Malaysian Indians want support from Diaspora

• Malaysian Indians want support from Diaspora

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  • Delegates of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) this year may be forced to look into the gross human right violations by the Malaysian government — demolition of temples, burial grounds, Tamil schools and relocation of Indians, to mention a few — as they meet in New Delhi for three days from January 7.

     

    Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), an organisation fighting for the rights of Indian ethnic minorities in Malaysia, plans to distribute copies of its second annual report on the rights violations at the annual conference of the Indian Diaspora and urge the participants to devote a session to discuss the issue.

     

    Though two million people of Indian origin were being treated as “second grade citizens” by the Malaysian government, the issue had never figured in the discussions of the PBD, HINDRAF legal advisor P Uthayakumar told Express.

     

    Uthayakumar, who was in Chennai enroute to New Delhi, accused the PBD of deliberating only on issues relating to business and trade agreements.

     

    He alleged that the ruling racist United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) was denying birth certificates and identity documents to around two million Malaysians of Indian origin with a view to having political control by preventing a section of the population from participating in the political process.

     

    Moreover, in the name of development, traditional settlements of Malaysian Indians were being demolished.
  • CHENNAI

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The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> In Delhi foul is fair

• The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> In Delhi foul is fair

  tags: no_tag

  • 
    In Delhi, foul is fair
  • 
    Anuradha Dutt
  • The city will pay a steep price for the Games
  • Touted as a ‘hallmark event’ because it entails dramatic upgradation of civic amenities in the host city, preparations for the Commonwealth Games seem to have become the hallmark of unilateral decision-making and anti-people policies.
  • However, they continue to blunder along, trampling on Constitutional assurances and public sentiments. The prevailing cynicism reminds one of the run-up to the 1982 Asian Games, intended by the Congress Government to showcase the capital, but, instead, drawing flak because of the immense wastage of public money on building sports stadia that are still sparsely used; displacement of people and ham-handed execution of public works; and, above all, pervasive failure to promote a sporting culture.
  • Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta is reported to have said that special food items would be imported for guests and sportspersons. Beef, which is taboo in our Hindu-majority country, would also be imported. This is utterly shocking since no Government here or its functionaries are expected to provide beef for people at a public event. Is the corollary of this move that India should turn into a beef-eating nation just because the number of foreign visitors will keep growing? No Islamic country would ever consider importing pork, taboo for Muslims, to feed foreigners at a sports meet or some other event. The MCD move should be immediately aborted before India becomes totally servile.
  • And while on food, will wine, women/men and music also get their due? Media reports suggest that informal sanction has been given for escort services to cater to the needs of participants in the Games, official delegates and visitors looking for pleasure. There have been reports of how these agencies are working over time to meet the expected demand. If this were to happen, Delhi would then have truly become a world-class city!

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Sacred Statue Uncovered at Site of Ancient Hindu Temple in Yogyakarta - The Jakarta Globe

• Sacred Statue Uncovered at Site of Ancient Hindu Temple in Yogyakarta - The Jakarta Globe

  tags: no_tag

  • Astatue of Nandi, the sacred bull that carried the Hindu god Shiva, was discovered on Wednesday among the ruins of what is believed to be an ancient temple at an excavation site in Yogyakarta.
  • Previous discoveries at the site, which is located on the Indonesian Islamic University campus, include a statue of Ganesha, Shiva’s divine son; a linga , the symbol of worship for Shiva; and a yoni , a Hindu symbol for divine passage or birth.
  • He said archeologists were working under the assumption that the pillars had not been destroyed by a volcanic mudflow hundreds of years ago, but had instead been removed by people.

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INDIA Brahmin, a follower of Gandhi, I embraced Jesus, the light that triumphs over darkness - Asia News

• INDIA Brahmin, a follower of Gandhi, I embraced Jesus, the light that triumphs over darkness - Asia News

  by Nirmala Carvalho
  • Scion of two of India's foremost independence heroes, Pandit Dharam Prakash Sharma met Jesus when he read the Sermon on the Mount at the age of 17. After 20 years of searching and a career in the movies, business and politics, he converted and was baptised. Only Christ breaks the chains of sin and triumphs over death.
  
  •  For 20 years, these words followed him until his conversion to Christianity in 1976. A member of the Brahmin caste, Pandit Dharam Prakash Sharma is also the son of two of India's foremost independence heroes, and grew up under the protective wing of the Mahatma Gandhi.
  • "One evening in 1954 as a teenager student, when I was in my hostel room, studying from my English text  book (which was my subject), I came across a lesson heading: 'Sermon on the Mount'. I read out the whole text in one breath! Oh! It was the same that inspired the life and work of Gandhiji during the freedom movement of India. It was a memorable moment for me, while reading this great sermon, I heard repeatedly a divine voice from all around me saying, “I am the same whom you are seeking from your very childhood." Suddenly, his heart felt at peace.

  • Pandit Dharam Prakash Sharma (pictured with the correspondent of AsiaNews) was born on 23 December 1937 in Fatehpur Prison, in Uttar Pradesh. He is the only son of one of the leading Hindu religious leaders of the holy city of Pushkar (Rajasthan), a place of never-ending pilgrimage.

    His father, Pandit Sohan Lal Sharma, and his mother, Gyaneshwary Devi, played an important role in the independence struggle and were sent to prison for this reason several times.

    When he was five, he was taken to Pavanar Ashram in Wardha, near Nagpur, and grew up under the loving and watchful guidance of Mahatma Gandhi.

  • He went on to have a brilliant career first as a film star, then a prominent business executive and finally as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house in India's parliament, between 1969 and 1973. In 1977, he left politics after becoming a Christian, despite pressures by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to stay. Later when Indira Gandhi was jailed, she turned to Dharma, and asked him to pray God for her salvation.
  • The process of conversion spanned many years of his marriage. He married a Christian. This in turn led his parents to follow his example. Ten days before his death, Dharma's father, Sohan, told him, "My son, for ten years I have watched your life change and [saw] the resulting peace. You are on the true path and have found the way. Your Lord is my Lord too.” 

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Forbes India - 11 Events Not to Miss in 2010

• Forbes India - 11 Events Not to Miss in 2010

  tags: no_tag

  
  • 1 Thailand New Year’s Eve Party
  • 2 Maha Kumbh Mela — January to April
  • The Maha Kumbh Mela (kumbh means pot and mela means fair) is a mass Hindu pilgrimage and it occurs once every 12 years, rotating among four locations in India. According to astrologers, the Kumbh Mela takes place when the planet Jupiter enters Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. This year, the festival will be held from January to April, at Haridwar in Uttarakhand. To commemorate this holy event, millions of Hindus from all over the country come together to take a holy dip in the Ganga. It is believed that bathing during the Kumbh absolves one of all sins and evils and grants salvation. The main bathing dates are January 14, February 12 and 13, March 15 and April 14. If taking a dip in the Ganga is not your thing, you can catch the naked Naga sadhus who throng the event on bathing days.
  • It is also believed that at the time of Kumbh, Ganga’s water is charged with positive healing effects. During the 2004 Kumbh at Haridwar, more than 10 million devotees gathered at the site. Brace yourself to face the crowds for some amazing photo opportunities. Plus you get to fulfil your spiritual quota for the year!
    More info:
  • Find this article in Forbes India Magazine of 08 January, 2010

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Mumbai Mirror - Principal snips off student’s hair, parents lodge FIR

• Mumbai Mirror - Mumbai Mirror

  tags: no_tag

  • Parents say they kept the tuft of hair for religious reasons and would have cut it off in April. Authorities at St Jude’s High School, Sakinaka, say boy had been warned that it violated school’s dress code and rules; principal booked for hurting religious sentiments
  • By Dipti Sonawala
  • The principal of a convent school cut off the tuft of hair (shendi) of a 14-year-old Brahmin student on Tuesday, allegedly because it violated the school’s dress code.
    
    The boy’s irate parents have registered an FIR against the principal – Father Frank Fernandes of St Jude’s High School, Sakinaka – for allegedly beating up their son and hurting their religious sentiments.
  
  
  • Pravesh Dubey and the 8-inch tuft of hair that was cut off.
  • Pravesh Dubey, a Std VIII student, had been growing the tuft since he was a year old, as it was of religious significance. He was to grow it until he turned 15 and cut it only after a religious ceremony in April at Vindhyavasini temple in Uttar Pradesh.
    
    But on Tuesday, he did not anticipate its fate. “I had gone to the principal’s cabin to collect my fees calendar. He was furious to see that I had not cut my hair. He asked me to turn my back towards him, and took out a pair of scissors from his drawer. I pleaded with him, but he beat me up and snipped off my tuft. When he was about to throw it into the dustbin, I asked him to give it to me,” recalled Pravesh.
  • The boy’s parents allege that the principal took the step despite their request to excuse their son up to April. “My son was not growing his hair for fashion. We were supposed to cut it off according to our rituals. We had requested Father Fernandes to excuse us up to April,” said Umadevi Dubey, Pravesh’s mother.
  
  • Pravesh and his parents at the Sakinaka Police Station on Tuesday

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धूमधाम के साथ मनाया गया प्रकाशोत्सव

• धूमधाम के साथ मनाया गया प्रकाशोत्सव

  tags: no_tag

  • Haryana - Ambala Zila - Naraingarh
  • नारायणगढ़ के विभिन्न गुरूद्वारों में सिखों के दसवें गुरू गोबिन्द सिंह जी महाराज के प्रकाशोत्सव को बडी धूम-धाम से मनाया गया। गुरूद्वारों में गुरबाणी का पाठ किया गया। तथा शब्द कीर्तन के साथ-2 लंगर का भी आयोजन किया गया। गुरूद्वारा टोका साहब में गुरपाल सिंह ने ब्राह़मणमाजरा में नरेन्द्र पाल सिंह मक्कड ने साध संगत को संबोधित करते हुए गुरू जी के बताये हुये मार्ग पर चलने की प्रेरणा दी।
  • रायणगढ़ के विभिन्न गुरूद्वारों में सिखों के दसवें गुरू गोबिन्द सिंह जी महाराज के प्रकाशोत्सव को बडी धूम-धाम से मनाया गया। गुरूद्वारों में गुरबाणी का पाठ किया गया। तथा शब्द कीर्तन के साथ-2 लंगर का भी आयोजन किया गया। गुरूद्वारा टोका साहब में गुरपाल सिंह ने ब्राह़मणमाजरा में नरेन्द्र पाल सिंह मक्कड ने साध संगत को संबोधित करते हुए गुरू जी के बताये हुये मार्ग पर चलने की प्रेरणा दी।
  • राहुल गांधी यूथ ब्रिगेड के ब्लॉक प्रधान याशीन मोहम्मद ने गुरू जी महाराज के प्रकाशोत्सव पर आयोजित एक कार्यक्रम मे बोलते हुये कहाकि गुरू गोबिन्द सिंह जी का जन्म त्याग एवं बलिदान के लिए हुआ था। हिन्दू धर्म की रक्षा के लिए गुरू तेग बहादुर जी ने अपना बलिदान दिया। एवं गुरू जी ने अपने बच्चों को भी देश की खातिर कुर्बान कर दिया। उन्होने कहाकि जब भी मानव जाति पर संकट आया है, तब किसी महान आत्मा ने पृथ्वी पर जन्म लेकर मानव जाति को संकट सो उबारा है। ऐसी ही महान आत्मा थे सिखों में दसवें गुरू गुरूगोबिन्द सिंह जी महाराज।

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visfot.com । विस्फोट.कॉम - कल्याण सिंह की बाप-बेटा पार्टी

• visfot.com । विस्फोट.कॉम - कल्याण सिंह की बाप-बेटा पार्टी

  tags: no_tag

  • अतुल अग्रवाल
  
  • वो कहते हैं कि जब वक्त खराब होता है तो अपना साया भी साथ छोड़ देता है। कल्याण ने जिस-जिस का पल्ला पकड़ा, उसका पहुंचा ही नाप लिया। लुटिया डुबो दी। इसीलिए सबने उनसे कर लिया किनारा। बेटे राजबीर सिंह का करियर बीजेपी में अच्छा खासा चल रहा था लेकिन उसमें भी पलीता लगा दिया कल्याण ने। राजबीर की मर्ज़ी के खिलाफ बीजेपी छुड़वा दी, सपा में शामिल करवा दिया। राजबीर वहां जमने का जुगाड़ कर ही कर रहे थे कि जनक्रांति पार्टी बना डाली। बेचारे राजबीर करें भी तो क्या करें। पिता तो पिता होता है। राम की तरह राजबीर भी तैयार हो गये बनवास पर जाने के लिए। पिता के आगे बेबस जो ठहरे।
    
    कल्याण सिंह ने अपने 77वें जन्मदिन के दिन पार्टी की स्थापना के साथ-साथ ये भी ऐलान कर डाला कि वो अभियान का आगाज़ अयोध्या से ही करेंगे और बेटे राजबीर एवं बहू प्रेमलता के साथ अयोध्या कूच करेगें। यानी एक बार फिर से राम भरोसे हैं कल्याण। लेकिन खेल देखिए... राम के सहारे रह कर कल्याण ने बीजेपी में वापसी के रास्ते बंद नहीं किए हैं। अपनी पार्टी में कोई पद नहीं लिया है उन्होने। मतलब ये कि बीजेपी की आइडियोलॉजी पर पार्टी को आगे बढ़ाया जाएगा और जैसे ही मौका मिलेगा लपक कर बीजेपी का दामन थाम लिया जाएगा। राजनाथ के राज में तो कल्याण को चारा तक नहीं डाला गया लेकिन कट्टर संघी नितिन गडकरी इसके लिए ज्यादा मुफीद साबित हो सकते हैं। सो उन पर डोरे डालने का काम भी लगातार कर रहे हैं कल्याण। झंडा भी बीजेपी के रंग वाला बनाया है। सिर्फ कमल का फूल नहीं है उसमें।
  • जानकारों की अगर मानें तो दो बार ‘असफल समाजवादी’ बन चुके कल्याण सिंह का दोबारा ‘हिंदू नेता’ बनना काफी मुश्किल होगा। उनका कहना है कि कल्याण सिंह अपना भला भले ही ना कर पाएं लेकिन वो लोध और पिछड़े वर्गों के वोट काटकर मुलायम को नुकसान और मायावती को फायदा ज़रूर पहुंचा सकते हैं।
  • (लेखक अतुल अग्रवाल टीवी न्यूज़ चैनल ‘वॉयस ऑफ इंडिया’ के एंकर और आउटपुट हैड हैं। संपर्क:29atul@in.com)

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D A I J I W O R L D - Mangalore: Ramya Shetty Disappearance - Protest Rally, Road Blockade

• D A I J I W O R L D

  tags: no_tag

  • Mangalore: Ramya Shetty Disappearance - Protest Rally, Road Blockade
  • Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje

  • Under the leadership of Vishwa Hindu Parishat and Bajrang Dal, a protest rally followed by road blockade, was organized on Tuesday January 5, at Mudipu Junction near here, condemning the failure of the department of police in finding out the whereabouts of Ramya Shetty, who had disappeared from her home in Pottolike in Naringana village sometime ago.

    Local leaders of the Hindu outfits, Rajaram Bhat, district Seva Pramukh of Vishwa Hindu Parishat, Sudarshan Moodbidri, and Bajrang Dal district convener, Sharan Pumpwell, addressed the protestors.

  
  
  • In the habeas corpus petition filed in the High Court, Shivaprasad, brother of Ramya Shetty, had expressed dissatisfaction over the efforts put in by the police department relating to the disappearance of his sister. He had alleged that Mohammed, father of two, who worked for sometime as mason in his house, had kidnapped Ramya Shetty and had forcibly converted her into Islam. The High Court had given time to the policemen till December 29 to find her out. As the policemen, who visited various places to find her, failed in their efforts and sought more time, it has been granted by the High Court.

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School cuts off student’s braid; Bajrang Dal seeks principal’s arrest

• School cuts off student’s braid; Bajrang Dal seeks principal’s arrest
  tags: no_tag
  
  • Mumbai
  • Parents of a student of St Jude’s High School in Sakinaka, along with Bajrang Dal members, on Tuesday staged a protest outside the school after the principal cut a student’s hair, which his father said he had grown into a long tuft for “religious” reasons.
    
    When they were not allowed to meet the principal, they approached the Saki Naka police, registered a complaint and sought the arrest of the principal for hurting religious sentiments.
    
    Saki Naka police said Parvesh Dubey (14), a Class VIII student of St Jude’s High School on 90 Feet Road had grown his hair for religious reasons but had been asked to cut it by the school as it was against the rules.
    
    “On Tuesday morning, Parvesh’s class teacher saw that he had not cut the tuft despite repeated warnings and sent him to the principal’s office. The principal, Father Frank Fernandez, picked up a pair of scissors on his desk and snipped off the braid,” said an official of Saki Naka police station.
  • Parvesh Dubey at the Saki Naka police station on Tuesday.
  • “My son has weak vision and we had offered prayers to our local deity. As a token we had promised that he would not cut the tuft till his vision is restored. The school authorities have hurt our sentiments by cutting his hair and therefore action should be taken against them,” said Parvesh’s father Shivkumar Dubey.

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