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

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  • 
    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

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  • 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

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  • 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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