Page 206 - Religion Belief
When Google Home could not recognise Jesus
Google Home's incapability to answering questions about Jesus has led the company to bar the device from answering questions about all religious figures, the media reported.
In a first, Muslim woman leads Friday prayers in Kerala mosque
Jamida, the 34-year-old state secretary of the Quran Sunnath Society, has become the first female imam in India's history to lead the Juma prayers.It is for the first time in the country that a Muslim woman conducted and led the Friday afternoon special prayer session at a mosque in Kerala's Malappuram district.However, the move, though applauded by many, has also triggered backlash on social media.A section of people, who was unhappy with this act, threatened her over the phone, following which she was given a security cover.Jamida, also known as 'Jamida teacher', however, said the Jumu'ah prayer could also be conducted by a woman and they could become imams too.
Jauhar a form of resistance, not discriminatory practice: RSS
Senior RSS leader Krishna Gopal said today that 'jauhar', an ancient practice of mass self- immolation by Rajput women to avoid being captured by foreign invaders, was a form of resistance and not a "discriminatory" practice against women. At a seminar on 'Stree-Shakti', or women empowerment, at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication here, Gopal said the practice was "a part of the tradition of Jauhar-Shakha in which women offered the supreme sacrifice than be conquered by victorious armies to be a part of their large harems". He said jauhar was a "form of resistance and not a discriminatory practice". The remarks came as fringe Rajput groups violently protested the release of controversial film 'Padmaavat', based on the saga of the 13th-century battle between Maharaja Ratan Singh of Mewar and Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi. The groups allege that the film shows Rani Padmavati in "poor light". The queen is said to have committed 'jauhar' in 1303, preferring to die ..
Take back Hinduism: Tharoor, Nayantara Sahgal speak it out loud at JLF (Roundup)
The third day of the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival witnessed several hard-hitting sessions that addressed the burning issues of nationalism and Hindutva in the contemporary scenario. With acclaimed writers Shashi Tharoor and Nayantara Sahgal leading the charge against what the latter called "Sanghiwadis," a lot of the day's happenings on Saturday revolved around Hindutva, and more so reclaiming Hinduism.
Hindutva an extension of Hitler's, Mussolini's ideology: Nayantara Sahgal
Acclaimed writer and a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, Nayantara Sahgal, on Saturday reinforced her sustained attack on the "ideology of Hindutva," dubbing it an extension of Hitler's and Mussolini's philosophy, while also emphasising that the country's Dalit movement is the "strongest and most organised voice" against the current trials of time.
A woman Imam leads Friday prayer service in Kerala
Breaking gender stereotypes, a 34-year-old woman has led Jumu'ah, a Friday prayer service of Muslims, here in Kerala, claimed to be the first in the history of the country. Jamitha, the general secretary of Quran Sunnat Society, took the role of the 'imam' of the prayers held at the office of the Society in the Muslim-dominated district yesterday. Jumu'ah, the congregational prayer held every Friday, is usually led by men. Around 80 people, including women, gathered to attend the prayers, led by the woman 'Imam', the Society sources said. Jamitha, known as 'Jamitha teacher' among her fellow people, said the Holy Quran never discriminates between men and women and Islam never stops women from being 'imams'. "It is for the first time that a woman is leading Jumu'ah in the history of our country. It was held at the central committee office of our Society, where we used to gather every Friday for the prayers," she told PTI. It was not mandatory for the Jumu'ah to be held only .
AP and Telangana Governor hosts 'At Home' reception
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan today hosted the customary 'At Home' reception at Raj Bhavan here on the occasion of Republic Day. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his Cabinet colleagues, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishna Murthy and ministers from the state, former Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah, former Union Minister and BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya, MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress MP T Subbirami Reddy and several other leaders attended the event.
Republic Day: L K Advani extends good wishes to nation
Senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani today unfurled the tricolour at his Prithviraj Road residence and extended good wishes to the nation on the occasion of the 69th Republic Day. The nonagenarian leader said he hoped the 69th year of the republic proves beneficial for the nation. He also exuded confidence that India ushers in the coming years to a leading position in the world.
R-Day celebrated in Uttarakhand
The Republic Day was celebrated on Friday across Uttarakhand with traditional fervour and enthusiasm.
Scoreboard at the end of ICC
Scoreboard at the end of ICC U-19 World Cup quarter-final between India and Bangladesh. Scoreboard India Under-19s innings P Shaw b Islam 40 M Kalra c Hridoy b Haque 9 S Gill c Ankon b Hasan 86 H Desai b Hasan 34 R Das c Hassan b Islam 15 A Sharma c Ankon b Mahmud 50 K Nagarkoti c Ankon b Islam 5 A Roy run out (Islam) 2 S Mavi c Biplob b Hassan 5 S Singh b Hassan 3 I Porel not out 0 Extras (lb-5, nb-2, w-9) 16 Total (all out, 49.2 overs) 265 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-102, 3-176, 4-181, 5-215, 6-231, 7-239, 8-251, 9-265 Bowling: Mahmud 8-0-55-1, Haque 5-0-34-1, Islam 10-0-48- 3, Dhrubo 8-0-46-0, Hasan 10-0-36-2, Hassan 8.2-0-41-2. Bangladesh Under-19s innings P Ghosh c Porel b Roy 43 M Sheikh c Shaw b Mavi 12 MS Hassan c Sharma b Nagarkoti 12 T Hridoy run out (Mavi) 9 A Dhrubo c Das b Sharma 18 A Biplob run out (Nagarkoti) 3 MIBA Ankon b Mavi 10 QO Islam b Sharma 0 Mahmudul Hasan b Nagarkoti 11 H Mahmud c Sharma b Nagarkoti 0 R Haque not out 14 Extras (lb-2) 2 Total (all out, 42.1 ...
International seminar on 'Telangana Through Ages' begins
The second International seminar on Telangana Through Ages, conducted at Dr. MCHRDI, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad was inaugurated on Thursday.The event was graced by the Cultural and Tourism minister Azmeera Chandulal, IAS Venkatesham and others.There were 35 ancient sculpture pictures, which were exhibited in this ceremony.Speaking at the event, Cultural Minister Chandu Lal said, "It's an honour for me to be a part of this program. We will try more and more to make our tradition and culture known to everyone in the World. For this, we even need the public support""Today 35 papers of different sculptures are presented been here. These are done by keeping in mind about the ancient sculptures of Telangana. This is the second conference that has been held and it is very rare to get the publications in international level. Although Telangana is a new state it is enriched with history for many decades. The climate here will always be good as Krishna and Godavari will be flowing. There are many
1,687 people in Maharashtra changed religion in 4 years: RTI data
The Right to Information (RTI) office on Thursday revealed that as many as 1,687 people opted for religious conversion in Maharashtra in the last 43 months, with 1,166 Hindus embracing other faiths, including Islam, Christianity and Buddhism.The information was provided by the Directorate of Government Printing and Stationery (DGPS), Mumbai in response to a query filed by activist Anil Galgali.In a statement, it said, "As per the information recorded between June 10, 2014 and January 16, 2018, around 44 per cent (749 out of the total 1,687) embraced Islam, while only 21 per cent people converted to Hinduism. Of the 1,166 Hindu people, 664 converted to Islam, followed by Buddhism (258), Christianity (138), Jainism (88), Sikhism (11) and other religions (seven)."Total 263 Muslims converted their religion, of which 228 people (87 per cent) chose to become Hindu, while 12 embraced Buddhism, 21 Christianity and two converted to Jainism."These are the numbers recorded by the DGPS. It only ..
Will watch 'Padmaavat', see what's objectionable: Sisodia
Condemning the Wednesday attack on a school bus in Gurugram by a mob, alleged to be Karni Sena supporters, over the release of "Padmaavat", Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said he would watch the film with Rajput leaders (like him) and brief the people about it later.
Prominence, exclusiveness in doing pooja immaterial to get
A pure mind with unconditional love and affection towards mankind is what one has to have to get the blessings of the God and not prominence or exclusiveness in doing 'pooja', the Madras High Court has observed. The court made the observations while disposing of a petition by S Natarajan, who sought a direction to the authorities to permit his family to conduct 'mandapa kattalai pooja' on behalf of a local mutt during coming 'Thai Poosam' festival at the famous Lord Subramaniya Swami temple in Chennimalai in Erode district as had been done for years. The court said that doing poojas by spending huge money will serve no purpose if one has a polluted mind loaded with arrogance or ill-feelings or evil thoughts or hatredness. It may, at the best, be for the satisfaction of such person alone and certainly, not to the satisfaction of The Almighty, Justice K Ravichandrabaabu said in a recent order. "What is required to get His blessings is only a pure and clean mind with ...
Chinese officials staging 'takeover' of Tibetan Buddhist
Chinese authorities are staging a "takeover" of the world's largest institution for Tibetan Buddhist learning, Human Rights Watch (HRW) have said, the latest move to bring religion under strict Communist control. The monastic encampment of Larung Gar was once home to more than 10,000 devotees, their self-built red wooden homes sprawled across a valley in a remote corner of the southwestern province of Sichuan. But an eight-month demolition and expulsion campaign that ended last April has reduced the population by at least half and destroyed huge swathes of the houses. Now further drastic changes are on the horizon, with authorities preparing to split the encampment's academy and monastery into two separate sections divided by a wall, according to an official pamphlet issued around August and obtained by HRW. AFP was not able to independently verify its authenticity. China's officially atheist Communist government is wary of organised movements outside its control, ...
French lawmakers banned from wearing religious symbols
France's parliament has banned lawmakers from wearing any religious symbols under a new "neutral" dress code, an extension of the country's strict secular rules that is seen as going too far by some critics. Under the change approved late Wednesday, members of the National Assembly must avoid "the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols, uniforms, logos or commercial messages or political slogans." The regulation was brought in following an outcry over an MP wearing a football shirt in the parliament, but the inclusion of religious symbols in the new rules quickly became a talking point and a focus of attention. Until now, lawmakers were instructed to simply "respect the institution", which generally meant women wearing smart clothes and men sporting a suit and tie, though this latter requirement was relaxed last year. Some 20th-century lawmakers included priests in religious garb, such as Henri Groues, better known as Abbe Pierre, and several Christian faith leaders ...
Gita Press denies reports of shutting down
The management of Gita Press, the largest publication house of Hindu religious texts has dismissed rumours that it is shutting down due to financial crisis.The press which was started in the year 1923 and publishes religious books in 15 languages has assured its readers that their condition has become 'economically strong'.Devidiyal Agarwal, one of the trustees of the press rubbished the rumors circling on social media regarding the press's financial status, saying that they have recently installed a German manufactured machine worth Rs. 11.5 Crore in their factory."The provident fund money is going on in such a way that I do not think our economic or any other kind of problem is obstructing our publication," she added.Agarwal said that false rumors are being spread as a few people want to take advantage of it.When asked as to how the Press works financially, as it provides books at such low price, she said, that no trustee spends even one rupee from the press."Only necessary amount ..
R-Day: Haryana Minister asks people to hoist tricolour in religious places
Haryana Minister Vipul Goel on Wednesday appealed the public to hoist the tricolour in religious places on the Republic Day.Speaking at a press conference here, Goel said, "Religious places preach religion but nation comes before everything. I appeal all religious places to hoist the Tricolor in their premises on Republic Day. It will infuse people with a feeling of patriotism".He added that he would initiate the process from his home constituency Faridabad."People must hoist tricolour even in their homes. We will unfurl national flag in all religious places. I, along with people, will visit religious places and request the concerned to put a national flag atop the shrines. This will further strengthen the spirit of nationalism among the people", Goel stated.He rejected that this step will rake up a controversy in the nation.
Tel: reward for info on corruption in jail increased
The Telangana prisons department today increased the incentive for reporting on corruption in jails from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. "Now, we declare enhancement of the incentive to complainant from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 with immediate effect," V K Singh, Director General-Prisons, said in a release. Complaints about corruption in jails have declined in the last few years, according to the release.
'It's a Hindu-Muslim conundrum over conversions in Maharashtra'
A majority of Muslims in Maharashtra who chose to change their religion have adopted Hinduism, while a majority of Hindus preferred to convert to Islam in the state, an RTI reply has revealed.