Thursday, March 4, 2010

Anti-mosque PIL angers Bombay high court - dnaindia.com

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    • Mayura Janwalkar / DNA
    • An upcoming mosque in a predominantly Hindu locality in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, has spurred its residents to challenge its construction in the Bombay high court. The court, however, peeved by the myopic religious sentiments, said, “This intolerance has to go. Either we should all live together, or pack our bags and leave.”
    • Kadu’s advocate GN Salunke told the court on Wednesday that no Muslim family resides in the 1-km radius around the mosque site, and only 331 live in the further vicinity. “If the mosque is allowed to be constructed, there is every possibility of encroachment on public open spaces in the locality by Muslim encroachers, which may adversely affect the development of the city,” the PIL states. To which, justice FI Rebello asked, “So minorities cannot have their own place of worship?”
    • Justices Rebello and JH Bhatia have now directed Cidco to file an affidavit, and submit a map of the areain two weeks. The court also told Salunke and the Cidco counsel to come up with a workable solution to the problem. “How long are we going to keep fighting?” justice Rebello said.

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Women's bill to sound death knell for Muslims: Owaisi

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    • Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen claimed that the Bill in its present form will deprive the Muslim community of its place in the legislature and the House will eventually turn into a "Hindu Lok Sabha".

      Participating in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Owaisi said if the Bill was passed, Muslims will have "no space" and it will sound a "death knell" for the community.

      "We oppose women's reservation as it will sound a death knell for the Muslims...the reservation should start with the Muslim community as they are socially backward.

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Baptist Press - FIRST-PERSON: Gospel green light in a Mumbai red-light district - News with a Christian Perspective

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    • by Laura Erlanson
    • Our mission was simple and can be found in one chapter of Scripture -- Luke 10. That was our strategy. There was nothing to memorize; there were no bullet points. There was just the simple plan outlined by Jesus Himself. In a nutshell, just go out and meet people. Don't weigh yourself down with extra baggage. And when you find someone who is interested in what you have to say (i.e. a "person of peace"), talk with them. If they invite you into their home, go inside. If they offer you food, eat it. If there is no person of peace in an area, simply move on to the next place.
    • Eventually, we asked her what she knew about Jesus, and what she said has not left my mind since. Here was a woman raised in a religion whose adherents never know where they stand with their god. All the rituals, all the cleansing, all the prayers -- everything can be perfect. And yet there is no assurance that their god is pleased or that he will accept them. And now she is married to a man in a religion with so many gods that no one knows for sure which one to call on today. We asked her, "What do you know about Jesus?"

      "I think Jesus is the best God," she said. We sat there stunned while she continued, "Because when you have other gods, you must do all the rituals, and have all the charms and jewelry. But when Jesus is your God, He is all you need."
    • Laura Erlanson is operations coordinator for Baptist Press.

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Baptist Press - In Mumbai, keyboard lessons become Gospel catalyst - News with a Christian Perspective

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    • Two young girls in Mumbai, India, learn the skills to sight read music with both hands and, in the process, learn of the Gospel through classic hymns of the faith.
    • by Tess Rivers
    • Atcheson has pioneered a program at her seminary by which non-musicians can teach piano using a resource she developed called "The Keyboard Mission."

      Using Atcheson's method, students can learn to play simple melodies in three to five sessions, while the words of the songs teach biblical truths.

      "By the end of five days, they can play 'Jesus Loves Me,' 'Amazing Grace,' 'Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior' and 'Jesus Loves the Little Children,'" Atcheson said.

      She has been using keyboarding as a bridge to sharing the Gospel cross-culturally for several years, including three earlier overseas trips.

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Jagran - Yahoo! India - मंदिर का झुनझुना

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    • ['मंदिर दो, मस्जिद लो' मुद्दे पर एस शंकर की टिप्पणी]
    • भाजपा के नए अध्यक्ष नितिन गडकरी ने अयोध्या पर कहा है, 'मंदिर दो, मस्जिद लो!' यह स्पष्ट नहीं कि उन्होंने किस हैसियत से यह कहा। उनकी पार्टी न तो किसी मंदिर निर्माण समिति की घटक है, न ही पार्टी स्वयं को भारत के हिंदुओं का प्रतिनिधि बताती है। किंतु उनकी इस मांग से यह जरूर स्पष्ट हो जाता है कि गडकरी अयोध्या प्रश्न को ईंट-पत्थर की एक इमारत बनाने तक ही सीमित समझते हैं, उस से जुड़ी मूल समस्या को नजरअंदाज करते हैं। यद्यपि इस समझ में कुछ नया नहीं है। यह भाजपा की पुरानी स्थिति की ही एक नई अभिव्यक्ति है, जिसमें एक विदेशी मजहबी आक्रमण के शताब्दियों पुराने घाव को मात्र राजनीतिक लाभ उठाने का अवसर समझा गया। उस समस्या को भाजपा ने उठाने से सदैव इनकार किया, जिसने स्वतंत्र भारत में पहली बार सभी हिंदुओं को अपने भेदभाव भूल कर एक कर दिया था।

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केरल में शुरू होगी 'बिना दहेज शादी' की वेबसाइट - Desh - LiveHindustan.com

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    Image Loading
    • निलाम्बुर (केरल)
    • केरल के मलप्पुरम जिले के एक गांव के लोगों ने एक साल पहले प्रतिज्ञा की थी कि वे शादियों में न तो दहेज लेंगे और न ही दहेज देंगे। अब ये ग्रामीण बिना दहेज की शादियों के लिए दो वेबसाइट्स शुरू कर रहे हैं।

      ये वेबसाइट्स निलाम्बुर गांव के लोगों ने तैयार की हैं। गांव की 50,000 लोगों की आबादी का 40 प्रतिशत हिस्सा मुसलमान है और शेष हिस्सा हिंदू और ईसाईयों का है।

      निलाम्बुर ग्राम परिषद के अध्यक्ष आर्यदन शौकत इस अभियान की अगुवाई कर रहे हैं। उन्होंने बताया कि अगले सोमवार को राजधानी तिरूवनंतपुरम में मुख्यमंत्री वीएस अच्युतानंदन इन वेबसाइट्स का शुभारंभ करेंगे। ये दो वेबसाइट होंगी 'डाउरी फ्री विलेज डॉट कॉम' और 'डाउरी फ्री मैरिज डॉट कॉम'।


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Jagran - Yahoo! India - हल हो जाएगा शंकराचार्य विवाद!

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    • हरिद्वार,
    • शंकराचार्य विवाद की वजह से नाराज चल रहे शंकराचार्य स्वरूपानंद सरस्वती का शिविर सोमवार को खाली नहीं हुआ। निर्वाणी अखाडे के हस्तक्षेप पर यह कार्यक्रम चार मार्च तक टल गया है। शंकराचार्य के पक्ष में कई धर्माचार्यो के आने से मेला प्रशासन भी दबाव में है। बुधवार को संन्यासी परिषद भी इस मामले में निर्णय ले लेगी। अखाडा परिषद अध्यक्ष महंत ज्ञानदास भी मेला प्रशासन से वार्ता करेंगे। ऐसे में माना जा रहा है कि बुधवार शाम तक इस मामले का सर्वमान्य हल सामने आ जाएगा।

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