Page 49 - Religion Belief
Efforts on to introduce "inhuman" religion in India: Mamata
In an apparent attack on the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday alleged that efforts were on to introduce an "inhuman" religion in the country on the basis of divisive politics. Banerjee, without directly naming it, accused the saffron party of trying to impose its choice of food, clothing and religion on the people and then deciding who would stay in the country and who would be thrown out. "They are trying to create an inhuman religion based on their belief and decide who are going to stay in the country and who will leave. They are deciding in which language people will speak, what the people will eat and wear. They are trying to change the history of the country," she said at a programme on the International Mother Language Day. "If some people are trying to implement one law as per their will, we will not let them do so. We don't support this theory of divisive politics...," she said. Banerjee urged people not to pay heed to provocations meant to create ...
Seer performs symbolic 'shilanyas' of Ram temple in Kashi
Jyotish and Dwarka Sharda Peeth Shankracharya Swamy Swaroopanand Saraswati on Thursday performed a symbolic 'shilanyaas' in Varanasi of the proposed Ram temple at Ayodhya.
UP: Amit Shah likely to visit Ghazipur on Feb 26
BJP president Amit Shah is likely to visit a village in Ghazipur on February 26. He will be taking a ride on a boat which will apparently be electrified for the first time, said a source on Thursday.Shah had visited Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on February 13 to take a dip in Sangam during the ongoing Kumbh Mela. Shah, along with other leaders took the dip while chanting religious slogans along with saints.Earlier today, he addressed a gathering in Karnataka's Rajahmundry, in which he accused Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu of having faith on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Seed-sowing festival unites ethnic Naga communities in Manipur
Among the various festivals celebrated in Manipur, Lu-ngai-ni or the seed sowing festival is one of the biggest festivals of Naga tribes of Manipur. This year, the festival was celebrated at Mini Stadium in Senapati district. The function was organised under the aegis of United Naga Council (UNC) which was hosted by Naga People's Organization, under the theme "Understanding through culture."The word "Lui - Ngai - Ni" is taken from three different Naga languages. "Lui" comes from "Luiraphanit", a Tangkhul word for seed sowing festival, "Ngai" means festival in Rongmei language and "Ni" is a Mao word for the seed sowing festival.Gracing the festival, Printing and Stationary Minister, Losii Dikho urged the people of Manipur to plant more trees and stressed on the need to create a green environment.Speaking at the event, Loshi Dikho, Minister PHED, Printing and Stationery said, "Today we have celebrated the occasion and displayed our culture. We are going to sow the seed for our people ...
World expecting 'concrete measures' against child abuse: pope
Pope Francis opened Thursday a landmark summit at the Vatican on fighting child sex abuse, saying that the world expected "concrete measures" on tackling paedophilia in the Catholic church. "The Holy people of God are watching and waiting not for simple and obvious condemnations but concrete and efficient measures," he said.
Summit on fighting child sex abuse opens at Vatican
A landmark summit hosted by Pope Francis on fighting child sex abuse opened at the Vatican on Thursday. The pontiff has set aside three and a half days to persuade Catholic bishops to tackle paedophilia in a bid to contain a scandal which has hit the Roman Catholic Church in countries across the world.
Month-long 'Festival of India' begins in Nepal
A month-long 'Festival of India' began here on Tuesday with the objective of familiarising the new generation of Nepal about the similarities between the Himalayan nation and India. The festival, organised by the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Embassy of India, is being held in Kathmandu and other major cities of the country from February 19 to March 21. The festival began here with a musical drama on the life of Lord Buddha. Sanskrit conference, dance, food festival and other cultural programmes will also be held during the festival. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly inaugurated the event. Speaking on the occasion, Indian Ambassador Puri said Buddhism has been established as a major religion in the both the countries as Lord Buddha was born in Nepal and attained enlightenment in India.
Wahhabism in Kashmir: Tale of oil money from Saudi Arabia, Gulf
Ever since the ongoing armed violence started in the Kashmir Valley, Indian intelligence agencies have been worried about the growing influence of the strait-laced interpretation of Islam propagated through 'Wahhabism'.
Pak's Punjab university sets up Guru Nanak research chair
For the first time, a Pakistani university has created the Guru Nanak research chair to "promote the message of peace that the Sikh spiritual leader preached". "The Punjab University Lahore has created the Baba Guru Nanak research chair. This is the first ever initiative of any university in Pakistan. The students will carry out research on the teachings of Guru Nanak," Punjab University spokesperson Khurram Shahzad told PTI on Wednesday. He said an inaugural ceremony was held at the university's new campus on Tuesday by Vice Chancellor Dr Niaz Ahmad. Shahzad said it was also the demand of the Sikhs delegations who visited the Punjab University. "It was not only the demand of the Sikhs but the academia that feels the need to promote message of tolerance of Guru Nanak in the society. The Punjab University's Oriental College students under the supervision of the Professor of the chair will carry out the research work," he added. Ahmad said Guru Nanak promoted the message of tolerance ...
Ending the silence on sex abuse: Vatican holds summit
If Pope Francis needed a concrete example to justify summoning church leaders from around the globe to Rome for a tutorial on clergy sex abuse, Sister Bernardine Pemii has it. The nun, who recently completed a course on child protection policies at Rome's Jesuit university, has been advising her bishop in Ghana on an abuse case, instructing him to invite the victim to his office to hear her story before opening an investigation. If Pemii hadn't stepped in? "It would have been covered. There would have been complete silence," Pemii told The Associated Press recently. "And nothing would have happened. Nobody would have listened to the victim." Francis is convening this week's summit at the Vatican to prevent cover-ups by Catholic superiors everywhere, as many around the world continue to protect the church's reputation at all costs, denying that priests rape children and by discrediting victims even as new cases keep coming to light. History's first Latin American pope has made many of .
Thousands take part in all-women Attukal Pongala festival
Cutting across age barriers, thousands of women took part in the famous "Attukal Pongala," one of the largest religious congregations of women, here Wednesday. Preparing 'pongala' (sweet offering) is considered an auspicious all-women ritual as part of the annual festival of the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple here, which is popularly known as the "Women's Sabarimala". Braving scorching heat and humid climate, women from various parts of Kerala and outside the state converged in grounds and both sides of the highways, roads and bylines across the city and prepared 'pongala', a mix of rice, jaggery and scraped coconut in fresh earthen or metal pots to please the Goddess. With makeshift brick stoves, placed on both sides of the roads, and hymns of the goddess chanted by devotees, the state capital appeared to have turned into a 'yaga sala'. The festivities began at 10.20 am after chief priest, N Vishnu Namboothiri lit the 'pandara aduppu', the main hearth at the shrine. Following this, women
Record number of women take part in Attukal Pongala
A record number of four million women are taking part in the famed Attukal Pongala festival here in Kerala on Wednesday.
Two Catholic church cardinals urge end of 'homosexual agenda'
Two prominent Roman Catholic Church cardinals have called for an end to the "plague of the homosexual agenda", urging bishops to end their complicity and silence over cases of sexual abuse.
3,861 ousted KSRTC employees participate in Attukal Pongala hoping for govt help
As the Attukal Pongala celebrations are underway across the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, around 3,861 ousted women employees of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) are participating in the festival hoping for the state government to address their grievances.The women were seen preparing a ritualistic offering for Attukal Devi in front of the Secretariat here where they have been protesting for nearly a month against their abrupt termination.Speaking to ANI, Sandhya, an ousted KSRTC employee, said the women have been protesting for 31 days, yet no relief has been granted by the state government."We were working on a meagre salary of Rs 480 per day, yet we did not complain. Two months ago, around 3,861 employees were terminated without any prior notice or reason. Only we know how we are making ends meet. We have been protesting here for 31 days now, yet our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Today, we are participating in this festival, pleading to the almighty for ..
Religious orders apologize for sex abuse inaction, cover-ups
Catholic religious orders around the world apologized Tuesday for having failed to respond when their priests raped children, acknowledging that their family-like communities blinded them to sexual abuse and led to misplaced loyalties, denial and cover-ups. The two umbrella organisations representing the world's religious orders issued a joint statement ahead of Pope Francis' sex abuse prevention summit, which opens Thursday. They vowed to implement accountability measures to ensure that cover-ups by religious superiors end and that children are always safe in the presence of clergy. With a few exceptions, religious orders have largely flown under the radar in the decades-long scandal, since the focus has been on how diocesan bishops protected their priests and moved them from parish to parish where they were free to abuse again. Yet congregations such as the Jesuits, Salesians and Christian Brothers have some of the worst records, since they too moved abusers around and had easy ...
Netanyahu slams 'shocking' anti-Semitic vandalism in France
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday slammed the "shocking" anti-Semitic vandalism of a French cemetery, which prompted a cabinet colleague to urge French Jews to "come home" to Israel. "Today something shocking happened in France. Eighty Jewish graves were desecrated with Nazi symbols by wild anti-Semites," Netanyahu said in a video clip released by his office. "I call on the leaders of France and Europe to take a strong stand against anti-Semitism. It is a plague that endangers everyone, not just us," he said. The graves were daubed with swastikas at a Jewish cemetery in the village of Quatzenheim, close to the border with Germany in the Alsace region. Photos show the Nazi symbols in blue spray-painted on the damaged graves, one of which bears the words "Elsassisches Schwarzen Wolfe" ("Black Alsatian Wolves"), a separatist group with links to neo-Nazis in the 1970s. Immigration Minister Yoav Gallant said the vandalism "conjures images of dark times in the history of .
Promote peace, eschew tendencies of hate: Farooq
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Tuesday called for imbibing the spirit of peace and harmony as professed by every religion, saying the need for this is more now than ever before as the society is "ridden with hate and intolerance". The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also called for eschewing tendencies of hate, saying this has already created a wedge in society. "This drift is needed to be bridged by promoting the spirit of harmony," he said adding that "let us pledge to ensure a dignified life for all". The National Conference (NC) leader greeted the people on Guru Ravidas Jayanti and prayed for peace and tranquillity in the state. "Maintaining unity and further strengthening the bonds of brotherhood is the greatest tribute to great saints, who strived for a just society based on social justice and equality," Abdullah said after paying tributes to Guru Ravidas on his 642nd birth anniversary at a function here. He hoped the life and teachings of the guru would ..
Sikkim govt gives financial assistance for construction of
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling Tuesday claimed that his government provides financial assistance for construction of religious places of worship in the state. "Sikkim is the only state where religious places of worship are constructed with financial aid from the state government," he said at a function after inaugurating the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPCS) at PNG Complex here. The state government also provides grants and assistance for maintenance of places of worship of all faiths and communities, Chamling said. Describing Sikkim as a model of secularism where every citizen has the right to profess the religion of his/her choice, the chief minister claimed that there has been no communal tension and unrest during his tenure of nearly 25 years. No person is discriminated or marginalised based on caste, creed or religion in the state, Chamling said, adding the state government has provided two per cent reservation in jobs and education to the ...
Anointment ritual of Lord Bahubali in Dharmasthala ends
: The anointment ritual of the statue of Lord Bahubali in Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district concluded Monday marking the end of the 10-day 'Mahamastakabhisheka' festival that is held once in 12 years. The festival, which began on February 9, was attended by thousands of dignitaries and devotees from across the country. State Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony. The festival formally ended with the rituals 'Kumkumotsava', 'Kankana Visarjane' and 'Torana Visarjane' Monday evening. 'Kalashas' of different hues were poured over the 39- foot-high statue over the last three days of anointment amid devotional fervour. Dharmasthala dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade and his family members presided over the anointment ceremony on February 16. Devotees offered 'janamangala kalasha,' 'divya kalasha' and 'shraddha kalasha' on the idol in the last two days. The 'kalashas' were brought in a procession after religious rituals were ...
Vatican has secret rules for priests who father children: NYT
The Vatican has revealed that it has secret rules for priests who father children despite their celibacy vows, The New York Times said in a report.