest refraction has emerged from that bi-valve of mind and matter, as Sri Lanka. India’s spirit no less than its seed, ethos no less than ethnicity have quickened life on this isle. Sri Lanka is, to wit, India miniaturized. ......
 
• Republicans Reach Out To Catholics
• Catholic World News, April 25, 2001
>>> The Republican Party on Tuesday launched a new campaign to reach out to Catholic voters, a group that was evenly split in last year's presidential elections. ......
 
• From Russia with love, in dollars
• M.K. Tikku, The Hindustan Times, April 26, 2001
>>> In December 1951, the Communist Party of India (CPI) received a cash handout of $1,00,000 from Moscow. That was just the beginning. The cash packets, which tended to vary in size from year to year, appear to have continued well into the seventies. ......
 
• Soviet records were in Kolkata all along
• M.K. Tikku, The Hindustan Times, April 27, 2001
>>> The Soviet-Era documents available at the Hoover Institution here, which reveal details of the cash handouts to the Communist Party of India, were available in India much earlier. But not surprisingly, they were kept under wraps. ......
 
• Islamic Life, Activism Booming in U.S., Study Finds
• Teresa Watanabe, The Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2001
>>> Islamic religious life in America is booming, registering a 300% increase in the number of followers flocking to mosques in the last six years and an outpouring of community activism, according to a comprehensive national study of American Muslims released Thursday. ......
 
• Rome sends mixed signals on Jesuit contributions
• John L. Allen Jr., National Catholic Reporter, April 27, 2001
>>> Although media shorthand often makes “the Vatican” sound like a monolith, in fact, the headquarters of the Catholic church, like bureaucracies everywhere, is run by people with sometimes clashing views. ......
 
• No way to count illegal immigrants
• www.mns.co.in, April 27, 2001
>>> No definite mechanism has so far been put in place to identify illegal immigrants from Bangladesh though Assam and Tripura have registered a decline in the population growth since the last decennial Census, Registrar General and Census Commissioner J K Banthia has said. ......
 
• Bowling Alone, and Other Tales of Life in U.S.
• Zenit.org, April 28, 2001
>>> Is modern society destined to an ever-increasing individualism? Last month Robert D. Putnam, professor of public policy at Harvard University, visited England to promote the publishing there of his book "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community." ......
 
• Scientist echoes Vedic scholar’s ‘quake clouds’ theory
• Abhay Vaidya, The Times of India, April 28, 2001
>>> Three factors - the devastating earthquake in Gujarat, research on 'earthquake clouds' by a California-based Chinese scholar and the mention of similar 'earthquake clouds' in ancient Indian manuscript called Brihat Samhita-are generating fresh interest in this manuscript. ......
 
• Pope’s Appeal for Oklahoma City Bomber Rejected
• Zenit.org, April 29, 2001
>>> The U.S. vice president rejected John Paul II's request that President George W. Bush spare the life of the Oklahoma City bomber who killed 168 people. ......
 
• Passage into Past
• Organiser, April 29, 2001
>>> There are about one and a half crore Roma people in different parts of the world. It is an established fact now that they were Hindu and before migrating to different parts of the world they were living in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. They are now known by different names in different countries. ......
 
• Forgotten Children of Mother India
• Pramod Kumar, Organiser, April 29, 2001
>>> It was a unique and emotional moment in the life of Roma people when they got an opportunity to visit the land their forefathers had left one thousand years ago. They were in India on a week-long visit to attend a conference in New Delhi and also to visit the religious and historical places about which they had so far been reading in books and listening from their forefathers. ......
 
• We are hostages of Taliban, says Pakistan leader
• Esther Oxford, The Independent, April 29, 2001
>>> Pakistan's military leader General Pervez Musharraf has declared that 99 per cent of the country is being "held hostage" by religious extremists who constitute just one per cent of the population. That has caused concern among diplomats and politicians in the West, fearful of a "Talibanised" Pakistan. ......
 
• Romas need moral support
• Hristo Kyuchukov, Organiser, April 29, 2001
>>> There are about one and a half crore Romas in 39 countries of the world. They are originally Hindu and immigrated to different parts of the world about one thousand years ago. During this period they have managed to preserve their Indian culture. Recently a 33-member delegation of Romas was in India to attend an international conference held in New Delhi. ......
 
• Set up federation of Swadeshi churches in India
• K. S. Sudarshan, Organiser, April 29, 2001
>>> Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Shri K.S. Sudarshan called for forming a federation of Indian Christians who subscribed to the idea of a Swadeshi Church. This according to him, would be the first step towards the creation of the National Church in India which would be free from the foreign controls of all kinds. ......
 
• Last Of The Water-Nymphs?
• Sanjay Suri, Manu Joseph, Outlook, April 30, 2001
>>> So the Miss World contest, as we know it, is over. Former model Julia Morley, who inherited her husband's business after his death last November, did not wait terribly long to announce some fundamental readjustments. The 50th year of this dazzling and often dubious story is as good a time as any to ring in changes. ......
 
• Why the Greek Orthodox Oppose Papal Visit (Interview with Theologian Yannis Spiteris)
• ZENIT.org, April 30, 2001
>>> At least one theologian is optimistic about the outcome of the Pope's visit to Athens, Greece, this Wednesday and Thursday. ......
 
• Faithful cynics of a new nation
• George Kerevan, www.thescotsman.co.uk, April 30, 2001
>>> For 20 years, almost all of the discussion about what made the Scots tick - reams and reams of it - revolved solely around devolution. ......
 
• India woos key Muslim states
• Afzaal Mahmood, Dawn, April 30, 2001
>>> As part of a new thrust in its foreign policy, India is making determined efforts to turn a new leaf in its relations with the key countries of the Islamic world. The importance that the Muslim world, stretching from the Maghreb in North Africa to Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asia, has come to acquire for India can be gauged from the diplomatic blitzkrieg undertaken by New Delhi in the past six months. ......
 
 

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