Page 223 - Religion Belief
One who idolises Tipu Sultan cannot side Hindus: BJP
Responding to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's remark on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having 'leased out' Hinduism, the latter claimed that one who idolises Tipu Sultan cannot support Hindus."Siddaramaiah is one who idolises Tipu Sultan, who caused a lot of harm to the Hindu community. It is natural that such a person will not support or think for the welfare of Hindus or Hinduism," BJP MP Vinay Katiyar told ANI.Earlier in the week, Adityanath during his visit to Karnataka had accused the Congress of attempting to convert the state, which is "the land of Lord Hanuman", into "a land of Tipu Sultan worshippers".To this, Siddaramaiah took to twitter on Friday to question whether the BJP had "taken Hinduism on lease"."Are only the BJP leaders Hindus? Are we not Hindus? Has the BJP taken Hinduism on lease? My name is Siddaramaiah. Siddhu and Rama is in my name," he said.In a series of tweets in Kannada, the Chief Minister also called for equal respect to be given to all ...
Avoid religion-based politics, Congress tells BJP
The Congress party on Saturday averred that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leadership should avoid intermixing religion and politics.Congress' statement came in the back drop of recent quarrel that was witnessed on Hinduism between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah."The BJP always says whoever sides them are Hindus, and the others are not. They are under the impression that only they follow Hinduism. Even the way they faked Rahul Gandhi's name in the register in Somnath temple is testament to this. The BJP should avoid indulging in such practices," Congress leader PL Punia told ANI.Earlier in the week, Adityanath during his visit to Karnataka had accused the Congress of attempting to convert the state, which is "the land of Lord Hanuman", into "a land of Tipu Sultan worshippers".To this, Siddaramaiah took to twitter on Friday to question whether the BJP had "taken Hinduism on lease"."Are only the BJP leaders Hindus? Are ..
Abbas hits out US in Christmas message, says wont accept any US plan (Lead, changing dateline)
Ramallah, Dec 22 (IANS/AKI) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday issued Christmas greetings in a message deploring the US' recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and recalling that Christianity began in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
New US ambassador to Vatican takes up her post
Rome, Dec 22 (IANS/AKI) The new US Ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich on Friday presented her credentials to Pope Francis and has begun her duties, the embassy said in a statement.
Mamata attacks Centre for rejecting Bengal's R-Day tableau
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday lashed against the Central goverment for rejecting the tableau proposed by her government for the Republic Day parade in Delhi, wondering fi the decision was prompted by its theme of "unity is harmony".
Two sisters drown in pond
Two girls, sisters, drowned in a pond in Krishna district today, police said. The incident took place at Lakshmi Narasimhapuram village in Nandivada mandal. The two girls were identified as Radhika (11) and Kalyani (9), students of std 6 and 3, respectively. Probe is on.
'Love jihad' due to religious appeasement: RSS leader
RSS leader Indresh Kumar on Friday attributed the occurrence of "love jihad" related incidents due to "religious appeasement" by the Congress and other parties.
Nehru's alien philosophy of secularism didn't succeed: Tathagata Roy
Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy on Friday said India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's push for an "alien philosophy" of secularism didn't succeed in the country and failed to secure amity between religions.
Cong not playing divisive politics:KPCC chief
The Congress is "not playing" divisive politics based on caste and religion, but politics of development in the run-up to next year's assembly polls, KPCC president G Parameshwara said today. "We are not playing the politics of divisiveness based on caste and religion, but politics of development. This is our motto going into the assembly election (early) next year," he told PTI here. Parameshwara was replying to a query on dangers of playing divisive politics in relation to the Gujarat assembly polls in which the Congress lost to BJP. He said the Congress is a "mute spectator" on the controversial issue of a separate religious status for Lingayats, the majority community in the state. "It is wrong to say chief minister Siddaramaiah and Congress initiated this issue", he said. "All that what chief minister is saying is that, in case Lingayats submit a proposal in this regard, he would forward the same to the union government for consideration," he said. As far as 'Tipu ..
Writer threatened by fundamentalists bags Akademi award
Renowned Malayali writer KP Ramanunni has received this year's Sahitya Akademi award for a novel with Prophet Muhammad as its protagonist, months after receiving threats from fundamentalists for his articles. In July, Ramanunni had received an anonymous threat letter warning him that his right arm and left leg would be chopped off if he did not convert to Islam within six months. The award, announced yesterday for his novel "Daivathinte Pusthankam" (The book of God), is a vindication of his stand on secularism and religious harmony, Ramanunni said. "It is more than just a coincidence for me...and I am so happy that I got this honour not too long after receiving the threat letter," Ramanunni told PTI over phone. Ramanunni had lodged a police complaint after receiving the letter in which the extremists had alleged that he was "misleading" Muslim youth through some of his articles. Ramanunni said many people had warned him not to write a book with the Prophet as its central ..
Pope to administer final rites at Cardinal Law funeral
Pope Francis is set to preside over the final rites in the funeral Mass for Cardinal Bernard Law, symbol of the Catholic Church's failure to protect children from paedophile priests and its arrogance in safeguarding its own reputation at all costs. The dean of the college of cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, will celebrate Law's funeral Mass today behind the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica. Following the typical protocol, Francis is expected to preside over a final prayer, a blessing with incense and the sprinkling of holy water around Law's coffin. US Ambassador-designate Callista Gingrich and her husband, Newt, as well as some other members of the diplomatic corps were on hand in the pews, along with the Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher. Turnout was otherwise limited, with the basilica ushers stacking extra rows of empty seats before the Mass began. One of the opening prayers reads: "O God, who chose your servant Cardinal Bernard Law from among ...
German far-right says churches like 'in Nazi era'
Germany's far-right AfD party fired back today at criticism from church leaders charging them with taking on the same "disreputable role they played" during the Nazi era. Religious leaders have spoken out against the anti- migrant and anti-Islam Alternative for Germany party - remarks the AfD sees as collusion with Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. "We now know that the official churches, whether Protestant or Catholic, are politicised through and through," Alice Weidel, party co-chair, told weekly news magazine Focus. "The separation of church and state is no longer respected," said Weidel in a pre-released excerpt of an article to be published Saturday. "With a few exceptions, large parts of the churches play exactly the same disreputable role that they played in the Third Reich," added Weidel, whose party regularly makes polemical remarks about Germany's Nazi past. Protestant and Catholic institutions in Germany did not put up organised resistance to the 1933-45 .
: Following are the results of the Extra
: Following are the results of the Extra day races held here today. 1st Race: The Godhavari Plate 1400 M Significant (Mrs N Jyothi) 55 V R Jagadeesh First. Priority 58.5 P M Bopanna Second. She's no Angel 52.5 Huzaif Raja Third. Dazzle Away 53 G Manikandan Fourth. All ran Won by: 7l,5-1/4l,3-1/2l, Time :One min 29.53 secs Tote : Rs.9 for win, Rs.5 and Rs.5 for places Winner trained by: P Krishna Favourite: Significant SHP: Rs.6 Quinella: Rs.8 Forecast: Rs.10 Tanala: Rs.120 on 161 tickets.
India to set up IT centre in Egypt's Al Azhar University
India will be establishing a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) at Al Azhar University, Egypt's highest religious authority and one of the world's most eminent seats of Sunni Muslim learning, officials have said. All the equipment and course material has reached Egypt and premises are being prepared for CIET, which will provide high-tech education and skills to the country's youth, India's Ambassador to Egypt, Sanjay Bhattacharyya, said. Bhattacharya also visited the Al-Azhar Observatory yesterday where he was briefed about its activities and role in fighting extremism. "I was impressed with the work at Al Azhar Observatory. It was set up to monitor growing radicalism and extremism, particularly among the youth, often leading to violence and terrorism," he told PTI. The envoy also lauded the institution, which works in multiple languages, for tackling extremism with a counter narrative based on Al Azhar's moderate philosophy. Al Azhar has also shown ...
Pope denounces 'cancer' of cliques, ambition in Vatican
Pope Francis has once again used a Christmas greeting to dress down Vatican colleagues, denouncing the "cancer" of cliques and how bureaucrats can become "corrupted" by ambition and vanity. "Reforming Rome is like cleaning the Egyptian sphinxes with a toothbrush," Francis told cardinals, bishops and priests who work for him on Thursday. "You need patience, dedication and delicacy." Francis acknowledged that there were plenty of competent, loyal and even saintly people who work in the Holy See. But he also said there were others chosen to help him reform the Vatican's inefficient and outdated bureaucracy who had shown themselves not to be up to the task. When these people are then "delicately" removed, Francis said "they falsely declare themselves martyrs of the system, of an 'uninformed pope' or the 'old guard,' when in fact they should have done a mea culpa." Francis has a tradition of giving the Curia a tough-love Christmas greeting, inviting the Vatican bureaucrats ...
India International Coffee Festival to be held from Jan 16
India Coffee Trust in association with Coffee Board today announced the seventh edition of India International Coffee Festival (IICF) in Bengaluru from January 16 to January 19. Indian Coffee Trust president Anil Kumar Bhandari told a gathering here that IICF 2018 will continue to be the premier platform for the coffee and allied industries to express and explore new and game changing ideas and solutions. Coffee Board of India secretary Srivatsa Krishna said India would host in 2020 the International Coffee Organisation's World Conference for the first time. Referring to the challenges faced by growers in the coffee business, Krishna said the big brands sell the end product of coffee at Rs 5 US dollars per cup, whereas the grower gets only 5 cents. "Many of you drink coffee abroad at Starbucks or atCaf Coffee Day. That coffee costs you four or five dollars (per cup). The farmer gets five cents out of that. This is notmy data. This was published in financial times, UK a ..
US museum buys Spanish Hebrew Bible from 14th century
The Metropolitan Museum of Art here has purchased a Hebrew Bible produced in the Spanish region of Castile in the 14th century, acquiring the illuminated tome at an auction at Sotheby's along with other objects of Judaica.
Italy expels Moroccan 'extremist'
Rome, Dec 21 (IANS/AKI) Italian authorities have deported a 37-year-old Moroccan national who is accused of being an Islamist extremist, the Interior Ministry said.
Trump Jerusalem recognition harms Christmas: Catholic leader
The Catholic church's top official in Jerusalem today criticised Donald Trump's controversial recognition of the city as Israel's capital, saying it damaged Christmas celebrations and led to hundreds cancelling trips. Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said "dozens" of groups had pulled out of planned visits after being scared off by the announcement and subsequent clashes. He added that the heads of the Christian churches in Jerusalem would find it difficult to accept an official request by US Vice President Mike Pence to visit the city's holy Christian sites in January, calling for him to "listen more" to other Christians. "Of course this created a tension around Jerusalem and this diverted attention from Christmas," Pizzaballa said of Trump's December 6 decision. "After this there are some tensions in Jerusalem, Bethlehem also. This scared many people, so we've had less people than expected." He stressed, .
350 kg gunpowder seized from storeroom at Sabarimala shrine
Police today recovered about 350 kg gunpowder from a storeroom near a shrine at the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, where the festival season is on, as it was more than the permissible limit that can be stored. As per the storeroom's licence, only 15 kg can be stored, police said. The Mandala-Makaravilakku festival season is currently on at the temple. The gunpowder was recovered from the storeroom near the Mallikapuram shrine at Sannidhanam (temple complex), police said. It was to be used for the preparation of 'Kathina Vedi', an offering for the presiding deity at the temple. Police found that the room lacked the requisite safety measures to keep the explosive material. The Sabarimala temple opened on November 15, marking the beginning of the three-month annual festival. Thousands of pilgrims are visiting the hillock shrine every day to catch a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa and offer prayers.