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Two secret Christians found each other in an arranged marriage miracle

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 08:00:19 -0400

Editor’s note: This essay is adapted from "The DNA of a Doctor: How Upbringing, Culture, and Unbridled Ambition Curates Achievement" (Post Hill Press, 2026)

Both of my grandmothers, living in two separate small villages in India miles apart from each other, had each secretly become believers in Jesus. At that time, in that environment, it was dangerous to be a Christian. Becoming a believer would have disgraced your family.

Neither grandmother hid her faith from her children, though they did from everyone else. While most of their offspring went back to practicing Hinduism when they married, my dad and mom, independently and alone of all their many brothers and sisters, had each developed a strong Christian faith.

They just didn't know this about each other.

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My parents came from different worlds. My father arrived in America in 1975 with $7 in his pocket. He had run away from home as a teenager, slept on train station benches, and put himself through school against his own father's wishes. My mother broke barriers of her own, graduating from medical school in India in the 1970s when few women were educated at all. Both had sacrificed everything for a bigger life.

When my father returned to India in 1978 to find a bride, he met my mother through her younger brother at a bus station. She had a medical degree, her own ideas and spoke her mind. But on this occasion, her brothers and uncles made things clear: she was not to speak. She should not make eye contact. And there would be no mention of her faith. Anything she said could disgrace the family name.

Four days later, my parents were married at 4:50 a.m. in a Hindu ceremony conducted by a Hindu priest. Neither had breathed a word about their secret faith.

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On their honeymoon, while my father was in the shower, my mother sat in the hotel room overcome with doubt. "I don't even know this person," she thought. "What have I done?" She pulled out her Bible and leafed through it, seeking comfort.

My dad came back into the room. She stood up and quickly tried to hide the Bible behind her back.

"What are you hiding?" he asked.

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"Nothing," she said.

"We cannot hide things from each other," my dad told her.

Reluctantly, she showed him what was in her hands.

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"Praise God!" he proclaimed.

The odds of this happening in an arranged marriage in India at that time were less than miniscule. Two secret Christians, from two separate villages, raised by two grandmothers who had independently come to faith, finding each other through a chance encounter at a bus station. It was unheard of. A miracle.

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God had brought them together.

While this isn't my own story, it's still one of my favorites to tell. My parents had led two completely separate lives. They were strangers in every sense of the word. And yet, they were created for each other.

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Those of Christian faith like me believe that God has a plan for each of us, which may or may not line up with the plans we make for ourselves. We can try, but we cannot always predict or plan every aspect of our lives. Sometimes the detour is not a failure. It is protection. It is redirection.

I believe we are all being led somewhere, even when we cannot see the path.

Monkeys 'running a scam' at sacred temple, frustrated tourists say after phone thefts

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 20:37:02 -0400

Monkeys have been stealing tourists' valuables — including their phones and wallets — in exchange for food rewards at a popular, cliff-side temple in Bali, Indonesia.

The mischievous, long-tailed macaques have been stealing visitors' belongings for decades, holding them ransom to trade with humans for food, according to primate researchers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Around 600 monkeys live at Bali's Uluwatu Temple, a Hindu temple that overlooks the Indian Ocean. Many locals consider the primates to be sacred guardians of the spiritual site, which dates back to around the 10th or 11th century, according to the WSJ.

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Some of the thieving monkeys can even differentiate between objects of high value to humans — like phones and glasses — and items humans do not value as much, such as hair clips and hats, the WSJ reported.

The primates have "unprecedented economic decision-making processes," according to a University of Lethbridge team that filmed and analyzed hundreds of hours of footage of the macaques.

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Many of Uluwatu's theft incidents require the assistance of "pawang," monkey handlers who offer fruits to the animals in exchange for the stolen goods. The monkeys steal dozens of items from tourists each week, including five to 10 smartphones every day, according to the WSJ, citing monkey handler Ketut Ariana.

"The monkeys have taken over the temple," Jonathan Hammé, a London tourist whose sunglasses were stolen by a macaque, told the WSJ. "They’re running a scam."

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Taylor Utley, a 36-year-old tourist from Kentucky, said a monkey stole her phone out of her hand while she was visiting Uluwatu Temple last year. To help get it back, a monkey handler had to repeatedly give the primate bags of fruit until it dropped Utley's phone, the WSJ reported.

"I was taken aback," Utley said. "It’s like a criminal enterprise of monkeys."

In an attempt to stop the thefts, Uluwatu Temple has implemented different feeding schedules for the monkeys and has offered them different food. However, it has not helped, according to the WSJ, citing Kadek Ari Astawa, who coordinates the monkey handlers.

Atsawa said he heard that when the temple first opened to visitors, tourists would sometimes feed the macaques. But once temple management restricted tourists from feeding them, the primates began stealing their belongings, the WSJ reported.

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In November, residents in a South Carolina town were advised to close their windows and doors after 43 rhesus macaque monkeys escaped a testing facility.

At least 30 dead in stampede at the massive Maha Kumbh festival in India, police say

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:13:05 -0500

At least 30 people were killed and another 60 injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh festival, a six-week Hindu festival and the world’s largest religious gathering.
The stampede happened when pilgrims tried to jump barricades to engage in a ritual bath in sacred waters at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
Authorities said 90 million to 100 million pilgrims were at the site and expect more than 400 million people to visit over the course of the festival.

At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.

Police officer Vaibhav Krishna in Prayagraj city said another 60 injured were rushed to hospitals.

Wednesday was a sacred day in the six-week Hindu festival, and authorities expected a record 100 million devotees to engage in a ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers. Hindus believe that a dip at the holy site can cleanse them of past sins and end the process of reincarnation.

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The stampede happened when pilgrims tried to jump barricades erected for a procession of holy men, Uttar Pradesh state’s top elected official, Yogi Adityanath, said in a televised statement.

The event's main draw is the thousands of ash-smeared Hindu ascetics who make massive processions toward the confluence to bathe.

Indian authorities took more than 16 hours to release casualty figures, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the loss of lives, calling the incident "extremely sad" and extending his condolences.

"Suddenly there was pushing in the crowd, and we got trapped. A lot of us fell down and the crowd went uncontrolled," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted pilgrim Sarojini as saying. "There was no chance for escape, there was pushing from all sides," she said.

Distressed families lined up outside a makeshift hospital, desperate for news of missing loved ones. Clothes, blankets and backpacks were strewn around the site of the stampede.

Millions continued to throng the 15-square mile pilgrimage site despite the stampede, even as police urged them over megaphones to avoid the confluence. Adityanath urged people to take baths at other riverbanks instead.

"The situation is now under control, but there is a massive crowd of pilgrims," Adityanath said, adding that 90 million to 100 million pilgrims were at the site.

About 30 million people had taken the holy bath by 8 a.m. Wednesday, he said.

The Maha Kumbh festival, held every 12 years, started on Jan. 13. Authorities expect more than 400 million people to throng the pilgrimage site in total. Nearly 150 million people have already attended, including Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah and celebrities like Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

A sprawling tent city has been built on the riverbanks to accommodate the millions of visitors, with roads, electricity and water, 3,000 kitchens and 11 hospitals.

About 50,000 security personnel are stationed in the city to maintain law and order and manage crowds, and more than 2,500 cameras monitor crowd movement and density so officials can try to prevent such crushes.

Several opposition leaders criticized the federal and the state government, both led by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, and blamed the stampede on "mismanagement" and "VIP culture" — the latter referring to what they say is preferential treatment for politicians and celebrities.

"The government should make better arrangements to meet the needs of common devotees," Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote on social platform X.

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The 45-day festival is a significant cultural event for India’s Hindus, who make up nearly 80% of the country’s more than 1.4 billion people. It's also a prestige event for Modi, whose ruling party boasts of promoting Hindu cultural symbols.

The Maha Kumbh festival has had stampedes in the past. In 2013, at least 40 pilgrims who were taking part in the festival were killed in a stampede at a train station in Prayagraj.

Deadly stampedes are relatively common around Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas. In July at least 116 people died, most of them women and children, when thousands at a religious gathering in northern India stampeded at a tent camp in Hathras town.

World's largest religious gathering begins in India, hundreds of millions of Hindus expected to attend

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 09:32:58 -0500

The Maha Kumbh Mela, or Hindu pitcher festival, begins Monday in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj.
Officials expect at least 400 million people to visit Prayagraj over the next 45 days.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the festival has become an integral part of advocacy of Hindu nationalism. The festival is expected to boost the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s record of promoting Hindu cultural symbols for its support base. Critics say the party's philosophy is rooted in Hindu supremacy.

Millions of Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women from all across India flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj on Monday to kickstart the Maha Kumbh festival, which is being touted as the world's largest religious gathering.

Over about the next six weeks, Hindu pilgrims will gather at the confluence of three sacred rivers — the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati — where they will take part in elaborate rituals, hoping to begin a journey to achieve Hindu philosophy’s ultimate goal: the release from the cycle of rebirth.

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Here’s what to know about the festival:

A religious gathering at the confluence of three sacred rivers

Hindus venerate rivers, and none more so than the Ganges and the Yamuna. The faithful believe that a dip in their waters will cleanse them of their past sins and end their process of reincarnation, particularly on auspicious days. The most propitious of these days occur in cycles of 12 years during a festival called the Maha Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival.

The festival is a series of ritual baths by Hindu sadhus, or holy men, and other pilgrims at the confluence of three sacred rivers that dates to at least medieval times. Hindus believe that the mythical Saraswati river once flowed from the Himalayas through Prayagraj, meeting there with the Ganges and the Yamuna.

Bathing takes place every day, but on the most auspicious dates, naked, ash-smeared monks charge toward the holy rivers at dawn. Many pilgrims stay for the entire festival, observing austerity, giving alms and bathing at sunrise every day.

"We feel peaceful here and attain salvation from the cycles of life and death," said Bhagwat Prasad Tiwari, a pilgrim.

The festival has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says the god Vishnu wrested a golden pitcher containing the nectar of immortality from demons. Hindus believe that a few drops fell in the cities of Prayagraj, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar — the four places where the Kumbh festival has been held for centuries.

The Kumbh rotates among these four pilgrimage sites about every three years on a date prescribed by astrology. This year’s festival is the biggest and grandest of them all. A smaller version of the festival, called Ardh Kumbh, or Half Kumbh, was organized in 2019, when 240 million visitors were recorded, with about 50 million taking a ritual bath on the busiest day.

Maha Kumb is the world's largest such gathering

At least 400 million people — more than the population of the United States — are expected in Prayagraj over the next 45 days, according to officials. That is around 200 times the 2 million pilgrims that arrived in the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage last year.

The festival is a big test for Indian authorities to showcase the Hindu religion, tourism and crowd management.

A vast ground along the banks of the rivers has been converted into a sprawling tent city equipped with more than 3,000 kitchens and 150,000 restrooms. Divided into 25 sections and spreading over 15 square miles, the tent city also has housing, roads, electricity and water, communication towers and 11 hospitals. Murals depicting stories from Hindu scriptures are painted on the city walls.

Indian Railways has also introduced more than 90 special trains that will make nearly 3,300 trips during the festival to transport devotees, besides regular trains.

About 50,000 security personnel — a 50% increase from 2019 — are also stationed in the city to maintain law and order and crowd management. More than 2,500 cameras, some powered by AI, will send crowd movement and density information to four central control rooms, where officials can quickly deploy personnel to avoid stampedes.

The festival will boost Modi's support base

India’s past leaders have capitalized on the festival to strengthen their relationship with the country’s Hindus, who make up nearly 80% of India’s more than 1.4 billion people. But under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the festival has become an integral part of its advocacy of Hindu nationalism. For Modi and his party, Indian civilization is inseparable from Hinduism, although critics say the party's philosophy is rooted in Hindu supremacy.

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The Uttar Pradesh state, headed by Adityanath — a powerful Hindu monk and a popular hard-line Hindu politician in Modi’s party — has allocated more than $765 million for this year’s event. It has also used the festival to boost his and the prime minister’s image, with giant billboards and posters all over the city showing them both, alongside slogans touting their government welfare policies.

The festival is expected to boost the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s past record of promoting Hindu cultural symbols for its support base. But recent Kumbh gatherings have also been caught in controversies.

Modi's government changed the city’s Mughal-era name from Allahabad to Prayagraj as part of its Muslim-to-Hindu name-changing effort nationwide ahead of the 2019 festival and the national election that his party won. In 2021, his government refused to call off the festival in Haridwar despite a surge in coronavirus cases, fearing a backlash from religious leaders in the Hindu-majority country.

Death toll climbs to 116 in religious gathering stampede in India

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 18:02:47 -0400

Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than 100 and left scores injured, officials said.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the panic following an event with a Hindu guru known locally as Bhole Baba. Local news reports cited authorities who said heat and suffocation in the tent could have been a factor. Video of the aftermath showed the structure appeared to have collapsed.

At least 116 people died, most of them women and children, said Prashant Kumar, the director-general of police in northern India's state of Uttar Pradesh, where the stampede occurred.

AT LEAST 60 DEAD AFTER STAMPEDE AT RELIGIOUS GATHERING IN NORTHERN INDIA

More than 80 others were injured and admitted to hospitals, senior police officer Shalabh Mathur said.

"People started falling one upon another, one upon another. Those who were crushed died. People there pulled them out," witness Shakuntala Devi told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Relatives wailed in distress as bodies of the dead, placed on stretchers and covered in white sheets, lined the grounds of a local hospital. A bus that arrived there carried more victims, whose bodies were lying on the seats inside.

Deadly stampedes are relatively common around Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with shoddy infrastructure and few safety measures.

Police officer Rajesh Singh said there was likely overcrowding at the event in a village in Hathras district about 220 miles southwest of the state capital, Lucknow.

Initial reports said organizers had permission to host about 5,000 people, but more than 15,000 came for the event by the Hindu preacher, who used to be a police officer in the state before he left his job to give religious sermons. He has led other such gatherings over the last two decades.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the families of the dead and said the federal government was working with state authorities to ensure the injured received help.

Uttar Pradesh's chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, called the stampede "heart-wrenching" in a post on X. He said authorities were investigating.

"Look what happened and how many people have lost their lives. Will anyone be accountable?" Rajesh Kumar Jha, a member of parliament, told reporters. He said the stampede was a failure by the state and federal governments to manage large crowds, adding that "people will keep on dying" if authorities do not take safety protocols seriously enough.

In 2013, pilgrims visiting a temple for a popular Hindu festival in central Madhya Pradesh state trampled each other amid fears that a bridge would collapse. At least 115 were crushed to death or died in the river.

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In 2011, more than 100 Hindu devotees died in a crush at a religious festival in the southern state of Kerala.

From 'end times' to 'karmic multiplier,' this is how religions traditionally view a solar eclipse

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 09:46:06 -0400

Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder.

Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path over North America on Monday, here's a look at how several of the world's major religions have responded to such eclipses over the centuries and in modern times.

Buddhism

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it is believed that the energy of positive and negative actions is multiplied during major astronomical events such as a solar eclipse.

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According to the late Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, both lunar and solar eclipses are auspicious days for spiritual practice. He has said that the merit — which represents the positive karmic results of good intentions and actions — generated on lunar eclipses is multiplied by 700,000 and on solar eclipses by 100 million. Some of the recommended spiritual activities on these days include chanting mantras and sutras.

Christianity

Some Christians have believed that an eclipse portends the coming of the "end times" that will precede Christ’s return to Earth as prophesized at various points in the Bible. One such passage is in the second chapter of Acts: "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord."

There also has been a persisting belief among some Christians that an eclipse occurred during the crucifixion because three of the Bible’s four Gospels mention a three-hour period of darkness as Jesus died.

"It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining," says Luke 23:44.

It’s been noted that a three-hour period of darkness doesn’t suggest a solar eclipse, which produces only a few minutes of darkness.

But a recent commentary on ChurchLeaders.com — a website supported by numerous prominent evangelical pastors — said the darkness depicted in the three Gospels "represents a profound spiritual transition."

"The temporary obscuring of the sun, juxtaposed with the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, offers a powerful metaphor for the transient nature of despair and the eternal promise of salvation and rebirth," the commentary says.

Hinduism

The origin of eclipses in Hinduism is explained in ancient legends known as puranas. In one legend, the devas and asuras, who symbolized good and evil respectively, churned the ocean to receive the nectar of eternal life. As one of the asuras, Svarbhanu, posed as a deva to receive the nectar, the Sun god (Surya) and Moon god (Chandra) alerted Mohini, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who then used a discus to behead Svarbhanu.

But because the asura had already consumed a portion of the nectar, his immortal but detached head and body lived on under the names Rahu and Ketu. Legend has it that Rahu occasionally swallows the sun and the moon because of the gods’ part in his misery, causing solar and lunar eclipses.

Hindus generally regard a solar or lunar eclipse as a bad omen. Some observe fasts before and many do not eat during the period of the eclipse. Observant Hindus ritually bathe to cleanse themselves during the first and final phases of an eclipse. Some also offer prayers to ancestors. Most temples are closed for the duration of the eclipse. Devotees gather for prayers along pilgrimage sites near holy rivers during the onset of an eclipse. The event is considered to be a good time for prayer, meditation and chanting of mantras — all believed to ward off evil.

Islam

In Islam, a solar eclipse is a time to turn to God and pray. The eclipse prayer is based on narrations of sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad.

Kaiser Aslam, Muslim chaplain at the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University, said one narration cited the prophet as saying: "The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah and they do not eclipse because of the death of someone. ... Whenever you see these eclipses pray and invoke (Allah)."

The story was that "after the death of the Prophet Muhammad’s son, Ibrahim, his companions tried to comfort him by saying that the sun eclipsed due to the greatness of the loss," Aslam said. "The Prophet corrected them by reminding them that the sun and moon are signs of God and to not add any superstitions as to why an eclipse happens."

On April 8, Aslam will lead the "kusuf" prayer on campus. Customarily, there's a brief sermon after the prayer to explain the lessons behind it and dispel any superstitions around it, he added.

"It is a beautiful and meaningful prayer that emphasizes our relationship with God’s creation, making sure to give our devotion to God, instead of incidental occurrences in God’s creation," Aslam said.

Mahmoud Alhawary, an official with Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy in Cairo, said it’s better for the eclipse prayer to be performed in congregation at the mosque, but that Muslims may also pray individually elsewhere.

The wisdom "is for the individual to seek refuge in God, requesting the lifting of this affliction," Alhawary said. "People should know that the occurrences of the whole universe are in God’s hands."

Judaism

The Talmud — the collection of writings compiled more than 1,500 years ago that constitute Jewish religious law — offers specific blessings for many natural phenomena, but not for eclipses. Instead, it depicts an eclipse as "an ill omen for the world."

On Chabad.org — a website serving an Orthodox Jewish audience — Chicago-based Rabbi Menachem Posner sought to view the Talmud passage in a modern context, given the consensus that eclipses are natural events that can be predicted centuries in advance.

"Eclipses should be opportunities to increase in prayer and introspection — as opposed to prompting joyous blessings," Posner wrote. "It is a sign that we really could and should be doing better."

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Writing in early March for the Orthodox Jewish education organization Aish, Rabbi Mordechai Becher noted that Judaism has longstanding interconnections with astronomy. He said there are three craters on the moon named after medieval rabbis with expertise in astronomy.

As for eclipses, Becher — an instructor at Yeshiva University — suggested they were made possible by God for a profound reason.

"He created a system that would remind us regularly that our choices can create darkness, even at times when there should be light," he wrote. "Our free will choices can create a barrier between us and the Divine light, but can also allow Divine light to be seen here."

Polarizing Bollywood films evoke Hindu nationalism as election approaches

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:40:12 -0400

The movie trailer begins with an outline of the iconic glasses worn by Mohandas Gandhi, the leader who helped India win independence from the British colonialists in 1947. In the backdrop of a devotional song that Gandhi loved, the outline slowly morphs into what appears like his face.

Then, a raucous beat drops, followed by a rap song. A face is finally revealed: not Gandhi, but an actor who plays the independence leader’s ideological nemesis, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar — the man considered the fountainhead of Hindu nationalism in India.

It is the same ideology Prime Minister Narendra Modi has harnessed to cement his power as his ruling party makes strides in its quest to turn the secular country into a Hindu nation.

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The glorified biopic on the early 20th-century Hindu nationalist ideologue — called "Swatantra Veer Savarkar," or "Independent Warrior Savarkar" — hits Indian theaters Friday, just weeks ahead of a national vote that is set to determine the political direction of the country for the next five years. The movie coincides with a cluster of upcoming Bollywood releases based on polarizing issues, which either promote Modi and his government’s political agenda, or lambast his critics.

Analysts say the use of popular cinema as a campaign tool to promote Hindu nationalism feeds into a divisive narrative that risks exacerbating the already widespread political and religious rifts in the country.

Raja Sen, a film critic and Bollywood screenwriter, said movies used to represent a mix of nationalistic cinema and films promoting national integration.

"That appears to be fast changing," Sen said. "The scary part is that these films are being accepted now. It is truly frightening."

For more than a century, Bollywood has unified India, a country riven with religious, caste and political divide. It's been a rare industry where religion has been least influential in deciding the success of filmmakers and actors. Bollywood films have also championed political diversity and religious harmony.

That culture, however, appears to be under threat.

Under Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, many filmmakers have made movies on bygone Hindu kings extolling their bravery. Boisterous and action-packed movies valorizing the Indian Army have become box office successes. Political dramas and biopics that eulogize Hindu nationalists are the norm.

In most of these films, the stock villains are medieval Muslim rulers, leftist or opposition leaders, free thinkers or rights activists — and neighboring Pakistan, India’s arch rival.

The biopic on Sarvarkar, who advocated for India’s future as a Hindu nation, is emblematic of this broader trend.

Two more upcoming films claim to reveal a conspiracy about a 2002 train fire in western Gujarat state that ignited one of the worst anti-Muslim riots in India. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in riots. It was a hugely controversial episode in Modi’s political career, as he was the chief minister of Gujarat at the time.

Another film claims to expose the "anti-national agenda" of a university in the capital, New Delhi. The film is loosely based on Jawaharlal Nehru University, one of the country’s premier liberal institutions that has become a target of Hindu nationalists and leaders from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

Many past films with similar themes became box office successes. Modi’s party often publicly endorsed them despite criticism of his government for stifling dissent.

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In February, Modi himself praised "Article 370," a film that celebrated his government’s controversial decision to strip Indian-controlled Kashmir of its special status and statehood in 2019. Some film reviewers called the movie "factually incorrect" and a "thinly veiled propaganda film" favoring the government.

"The Kerala Story," the ninth-highest grossing Hindi film of 2023, was widely panned for inaccuracies in depicting Christian and Hindu girls from India’s southern Kerala state who were lured to join the Islamic State. The film was banned in two states ruled by opposition parties, who said it was Islamophobic and would destroy religious harmony.

At the same time, at least three states ruled by Modi’s party made tickets to see the film tax-free and held mass screenings. Modi himself endorsed viewing the film during a state election rally.

Sudipto Sen, the film’s director, said the movie exposed the "nexus between religious fundamentalism and terrorism" through a human story, and did not vilify Muslims.

"You can’t ignore the emotional appeal of these films. In fact, every state government should endorse them," Sen said.

Another of Sen’s films, based on Maoist insurgency in central Indian jungles, was released March 15. Its primary villains, apart from the insurgents, were rights activists and left-leaning intellectuals. One critic called it "two hours of diatribe against communism."

While such films have been applauded by India's right, other Bollywood movies have fallen into the crosshairs of Hindu nationalists.

Right-wing groups have frequently threatened to block the release of films they deem offensive to Hinduism. Hindu activists often make calls on social media to boycott such films.

Some filmmakers caught up in India’s increasingly restrictive political environment say they're resorting to self-censorship.

"People like me feel disempowered," said Onir, a National Award-winning filmmaker who goes by just one name.

Onir has made widely acclaimed films highlighting LGBTQ+ rights. In 2022, Onir wanted to make a movie inspired by a former Indian army major who falls in love with a local man in disputed Kashmir, where armed rebels seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan have fought Indian rule for decades. The film’s script was rejected by India’s defense ministry because it was "distorting the image of Indian army," the filmmaker said.

"Look at the films that are getting released now. Any film that goes against the government’s narrative is called anti-national. There is no fair ground. In fact, there is an atmosphere of fear," Onir said.

Polarizing films — which Onir noted constitute most of the recent releases, while movies focusing on discrimination against minorities face hurdles — tend to make big money, signaling the appetite for such content.

Some say the rise in divisive films reflects opportunism among filmmakers.

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"The idea that this is the way to success has permeated into Bollywood," said Raja Sen, the critic and screenwriter.

He said such films make good business sense because of the noise they generate, even though they serve as the cinematic equivalent of "WhatsApp forwards" — a reference to misinformation and propaganda spread on the social messaging platform.

"Indian films need an artistic rebellion. I hope we can start seeing that," Sen said.

Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, falls on March 25. Learn more about how holiday is celebrated.

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:32:23 -0400

Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, is an annual celebration marking the advent of spring with cultural and religious significance.
The festival is typically observed in India, Nepal, other South Asian countries and across the diaspora.
Holi is celebrated at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, on the last full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month of Falgun.

Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, is a joyful annual celebration at the advent of spring with cultural and religious significance.

Typically observed in March in India, Nepal, other South Asian countries and across the diaspora, the festival celebrates love and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation — a time to embrace the positive and let go of negative energy.

For one of Holi's most well-known traditions, celebrants clad in all white, come out to the street and throw colored powders at each other, leaving behind a kaleidoscope of pigments and joy.

HOLI: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT INDIA'S FESTIVAL OF COLORS

Festivities with music, dancing and food ensue.

WHEN IS HOLI CELEBRATED?

Holi is celebrated at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, on the last full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month of Falgun. The date of the festival varies depending on the lunar cycle. Typically, it falls in March, and will be celebrated this year on March 25.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STORIES ASSOCIATED WITH HOLI?

The holiday has its origins in Hindu mythology and lore.

In one origin story, the king, Hiranyakashipu, ordered everyone in his kingdom to worship him and was irked when his own son Prahlad, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, disobeyed his command. So, he ordered his sister Holika who was immune from fire to take the child, Prahlad, into a bonfire while holding him in her lap. However, when the pyre was lit, the boy’s devotion to Lord Vishnu protected him and left him unscathed while Holika, despite her immunity, burned to death.

Some also consider Holi a reference to Lord Krishna and his love for his beloved, Radha, and his cosmic play with his consorts and devotees called "gopikas," who are also revered for their unconditional love and devotion to Krishna.

HOW IS THE FESTIVAL OF COLORS CELEBRATED?

In many parts of India, people light large bonfires the night before the festival to signify the destruction of evil and victory of good.

On the day of Holi, entire streets and towns are filled with people who throw colored powder in the air. Some fling balloons filled with colored water from rooftops and others use squirt guns. For one day, it’s all fair game. Cries of "Holi hai!" which means "It’s Holi!" can be heard on the streets. Holi has also been romanticized and popularized over the decades in Bollywood films.

AP PHOTOS: COLORS COME OUT AS HINDUS CELEBRATE HOLI FESTIVAL

The colors seen during Holi symbolize different things. Blue represents the color of Lord Krishna’s skin while green symbolizes spring and rebirth. Red symbolizes marriage or fertility while both red and yellow — commonly used in ritual and ceremony — symbolize auspiciousness.

An array of special foods are part of the celebration, with the most popular food during Holi being "gujia," a flaky, deep-fried sweet pastry stuffed with milk curd, nuts and dried fruits. Holi parties also feature "thandai," a cold drink prepared with a mix of almonds, fennel seeds, rose petals, poppy seeds, saffron, milk and sugar.

HOW IS HOLI CELEBRATED IN THE DIASPORA?

In North America and in any country with a Hindu population, people of Indian descent celebrate Holi with Bollywood parties and parades, as well as a host of public and private gatherings. It is also common for Hindu temples and community centers to organize cultural programs, friendly cricket matches and other festivities around the holiday.

Rep Ro Khanna, Bishop Barron clash on abortion, find common ground on religious liberty and immigration

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 07:41:21 -0500

Khanna, a Hindu, told the bishop that religion plays a fundamental role in shaping moral policies

First stone-built Hindu temple in Middle East prepares to open ahead of Modi's visit

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 10:57:42 -0500

The BAPS Hindu Mandir, the first stone-constructed Hindu temple in the Middle East, is set to open ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.
Its construction symbolizes the United Arab Emirates' recognition of its diverse community and the strengthening ties between the UAE and India.
The temple's architecture incorporates traditional Hindu building techniques, such as intricate stone carvings and Italian marble interiors.

Pink sandstone spires soar above what was once a patch of desert between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, ornately decorated with deities and the pious in the first stone-constructed Hindu temple in the Middle East.

The soon-to-open BAPS Hindu Mandir signals how far the United Arab Emirates has come in acknowledging the different faiths of its expatriate community, long dominated by Indians across construction sites and boardrooms. The temple nods back in its seven spires, the number of sheikhdoms in this autocratic federation on the Arabian Peninsula.

It is also a sign of how close relations have become between the UAE and India.

MILLIONS IN INDIA CELEBRATE AS NEW HINDU TEMPLE IS BUILT ON RUINS OF HISTORIC MOSQUE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive Tuesday on his seventh trip to the Emirates just ahead of elections in the world's largest democracy. He hopes to further business, defense and cultural ties while cementing his relationship with a man he calls his brother, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

"Modi is not going to travel widely this year before the election," said Viraj Solanki, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "The fact that he is willing to go to the UAE shows how important this relationship is for India."

The Hindu Mandir stands out in the emptiness of Abu Mureikha, otherwise known for being where the UAE's sheikhdoms agreed in 1976 to have a unified military. Just off the main highway linking Dubai to Abu Dhabi, the temple is made of sandstone imported from India’s Rajasthan state. Inside, Italian marble shines.

Smaller temples have existed for decades in the UAE, but none following the traditional building techniques of the Hindu Mandir. Its carved stones fit like a jigsaw puzzle and provide support without relying on the steel beams of modern architecture.

Stone dioramas ring its exterior, beginning with a scene in 1997 with a Hindu leader, shaded by an umbrella, in the sands of Sharjah calling for a temple in Abu Dhabi. The last is a tiny UAE in relief, with religious leaders in front of a temple and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world's tallest building.

Elephants, oryx and other animals abound. Also seen are symbols relating to ancient Egyptians and Mayans and architectural nods to Islam, the UAE's official religion. Builders hoped to show all faiths are welcome at the site where Hindu worshipers will be able to pray before deities representative of Hinduism's different denominations.

"Harmony is the only future we have," Pujya Brahmavihari Swami, a religious leader overseeing construction, told The Associated Press. "If we cannot coexist on this small planet that we have, then do we have a future?"

Of the over 9 million people living in the UAE, India estimates more than 3.5 million are Indian expatriates, making them the largest group of people in the country, including Emirati citizens. While many are low-paid laborers, there’s a growing number of white-collar professionals and multiple generations of Indian families.

Modi’s visit highlights the nations' long-standing economic and historic ties, from spice selling and gold smuggling in the UAE’s formative years to tens of billions of dollars worth of annual bilateral trade today.

The countries signed a free trade deal in 2022 aimed at doubling their bilateral trade to $100 billion. India remains a key buyer of Emirati oil, while the UAE hopes to boost its local industries. The countries have agreed to allow India to settle some payments in rupees as opposed to dollars, lowering transaction costs.

The relationship also underscores the Emirates' realpolitik foreign policy. The UAE has embraced Modi as Muslims in India increasingly come under attack by Hindu nationalist groups. Modi received the Emirates' top civilian honor in 2019 even as he stripped statehood from the disputed Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.

Modi's original visit to the Emirates in 2015 was the first by an Indian prime minister in 34 years.

His personal connection to Sheikh Mohammed seems to be driving the deepening relationship, Solanki said. In January, the Indian and Emirati armies held the first edition of a military exercise called Desert Cyclone in India.

"It just enables the trust levels and the two sides being more willing to work on these sensitive issues," Solanki said.

INDIAN TOWN SETS CURFEW AFTER MOSQUE CLASHES, POLICE ORDERED TO SHOOT VIOLATORS

The Abu Mureikha temple is one of many built by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha or BAPS, a worldwide religious and civic organization within the Swaminarayan sect.

It put the price of materials for the temple at just under $100 million, but BAPS relies on volunteer labor, which blurs lines between uncompensated work and the concept of selfless service. A 2021 U.S. civil lawsuit alleged forced labor, meager wages and grim working conditions at a BAPS temple in New Jersey.

A visit Monday by AP journalists saw volunteers preparing for Modi's visit to the temple, with monks in seamless saffron robes shifting around bouquets of flowers. Pujya Brahmavihari Swami praised Sheikh Mohammed and Modi for their cooperation.

"The leadership of the UAE ... has been so generous and supported us," he said. "The leadership of India, the prime minister, he thinks not just of trade, he thinks beyond — that the exchange of culture, the exchange of values, is equally important."

Millions in India celebrate as new Hindu temple is built on ruins of historic mosque

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 10:30:35 -0500

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a controversial Hindu temple in Ayodhya on Monday.
The temple is built on the ruins of a historic mosque and is dedicated to Hinduism's Lord Ram.
Millions of Hindus, supported by Modi's party and other Hindu nationalist groups, see the temple as a symbol of reclaiming Hindu pride from Mughal and British rule.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday opened a controversial Hindu temple built on the ruins of a historic mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya, in a political triumph for the populist leader who is seeking to transform the country from a secular democracy into a Hindu state.

The temple is dedicated to Hinduism’s Lord Ram and fulfills a long-standing demand by millions of Hindus who worship the revered deity and extoll him for the virtues of truth, sacrifice and ethical governance. Modi’s party and other Hindu nationalist groups who seized on the demand have portrayed the temple as central to their vision of reclaiming Hindu pride, which they say was suppressed by centuries of Mughal rule and British colonialism.

Modi and his governing Bharatiya Janata Party hope that opening the temple will help catapult the prime minister to a record third successive term in elections expected this spring. But with the temple still under construction, critics accuse Modi of a hurried opening to woo voters.

INDIA’S RELIGIOUS DIVIDE CONTINUES TO WIDEN BETWEEN MUSLIM, HINDU COMMUNITY

Modi, dressed in a traditional kurta tunic, led the opening ceremony as Hindu priests chanted hymns inside the temple’s inner sanctum, where a 1.3-meter (4.3-foot) stone sculpture of Lord Ram was installed last week. A conch was blown by a priest to mark the temple’s opening and Modi placed a lotus flower in front of the black stone idol, decked in intricate gold ornaments and holding a golden bow and arrow. He later prostrated before the idol.

Nearly 7,500 people, including elite industrialists, politicians and movie stars, witnessed the ritual on a giant screen outside the temple as a military helicopter showered flower petals.

"Our Lord Ram has arrived after centuries of wait," Modi said in a speech after the ceremony, receiving a resounding applause from thousands of attendees. He said the temple was built after "countless sacrifices" and is testament to a rising India "breaking the shackles of slave mentality."

"Jan. 22, 2024, is not merely a date but marks the dawn of a new era," Modi said.

RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS LEAD TO CONSERVATION EFFORTS FOR SACRED FORESTS IN INDIA

Modi's government turned the event into a national occasion by organizing live screenings across the country and closing offices for half a day. Saffron flags — the color of Hinduism — adorned the streets of various cities where government party workers had gone door to door handing out religious pamphlets.

Television news channels ran non-stop coverage of the event, portrayed as a religious spectacle. Some movie theaters broadcast the event live with complimentary popcorn. Many states declared the day a public holiday. In a rare step, stock and money markets were closed for the day.

"Ram Rajya (rule) begins," a TV news headline said. Ram Rajya is a Sankrit phrase that means just and ethical governance in Hinduism but has also been used by Hindu nationalists to signify Hindu domination in an officially secular India.

Modi has been the face of an unprecedented and unapologetic fusion of religion and politics in India. Ahead of the temple opening, he set the tone by visiting numerous Ram temples over 11 days as part of a Hindu ritual.

Analysts and critics see Monday’s ceremony as the start of the election campaign for Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist and one of India’s most consequential leaders. They say the pomp-filled display led by the government shows the extent to which the line between religion and state has eroded under Modi.

"Prime ministers prior to Modi have also been to temples, been to other places of worship, but they went there as devotees. This is the first time that he went there as somebody who performed the ritual," said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, an expert in Hindu nationalism and author of a book on Modi.

The temple, located at one of India’s most vexed religious sites, is expected to embolden Modi’s chances of returning to power by drawing on the religious sentiments of Hindus, who make up 80% of India’s population of 1.4 billion.

Ayodhya, once crowded with tightly packed houses and rundown stalls, has undergone an elaborate makeover in the lead up to the temple's inauguration. Narrow roads have been turned into a four-lane pilgrimage route leading to the temple, tourists are arriving at a new airport and sprawling railway station, and major hotel chains are building new properties.

Jubilant devotees from across the country have arrived to celebrate the opening, with groups of them dancing to religious songs that blare from speakers on roads bedecked with flowers. Huge cut-outs of Lord Ram and billboards of Modi are ubiquitous across Ayodhya, where the borders have been sealed to prevent more people from coming in. Some 20,000 security personnel and more than 10,000 security cameras have been deployed.

The moment will be remembered as momentous and historic by many of the country’s Hindu citizens.

"I am here to see history unfolding before our eyes. For centuries, the story of Lord Ram has resonated in the hearts of millions," said Harish Joshi who arrived in Ayodhya from Uttarakhand state four days before the ceremony.

Built at an estimated cost of $217 million and spread over nearly 3 hectares (7.4 acres), the temple lies atop the debris of the 16th-century Babri Mosque, which was razed to the ground in 1992 by Hindu mobs who believed it was built on temple ruins marking the birthplace of Lord Ram.

The site has long been a religious flashpoint for the two communities, with the demolition of the mosque triggering bloody riots across India that killed 2,000 people, mostly Muslims.

The dispute ended in 2019 when, in a controversial decision, India’s Supreme Court called the mosque’s destruction "an egregious violation" of the law but granted the site to Hindus while giving Muslims a different plot of land.

The fraught history is still an open wound for many Muslims, who have increasingly come under attack in recent years by Hindu nationalist groups and see the construction of the temple as a testament to Modi’s Hindu-first politics.

Officials say the temple, a three-story structure made of pink sandstone, will open to the public after the ceremony and they expect 100,000 devotees to visit daily. Builders are still working to finish 46 elaborate doors and intricate wall carvings.

NEW JERSEY OPENS LARGEST HINDU TEMPLE OUTSIDE INDIA

But not all are rejoicing. Four key Hindu religious authorities refused to attend, saying consecrating an unfinished temple goes against Hindu scriptures. Some top leaders from India’s main opposition Congress party also boycotted the event, with many opposition lawmakers accusing Modi of exploiting the temple for political points.

Neighboring Pakistan condemned the consecration, saying a temple built on the site of a demolished mosque would remain a blot on India’s democracy.

"There is a growing list of mosques (in India) facing a similar threat of desecration and destruction," Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It urged the international community to help save Islamic heritage sites in India from "extremist groups" and ensure that minority rights are protected.

At least three historical mosques in northern India are embroiled in court disputes overclaims by Hindu nationalists who say they were built over temple ruins. Hindu nationalists have also filed cases in Indian courts seeking ownership of hundreds of historic mosques.

Indian tunnel rescue halted for days as drilling machine breaks down

Sat, 25 Nov 2023 10:25:30 -0500

The race to save 41 construction workers trapped in a tunnel in northern India has hit yet another setback as the drilling machine rescuers have been using has broken down and cannot be repaired – bringing the entire rescue operation to a halt.

The workers have been trapped beneath a collapsed road tunnel in the Uttarkashi district of India's Uttarakhand state for 13 days after a portion of it collapsed due to a landslide. Reports suggest it may take four to five days to resume drilling as a new machine is put in place.

Rescuers have been beset by setbacks and delays as they struggle to drill through the 195 feet of heavy rock and debris that is separating them from the trapped workers. Rescue personnel have been in regular contact with the workers, and they have been able to send them oxygen, dry food and water.

RACE TO RESCUE 41 INDIAN WORKERS TRAPPED INSIDE TUNNEL IS DELAYED AGAIN

A U.S.-made auger machine was being used to penetrate horizontally through the mountainous terrain, but it broke down on Saturday and cannot be repaired. It is unclear what caused the machine to break.

It came just a day after the machine’s platform became destabilized and halted operations. The 25-tonne platform was reinforced with concrete and drilling resumed, but the machine broke down again.

Arnold Dix, an international expert assisting the rescue team at the accident site, said it is unclear when exactly the drilling will restart. A new machine is being set up at the site in order to drill vertically.

"The machine is busted, it is irreparable," Dix said about the broken machine. "The mountain has once again resisted the auger (machine)."

The machine’s high-intensity vibrations were also causing more debris to fall, prompting officials to suspend rescue efforts briefly.

MORE THAN 30 DEAD, 18 INJURED AFTER BUS PLUNGES INTO GORGE IN INDIA

On Wednesday, the operation was stalled after workers encountered a thick metal rod that had to be cut using gas cutters, the BBC reported.

The machine stopped working after it had drilled about 6.5 feet of the last 40-foot stretch of rock debris that would open a passage for the workers to come out of the tunnel.

Rescue teams were planning on creating an escape route comprised of a tunnel of pipes welded together. Once in place, rescue teams hoped the workers could escape to freedom.

Pushkar Singh Dhami, chief minister of Uttarakhand state, said the damaged drilling machine would be taken out by Sunday morning. He said he had spoken to some of the trapped men.

"They are in good spirits," Dhami said, according to the BBC.

"Take as many days as you require, don't worry about us," Dhami said, quoting one of the workers.

RAILROAD BRIDGE PLATFORM COLLAPSE LEAVES AT LEAST 26 VICTIMS DEAD, OTHERS INJURED

A new drilling machine used to dig vertically was brought to the accident site on Saturday.

The vertical dig is seen as an alternative plan to reach the trapped men, and rescuers have already created an access road to the top of the hill.

However, rescue teams will need to dig about 440 feet downward to reach the trapped workers — nearly double the distance of the horizontal shaft.

The construction workers have been trapped since Nov. 12 when a landslide caused a portion of the 2.7-mile Silkyara tunnel they were building to collapse about 500 feet from the entrance. The hilly area is prone to landslides and subsidence.

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The workers had been helping to construct a section of a 424-mile road connecting various Hindu pilgrimage sites in the area. The mountainous topography has several Hindu temples that attract pilgrims and tourists.

More than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, have been at the accident site monitoring their health.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New Jersey opens largest Hindu temple outside India

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 10:12:49 -0400

The largest Hindu temple outside India has been constructed in New Jersey.

The temple, built in Robbinsville by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha sect, took over 2 million cubic feet of stone.

"Service and devotion are the two basic elements that form the subtle foundation of how a temple so majestic gets built here in central New Jersey," said Hinduism scholar Yogi Trivedi at Columbia University.

INDIAN WORKERS HELD CAPTIVE AND FORCED TO BUILD NEW JERSEY TEMPLE, LAWSUIT CLAIMS

"It’s not even just Indian or Indian American," Trivedi said. "What we’ve tried to do is express these universal values in a way that relate to all visitors."

Over 4.7 million hours of work were spent on the temple, which was designed by artisans and sculptors on a 126-acre plot of land.

INDIA MAY BE MOVING TO CHANGE ITS NAME TO ANCIENT SANSKRIT TERM, G-20 INVITATION SUGGESTS

The New Jersey temple faces an ongoing civil lawsuit filed in 2021 that alleges the construction team, made up of low-caste Indian laborers, was undercompensated and overworked. Of the original 19 plaintiffs, 12 have retracted their allegations.

The Robbinsville temple is the second-largest in the world, behind the Ankgor Wat complex in Cambodia that dates back to the 12th century.

The Ankgor Wat was built by King Suryavarman II and dedicated to the deity Vishnu.

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Construction crews built the Robbinsville temple with marble shipped from Italy and limestone shipped from Bulgaria.

The materials were shipped to India and then over 8,000 miles to New Jersey.

India may be moving to change its name to ancient Sanskrit term, G-20 invitation suggests

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 08:06:38 -0400

The Indian government is replacing the nation's usual name with an older Sanskrit term in official media, prompting questions about plans to make an official change.

In a dinner invitation sent to G-20 summit attendees, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was referred to as "Prime Minister of Bharat" — signaling an unprecedented eagerness to leave behind the term "India."

"India" and "Bharat" are considered interchangable terms within the country — but both domestically and internationally, "India" is the much more widely used name for the nation.

INDIA'S LUNAR ROVER COMPLETES WALK ON MOON'S SURFACE IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS AFTER HISTORIC LAUNCH

The use of "Bharat" on official, international invitations signals that Modi's Hindu nationalist movement is seeking to leave the term "India" behind — an aesthetic decision many of his supporters see as important for de-colonization.

"Another blow to slavery mentality," Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami wrote Tuesday on social media. The regional official called the use of "Bharat" on the invitation a "proud moment for every countryman."

"Long live Mother Bharat!" he added.

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER MODI ADDRESSES BORDER CONCERNS WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT JINPING AT BRICS SUMMIT

Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor questioned the nationalists' intentions, urging India to retain both monikers.

"While there is no constitutional objection to calling India ‘Bharat,’ which is one of the country’s two official names, I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with 'India,' which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries," Tharoor wrote.

He added, "We should continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world."

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The etymology of "India" is complicated and developed over thousands of years.

Ancient Greeks called the region "Indos" — thought to be transliterated from the term "Hindi" — and other cultures began linguistically identifying the area with the Indus River.

Article 1 of the Indian Constitution begins, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States."

Human rights advocates raise alarm over persecution of Indian Christians following Modi's US visit

Sun, 02 Jul 2023 08:00:07 -0400

Human rights advocates are using the recent U.S. visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an opportunity to raise the alarm about the reported spike of persecution against Christians in India.

"What we are seeing in India is a religious freedom crisis," Sean Nelson, legal counsel for Global Religious Freedom for ADF International, said in a statement.

"Christians and other religious minorities are systemically targeted in India by radical Hindu nationalist mobs, who carry out widespread violence and harassment with impunity," Nelson said. "No person should be persecuted, harassed, or killed for simply living out their faith."

"The government of India should work to put an end to the violence and reform any laws that restrict freedom of religion and implicitly encourage such violence. President Biden and other world leaders should speak clearly about the deteriorating religious freedom conditions in India and encourage the Indian government to work to reverse this trend," Nelson added.

MOUNTAING CLAIMS OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION IN INDIA RISE TO COUNTRY'S SUPREME COURT

Reports of Christian persecution in India have escalated in recent years and reached the country's Supreme Court last fall, which directed eight Indian states to verify the claims of Christian groups that filed a petition for protection.

The petition, which was filed by Archbishop Peter Machad, the National Solidarity Forum and the Evangelical Fellowship of India, noted approximately 500 reported attacks against Christians in 2021 and about 200 attacks during the first five months 2022.

The Christian groups pleaded for both a government investigation and for police to protect churches.

INDIAN BISHOP DENOUNCES ‘OPEN SEASON’ AGAINST CHRISTIANS AS STATES PASS ‘ANTI-CONVERSION’ LAWS

The petition from Indian Christians came amid increased attacks against them from far-right Hindu groups as multiple Indian states have passed so-called "anti-conversion" laws. Such laws ostensibly aim to prevent forcible conversion from one religion to another, but critics claim they are being used to violate the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.

Around 50 Christians, including 10 pastors, were attacked in an Indian village in Chhattisgarh State in May amid conversion accusations by the radical Hindu nationalist organization Bajrang Dal, according to Vatican News.

Tensions between Christians and Hindus flared last month when large-scale religious violence afflicted the Indian state of Manipur and left tens of thousands displaced, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

CHRISTIAN FORUM ASKS BISHOPS IN INDIA TO TAKE STAND AGAINST RISING ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE

"In many cases, the mob has burned a church or house belonging to a Meitei Christian but has not damaged their neighbor’s door if they are not a Christian," a human rights lawyer associated with ADF International said on condition of anonymity. "Christians are facing hostility by the Meiteis on the basis that they are Christians."

"The people are deeply shocked. Through our work, we want to help stop the violence in Manipur, protect religious institutions, allow Christians to practice their faith freely and facilitate compensation for survivors," the lawyer said.

Former Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback recently penned an article for the Christian Post blasting "the endless persecution of Christians in India."

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91�� Digital reached out to the Indian Embassy in Washington D.C., but did not receive comment by time of publication.

NYC adds Diwali to list of public school holidays

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 07:40:26 -0400

New York City will add the festival of Diwali to the list of public school holidays in recognition of the growth of the city's South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.

Diwali, known as the festival of lights, happens October or November, depending on the lunar calendar.

However, this year it falls on Sunday Nov. 12 — meaning the 2023-2024 school calendar will not be affected by the change.

City officials say more that 200,000 New York City residents celebrate Diwali, which is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists.

DIWALI FESTIVAL LIGHTS UP NYC

"This is a city that’s continuously changing, continuously welcoming communities from all over the world," Adams said in announcing that Diwali will join celebrations including Rosh Hashana and Lunar New Year as a day off for students. "Our school calendar must reflect the new reality on the ground."

The new holiday will become official if Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, signs a bill passed by the New York state legislature earlier this month making Diwali a public school holiday in New York City.

DIWALI FESTIVALS GROW IN US, FROM DISNEY TO TIMES SQUARE

Adams, who pledged to made Diwali a school holiday when he ran for mayor in 2021, said he expects Hochul to sign the bill. The governor's office said Hochul, who hosted a Diwali celebration last fall, is reviewing all of the bills passed by the legislature in 2023.

The push for official recognition of Diwali comes as South Asians have gained numbers and clout in New York and nationally.

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The population of New York City residents categorized as Asian Indian by the Census Bureau has more than doubled in the last three decades, from 94,000 in 1990 to about 213,000 in the 2021 American Community Survey.

Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat who represents parts of the New York City borough of Queens, introduced legislation last month to make Diwali a federal holiday.

More and more of India's elderly flock to holy city to wait for a peaceful death

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 11:49:30 -0400

More Indian elderly people are leaving comfortable lives to live their last days in the holy city of Varanasi near the Ganges River, Hinduism's holiest river.
By dying in Varanasi, Hindus would be able to break the tenuous cycle of death and rebirth in order to attain salvation.
Demand for residential areas in Varanasi remain high as more than a million people reside in the ancient city famed for its temples and bathing spots.

Murali Mohan Sastry is waiting peacefully for death on the banks of the Ganges River in India's northern city of Varanasi, revered by millions of Hindus.

More than a decade ago, the 82-year-old former college teacher and his wife left behind comfortable lives in the southern city of Hyderabad.

Now he hopes that by dying in Varanasi, he can break the tenuous cycle of death and rebirth, an article of faith for many Hindus, in order to attain salvation.

INDIA’S RELIGIOUS DIVIDE CONTINUES TO WIDEN BETWEEN MUSLIM, HINDU COMMUNITY

"We invite death," Sastry said soon after chanting his dawn prayers while dipping fully clothed into the waters of the river three times.

"And he's our guest, actually. So we are proud that we are going to die here."

The couple, who live in one of the spartan community homes across the sacred city meant for those seeking to live out their twilight years there, were inspired by the example of his mother, who had lived in the same place.

Although Western-style retirement homes are growing popular, Sastry has no interest in worldly comforts, preferring to spend his final days immersed in study and prayer.

"Our Indian philosophy is, those who seek worldly comforts can never go to God, can never reach God," said the white-haired Sastry, his shoulders draped in a yellow shawl with scriptural phrases picked out in saffron.

"As far as possible, shun all these things. Don’t go for them. Go only for God."

36 BODIES FOUND INSIDE A WELL AT AN INDIAN TEMPLE FOLLOWING A DEVASTATING COLLAPSE

More than a million people live in the ancient city famed for its temples and bathing spots beside Hinduism's holiest river to which the devout flock from all over the country for rituals marking events from birth to death.

"Now I don't feel like living in this world anymore," said Ram Pyari, another resident of the home, as she prepared a meal for her husband, who is mostly confined to bed in what he is certain are his final days.

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"One has to face so much suffering that one gets fed up. So you feel that if you attain salvation then you won't have to suffer anymore," added Ram Pyari, who is in her 80s.

The manager of the home, Mumukshu Bhavan, which dates from the 1920s, says it has reached full capacity, with more than 80 residents, although demand for places remains high.

"More and more old people want to come and stay in Varanasi," said the official, Manish Kumar Pandey. "But we can only accommodate a limited number."

Still, the devout unable to breathe their last in the holy city can take solace from the Hindu belief that they will come a step closer to salvation if their remains are cremated there.

India’s religious divide continues to widen between Muslim, Hindu community

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 12:33:48 -0400

Syed Mohammad Munir Abidi says India is a changed country, one he doesn’t recognize anymore.

It’s a country, the 68-year-old says, where Muslims are ignored, where rising attacks against them are encouraged, and where an emboldened Hindu majoritarian government is seizing its chance to put the minority community in its place.

Swami Ram Das thinks otherwise, echoing a belief system central to Hindu nationalism.

The 48-year-old Hindu priest says India is on a quest to redeem its religious past and that the country is fundamentally a Hindu nation where minorities, especially Muslims, must subscribe to Hindu primacy.

Abidi and Das are two ordinary citizens living in one city in a country of more than 1.4 billion people that is on the cusp of becoming the world’s most populated nation. Together they embody the opposing sides of a deeply entrenched religious divide that presents India with one of its biggest challenges: to safeguard freedoms for its Muslim minority at a time when a rising tide of Hindu nationalism is eroding the country’s secular underpinnings.

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Editor's Note: This story is part of an ongoing series exploring what it means for the 1.4 billion inhabitants of India to live in what will be the world’s most populated country.

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India will have an estimated 1.4286 billion people against China’s 1.4257 billion by mid-2023, according to United Nations projections. It is home to some 200 million Muslims who make up the predominantly Hindu country’s largest minority group. They are scattered across almost every part of India, where a systemic anti-Muslim fury has descended since Prime Minister Narendra Modi first assumed power in 2014.

Though India’s communal fractures date back to its bloody partition in 1947, most Indians trace the roots of the latest religious fault lines to a small temple city in northern India, where the Hindu nationalist movement was galvanized in 1992 after Hindu mobs demolished a historic mosque to make way for a temple.

Since then, the city of Ayodhya has, in many ways, become a religious microcosm of India, where a diverse, multicultural past has gradually been overrun by ruptured relationships between Hindus and Muslims.

It’s also a city Abidi and Das call home.

They have meandered through its narrow, winding streets overrun by temple monkeys and Hindu monks who ask passersby for alms in exchange for blessings. They have walked past its brimming bazaars where miniature idols of Ram are sold to pilgrims visiting from India’s vast hinterlands. They have begun their mornings with calls for prayers spilling out of mosque loudspeakers and Vedic hymns chant in the temples.

Beyond these shared experiences lie stark differences.

For Das, a broad-shouldered man with a stout frame, Ayodhya is the birthplace of Ram, Hinduism’s most revered deity. The city also hosts one of Hinduism’s most sacred sites — Ram’s grand temple — which will open to pilgrims next year. It is imperative that the city clings to its Hindu character, Das says.

"Our forefathers have fought for this temple and sacrificed lives for it. Today their dream is getting fulfilled," he says, circled by a group of devotees.

The temple is being constructed where the 16th-century Babri mosque was demolished by Hindu hardliners who claim Muslim rulers built it at the exact spot where Ram was born. When it was razed on Dec. 6, 1992, Das was there, watching a frenzied Hindu mob climb its rounded domes and tear it down with pickaxes and crowbars.

"There was so much excitement to destroy that disgraced structure that no one cared about the falling debris," he recounts, prompting his disciples to chant "Jai Sri Ram," or "Hail Lord Ram," a slogan that has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists.

The 30-year campaign to build the temple saw subsequent religious violence and a bitter legal battle over the site that Hindus won in 2019. Muslims were given alternate land on the city outskirts to build a new mosque. A year later, Modi attended the temple’s groundbreaking ceremony.

For Abidi, a tall man in clothes that hang off his frame, it marked a sad chapter for India’s Muslims.

"The hearts of Muslims are broken. No Muslim opposes the construction of Ram temple, but such unilateral changes are impacting India’s culture," he says, arguing the former mosque was essential to the city’s Muslim identity.

As for his city, it has already gone through major changes.

For decades Ayodhya city was part of Uttar Pradesh state’s Faizabad district. But in 2018, authorities changed the entire district’s name from Faizabad to Ayodhya, a move that reflected the Modi government’s pattern of replacing prominent Muslim geographic names with Hindu ones.

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For Abidi it indicates a worrying trend: "To erase everything that remotely reflects Muslim culture."

Today, Ayodhya is taken over by frenetic construction of hotels, bringing in tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims. Construction workers are busy making way for wider highways. All that is expected to boost the city’s economy. But at what cost, Abidi reckons.

"The relationship Hindus and Muslims used to share is barely visible anymore," he says.

India’s religious fault lines have become pronounced under Modi. Scores of Muslims have been lynched by Hindu mobs over allegations of eating beef or smuggling cow, an animal considered holy to Hindus. Muslim businesses have been boycotted, their localities have been bulldozed and places of worship set on fire. Sometimes open calls have been made for their genocide.

Critics say Modi’s conspicuous silence over such attacks has emboldened some of his most extreme supporters and enabled more hate speech against Muslims.

Muslims have been falsely accused of manipulating Hindu women into marriages and producing more children to establish domination. The government data shows otherwise: India’s religious composition has been largely stable since 1947 and the fertility rate of Muslims has declined from 4.4 in 1992 to 2.3 in 2020.

"It is never going to be possible if you look at the data. We should forget and ignore this rhetoric," says Poonam Muttreja, director at the Population Foundation of India.

Muslims also have the lowest literacy among all major Indian religious communities. They have faced discrimination in employment and housing and hold a little less than 5% of seats in the parliament, their lowest share ever.

For Abidi, all this represents a grim future, one where India’s secular character lives only in people’s memories.

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"Every Muslim in today’s India finds himself unsafe," he says.

Das disagrees, arguing that Muslims are still free to pray and practice their religion. "But we will correct the mistakes made by your ancestors."

Das is referring to the Mughals who ruled India before the British made it their colony.

Scorn for Mughal rulers, who are not ancestors of Indian Muslims and only shared a similar faith, is distinctive to India’s Hindu nationalists, who claim Mughals destroyed Hindu culture. It has prompted Hindu nationalists to seek ownership of hundreds of historic mosques they say are built over demolished temples.

In Ayodhya, longtime Muslim locals have made compromises to avoid tension with Hindu neighbors.

Last year when the Muharram procession overlapped with a Hindu festival, Muslim leaders changed the timing of their march to avoid confrontation. This year, Muslims in the city had to forgo selling and consumption of meat during another Hindu festival that coincided with the beginning days of Ramadan.

In such an atmosphere, Abidi says, only religious tolerance can stop India’s communal fractures from worsening.

"India will only survive if we mend hearts and not break them," he says.

36 bodies found inside a well at an Indian temple following a devastating collapse

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 12:02:23 -0400

Thirty-six bodies have been found inside a well at a Hindu temple in central India after dozens of people attending a festival fell into the muddy water when its cover collapsed, officials said Friday.

Video of Thursday’s collapse at the temple complex in Indore in Madhya Pradesh state showed chaos afterward, with people rushing away. An excavator pulled down a wall of the decades-old temple to help people flee.

Nearly 140 rescuers, including army personnel, used ropes and ladders to pull the bodies from the well after pumping out the water. A narrow path and debris in the well made the task difficult.

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"We have recovered 36 bodies and everybody is accounted for now," Pawan Kumar Sharma, commissioner of the local municipal corporation, told The Associated Press.

The secretary of the temple board was among the dead and the president is recovering from injuries, Sharma said.

Police brought a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but no arrests have been made so far, he said.

Witnesses said a large crowd of devotees had thronged the temple to perform a fire ritual and celebrate the festival for the deity Rama

Dozens of people fell into the water when the structure collapsed and were covered by falling debris, police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar said.

Kantibhai Patel, president of a residents' association, told reporters that authorities were slow to react and the first ambulance reached the spot an hour after the alert.

The structure apparently caved in because it could not handle the weight of the large crowd, said the state's top elected official, Shivraj Singh Chauhan. He ordered an investigation.

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A team of army rescuers joined the operation on Thursday night. The Times of India newspaper reported the rescue work was expedited after underwater cameras showed bodies floating in the muddy waters of the well.

Chauhan said 33 of the bodies had been identified. Sixteen of the people who were injured remained hospitalized Friday.

Sobbing relatives claimed the bodies of the victims and visited the hospital where the injured were being treated.

Temple authorities had stopped using the well years ago and covered the mouth with iron grills and tiles.

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Municipal authorities in January ordered the temple owners to remove the covering of the well because it was an unsafe and unauthorized structure, but temple authorities ignored the warning, the newspaper said.

Building collapses are common in India because of poor construction and a failure to observe regulations.

In October, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western state of Gujarat, sending hundreds of people plunging into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst accidents in the country in the past decade.

Hindu rights activist objects to MA museum selling toys of deities

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 17:10:03 -0400

A Hindu rights activist is calling on a Massachusetts museum to stop selling children's plush toys representing three Hindu deities, which he says are "insensitive."

Toys depicting Lord Krishna, Lord Ganesh and Lord Hanuman were available on the Peabody Essex Museum's online shop last week but had been removed by Tuesday, Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said in a statement.

The deities are "greatly revered in Hinduism and were meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be thrown around loosely on the floor, bathrooms, cars, etc." Zed said. He also called for a formal apology from the museum. Zed previously asked the Rubin Museum of Art in New York to stop selling the toys.

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The Salem-based Peabody Essex Museum halted sales of the toys while it reviewed the complaint, spokesperson Whitney Van Dyke said in an email. "These items will be back on sale shortly," she said.

The museum pointed out that the toys are widely available and are manufactured by New Jersey-based Modi Toys, founded by an Indian American family.

They are intended to spark curiosity in Hindu culture and heritage, company co-founder Avani Modi Sarkar said in a statement.

"While we understand not all will agree with our approach, we take pride in knowing we are giving families an option to learn and practice Hinduism in a fun and a functional manner," she said.

Another organization, the Hindu American Foundation, which posts guidelines for the commercial use of Hindu imagery on its website, has no problem with the toys, spokesperson Mat McDermott said.

"While we recognize Mr. Zed's concerns, we have no categorical objection to the sale of these toys," said McDermott, who noted that he has seen them for sale in Hindu temples. The toys are also sold online by mega-retailers Amazon and Walmart.

The Peabody Essex Museum has an extensive collection of Indian and South Asian pieces on display that "celebrate the beauty, diversity, and complexity" of the region, the museum said.

Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion with about 1.1 billion adherents.

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The Nevada-based Universal Society of Hinduism has initiated several campaigns targeting what Zed considers the misuse of sacred symbols for commercial purposes.

In 2020, online home goods retailer Wayfair pulled a beach towel depicting a Hindu deity after objections by the organization. Zed was also part of an interfaith coalition that in 2019 called on nightclubs to stop using Buddhist and Hindu imagery as decor.

Mounting claims of Christian persecution in India rise to country's Supreme Court

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 15:58:45 -0400

Reports of rising Christian persecution in India have reached the country's Supreme Court, which last week directed eight Indian states to verify the claims of Christian groups that filed a petition for protection.

The petition, which was filed by Archbishop Peter Machad, the National Solidarity Forum and the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), noted approximately 500 reported attacks against Christians in 2021 and about 200 attacks just within the first five months of 2022. The Christians pleaded for both a government investigation and for police protection of churches.

The Indian government dismissed such claims as based on "half-baked and self-serving facts and self-serving articles and reports… based upon mere conjecture," and speculated on "some hidden oblique agenda" driving the petitioners, according to the Hindustan Times. Before rendering a judgment, the high court therefore ordered the chief secretaries of eight Indian states to compile information on the incidents and send their report to the federal interior ministry within four months.

The petition from the Christians in India comes amid increased attacks against them from far-right Hindu groups as multiple Indian states have passed so-called "anti-conversion" laws. Such laws ostensibly aim to prevent forcible conversion from one religion to another, but critics claim they are being used to violate the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.

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A report published Dec. 13, 2021, by EFI's religious liberty commission claimed that continuous talk from the government about anti-conversion law has emboldened anti-Christian vigilantes and created "an atmosphere of fear and apprehension" among the Christian community in India.

At 80% of the population, the vast majority of India's 1.4 billion people are Hindus, and more than 10% are Muslims. There are an estimated 30 million to 70 million Christians in India – about a 5% minority – but the government does not release accurate statistics about its Christian population, according to international humanitarian nonprofit Voice of the Martyrs.

In the prayer guide it releases each year, Voice of the Martyrs labeled India a "hostile" country, where "Hindu-nationalist informants live in nearly every village and report on the activities of Christians, resulting in attacks and arrests."

According to the persecution watchdog, Christian churches in India are subject to demolition or arson, worship services are disrupted, Bibles are confiscated, and pastors have been beaten, imprisoned or even killed. The clergy who face legal trouble often face accusations of forced Christian conversion that later prove to be false.

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In an interview with 91�� Digital last year, Archbishop Joseph D’Souza said he is concerned about India's image in the world because of the escalating attacks against Christians.

D'Souza, who is archbishop of the Anglican Good Shepherd Church of India, said it has "become an open season for attacks against Christian minorities" in the country.

"This is not ultimately about India's Christians and Christian community," said D'Souza. "It's ultimately about the rights of the low caste and the untouchables."

Noting the appeal Christianity has for society's outcasts, he said he sees the ongoing attacks as a concerted effort "from an upper-caste Hindu elite that does not want these people to exercise whatever rights they have, including the right to believe or not believe; to stay within the caste system or not stay within the caste system."

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Todd Nettleton, chief of media relations for Voice of the Martyrs, was not surprised that the Indian government has dismissed the claims of Christian persecution, explaining to 91�� Digital how Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is one of India's main Hindu nationalist organizations.

Nettleton doubts Modi will admit to Christian persecution in his country, noting how members of his own government have called India "Hindustan," or "land of the Hindus."

"The anti-conversion laws are one part of the story," said Nettleton. "But even without laws or without the government formally sanctioning Christians, any radical Hindu that attacks a Christian knows that he is acting in accordance with government wishes, and knows that he likely will not face a fierce, motivated prosecution for his crimes."

Nettleton said his organization has also received reports of "a nationwide anti-missionary network" that hands out cards with a phone number on it for anyone to call if they witness Christian missionary activity. "Then they send in people to make trouble for the Christians doing outreach – legal trouble or physical threats," he added.

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Predicting the Indian Supreme Court's ultimate response to the Christians' petition is difficult, Nettleton said. "There is such an attitude within the government against Christianity, against anything other than Hinduism. So you hope that the Supreme Court will follow the law and hold out for religious freedom, but it's hard to feel super hopeful when you see everything else that's going on in India."

Kashmir assailants fatally shoot Hindu man, injure brother in shooting

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 15:34:33 -0400

Assailants on Tuesday fatally shot a local Hindu man and injured his brother in a shooting that police blamed on militants fighting against Indian rule in disputed Kashmir.

Police said militants fired at two brothers belonging to minority community of Kashmiri Hindus inside an apple orchard in southern Shopian district.

The two were taken to a hospital with critical gunshot wounds where one died, police said in a statement.

Reinforcement of soldiers and police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to nab the attackers.

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Kashmir has witnessed a spate of targeted killings in recent months. Several Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, have been killed. Police say the killings — including that of Muslim village councilors, police officers and civilians — have been carried out by anti-India rebels.

The spate of killings this year come as Indian troops have continued their counterinsurgency operations across the region amid a clampdown on dissent and press freedom, which critics have likened to a militaristic policy.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.

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Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

Kashmir’s minority Hindus, who are locally known as Pandits, have long fretted over their place in the disputed region. Most of an estimated 200,000 of them fled Kashmir in the 1990s when an armed rebellion against Indian rule began. Some 4,000 of them later returned after 2010 as part of a government resettlement plan that provided them with jobs and housing.

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The recent killings, however, have heightened their fears.

In May, after the killing of a Hindu revenue clerk, hundreds of them organized for the first time simultaneous street protests in the region and demanded the government relocate them to safer areas.

Muslim scholars, bishops, rabbis and Hindu leaders meet in Saudi Arabian religious conference

Thu, 12 May 2022 11:58:26 -0400

World religious leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in a display of inter-faith cooperation.

The Muslim World League (MWL) convened the first-ever "Forum on Common Values among Religious Followers" in Riyadh with support from the Vatican, evangelical church leaders, internationally recognized rabbis, and more. The forum, which featured panel discussions of international religious issues and offered opportunities to establish cross-cultural partnerships between faiths, produced an official communiqué outlining fundamental agreements endorsed by all faiths represented.

"The Forum’s collective objectives were to reach a universal consensus within the context of a common civilizational vision to enhance cooperation and trust between global spiritual leaders, leverage their commonalities by placing them at the forefront of common principles of human values, promote the values of moderation and harmony, effectively support efforts to advance tolerance and peace, and set rational intellectual-frameworks to immunize against the dangers of extremist ideology and behavior regardless of its source," the communiqué reads.

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The communiqué went on to list areas of agreement for religious policy reached at the summit, including the fundamental role of religion to society, the spiritual basis for basic human rights, and a rejection of an "inevitable civilizational clash" view of future religious affairs.

"The thesis of an inevitable civilizational clash, and attempts to achieve religious, cultural, political and economic advantage without respecting rights or ethics, are forms of extremism and arrogance, and an embodiment of racism driven by a superiority complex," the faith leaders wrote. "It demonstrates an ignorance about the power that the Creator possesses over us – which is evident from human history. The true advantage (irrespective of which discipline it is achieved in) comes 'organically' through ‘ethical’ power that is made possible through tangible, sincere and noble intentions."

A central agreement of the forum was the necessity to protect family unity. The leaders referred to the family unit as the "nucleus of society" and demanded international institutions – including the United Nations – protect the integrity of both the family and children's education.

The forum also initiated plans for an "Encyclopedia of Common Human Values" – a proposed religious document for global cooperation outlining basic rights and expectations for interfaith governance.

Major Christian attendees included Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Congress of Christian Leaders President Johnnie Moore Jr. The Archbishop of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Ivan Zoria, also attended the event.

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The MWL is a government-funded NGO that aims to both evangelize Islam abroad and advocate for greater religious freedom in countries suffering under fundamentalist Islam.

Muslim World League Secretary General Dr. Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa is considered by many to be the leading voice against extremist Islam worldwide. Issa previously spoke with 91�� Digital about the MWL's efforts to connect with other religions and affect meaningful change in interfaith relationships around the world.

"Interfaith cooperation is not merely a symbolic endeavor," Issa told 91�� Digital in an interview. "It must be actualized through real world action. It is this thought that informs the very soul and operations of MWL."

After leaving his minister of justice post in 2015, Issa moved to MWL, where he currently serves as its leader. However, the MWL is not totally separated from the government. The organization was founded in 1962 by then-Crown Prince Faisal Bin Abdul-Aziz. It is based out of Mecca, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to serve as its main benefactor.

Issa says his tenure as secretary general has been focused on breaking through entrenched divisions and offering concrete changes.

The Strawberry Moon: How, when to watch it

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 14:28:25 -0400

Stargazers around the world will be able to enjoy the glow of the Strawberry Moon on Thursday night.

According to NASA, the "marginal supermoon" will appear opposite the sun in Earth-based longitude at 2:40 p.m. ET for much of the Earth, though it won't be visible until it appears above the horizon.

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In addition, because the sun appears highest in the sky on the summer solstice and full moons are "opposite the sun," a full moon near the summer solstice will be low in the sky, the agency said in a blog post.

"Particularly for Europe's higher latitudes, when the full moon is low it shines through more atmosphere, making it more likely to have a reddish color (for the same reasons that sunrises and sunsets are red)," wrote NASA's Gregory Johnson. "For the Washington, D.C. area, on the morning of June 25, 2021, the full moon will reach its highest for the night at 1:39 a.m. EDT, only 24.6 degrees above the southern horizon, the lowest full moon of the year."

The website Time and Date has a city-specific moon calculator that shows the moonrise in New York City at 8:53 p.m. EDT and Los Angeles at 8:35 p.m. PT.

A virtual livestream of the event will be held as the Strawberry Moon rises over Rome, Italy , at 3 p.m. ET by the nonprofit The Virtual Telescope Project.

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However, unlike the pink and blood moons, the Strawberry Moon will not appear against the evening sky like a giant, red or pink strawberry.

According to the Maine Farmer's Almanac, the Strawberry Moon was named by the Algonquin tribes of the northeastern U.S. for the region's short season for harvesting strawberries.

But, the Strawberry Moon has many other names, including the mead moon – a European drink created by fermenting honey with water, fruits, spices, grains or hops – or honey moon.

The word "honeymoon" traces back to at least the 1500s in Europe and may be tied to the honey moon or its color.

In Hindu culture, this full moon corresponds with the celebration of Vat Purnima.

For Buddhists the full moon is the Poson Poya, which celebrates the introduction of Buddhism in 236 BCE and for another tribe mostly inhabiting the Mid-Atlantic region – and devoted to the study of the moon – calls June's full moon the LRO Moon in honor of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter they launched in June 2009.

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NASA noted that there is debate over whether the Strawberry Moon is close enough to Earth to be categorized as a supermoon and pointed out that the moon is smaller in apparent size and brightness than the series of previous supermoons earlier this year.

Doughnut-maker Krispy Kreme has decided that the Strawberry Moon qualifies, announcing Monday that it would sell a limited edition "Strawberry Supermoon Doughnut" at participating shops across the country.

Nearly 1,000 Pakistani girls forced to convert to Islam every year

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 08:43:20 -0500

Neha loved the hymns that filled her church with music. But she lost the chance to sing them last year when, at the age of 14, she was forcibly converted from Christianity to Islam and married to a 45-year-old man with children twice her age.

She tells her story in a voice so low it occasionally fades away. She all but disappears as she wraps a blue scarf tightly around her face and head. Neha’s husband is in jail now facing charges of rape for the underage marriage, but she is in hiding, afraid after security guards confiscated a pistol from his brother in court.

"He brought the gun to shoot me," said Neha, whose last name The Associated Press is not using for her safety.

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Neha is one of nearly 1,000 girls from religious minorities who are forced to convert to Islam in Pakistan each year, largely to pave the way for marriages that are under the legal age and non-consensual. Human rights activists say the practice has accelerated during lockdowns against the coronavirus, when girls are out of school and more visible, bride traffickers are more active on the Internet and families are more in debt.

The U.S. State Department this month declared Pakistan "a country of particular concern" for violations of religious freedoms — a designation the Pakistani government rejects. The declaration was based in part on an appraisal by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom that underage girls in the minority Hindu, Christian, and Sikh communities were "kidnapped for forced conversion to Islam… forcibly married and subjected to rape."

While most of the converted girls are impoverished Hindus from southern Sindh province, two new cases involving Christians, including Neha’s, have roiled the country in recent months.

The girls generally are kidnapped by complicit acquaintances and relatives or men looking for brides. Sometimes they are taken by powerful landlords as payment for outstanding debts by their farmhand parents, and police often look the other way. Once converted, the girls are quickly married off, often to older men or to their abductors, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Forced conversions thrive unchecked on a money-making web that involves Islamic clerics who solemnize the marriages, magistrates who legalize the unions and corrupt local police who aid the culprits by refusing to investigate or sabotaging investigations, say child protection activists.

One activist, Jibran Nasir, called the network a "mafia" that preys on non-Muslim girls because they are the most vulnerable and the easiest targets "for older men with pedophilia urges."

The goal is to secure virginal brides rather than to seek new converts to Islam. Minorities make up just 3.6 percent of Pakistan’s 220 million people and often are the target of discrimination. Those who report forced conversions, for example, can be targeted with charges of blasphemy.

In the feudal Kashmore region of southern Sindh province, 13-year-old Sonia Kumari was kidnapped, and a day later police told her parents she had converted from Hinduism to Islam. Her mother pleaded for her return in a video widely viewed on the internet: "For the sake of God, the Quran, whatever you believe, please return my daughter, she was forcibly taken from our home."

But a Hindu activist, who didn’t want to be identified for fear of repercussions from powerful landlords, said she received a letter that the family was forced to write. The letter claimed the 13-year-old had willingly converted and wed a 36-year-old who was already married with two children.

The parents have given up.

Arzoo Raja was 13 when she disappeared from her home in central Karachi. The Christian girl’s parents reported her missing and pleaded with police to find her. Two days later, officers reported back that she had been converted to Islam and was married to their 40-year-old Muslim neighbor.

In Sindh province, the age of consent for marriage is 18 years old. Arzoo’s marriage certificate said she was 19.

The cleric who performed Arzoo’s marriage, Qasi Ahmed Mufti Jaan Raheemi, was later implicated in at least three other underage marriages. Despite facing an outstanding arrest warrant for solemnizing Arzoo’s marriage, he continued his practice in his ramshackle office above a wholesale rice market in downtown Karachi.

When an Associated Press reporter arrived at his office, Raheemi fled down a side stair, according to a fellow cleric, Mullah Kaifat Ullah, one of a half-dozen clerics who also performs marriages in the complex. He said another cleric is already in jail for marrying children.

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While Ullah said he only marries girls 18 and above, he argued that "under Islamic law a girl’s wedding at the age of 14 or 15 is fine."

Arzoo’s mother, Rita Raja, said police ignored the family’s appeals until one day she was videotaped outside the court sobbing and pleading for her daughter to be returned. The video went viral, creating a social media storm in Pakistan and prompting the authorities to step in.

"For 10 days, the parents were languishing between the police station and government authorities and different political parties," Nasir, the activist, said. "They were not being given any time… until it went viral. That is the real unfortunate thing over here."

Authorities have stepped in and arrested Arzoo’s husband, but her mother said her daughter still refuses to come home. Raja said she is afraid of her husband’s family.

The girl who loved hymns, Neha, said she was tricked into the marriage by a favorite aunt, who told Neha to accompany her to the hospital to see her sick son. Her aunt, Sandas Baloch, had converted to Islam years before and lived with her husband in the same apartment building as Neha’s family.

"All Mama asked when we left was, 'When will you be back?’" remembered Neha.

Instead of going to the hospital, she was taken to the home of her aunt’s in-laws and told she would marry her aunt’s 45-year-old brother-in-law.

"I told her, 'I can’t, I am too young and I don’t want to. He is old,'" Neha said. "She slapped me and locked me up in a room."

Neha told of being taken before two men, one who was to be her husband and the other who recorded her marriage. They said she was 19. She said she was too frightened to speak because her aunt threatened to harm her 2-year-old brother if she refused to marry.

She learned of her conversion only when she was told to sign the marriage certificate with her new name — Fatima.

For a week she was locked in one room. Her new husband came to her on the first night. Tears stained her blue scarf as she remembered it:

"I screamed and cried all night. I have images in my mind I can’t scratch out," said Neha. "I hate him."

About a week after the marriage, the underage bride obtained a burqa — the all-covering garment worn by some Muslim women — and 500 rupees (about $3). She fled.

But when she arrived home, Neha found her family had turned against her.

"I went home and I cried to my Mama about my aunt, what she said and the threats. But she didn’t want me anymore," said Neha.

Her parents feared what her new husband might do to them, Neha said. Further, the prospects of marriage for a girl in conservative Pakistan who has been raped or married before are slim, and human rights activists say they often are seen as a burden.

Neha’s family, including her aunt, all refused to talk to the AP. Her husband’s lawyer, Mohammad Saleem, insisted that she married and converted voluntarily.

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Neha found protection at a Christian church in Karachi, living on the compound with the pastor’s family, who say the girl still wakes screaming in the night. She hopes to go back to school one day but is still distraught.

"At the beginning my nightmares were every night, but now it is just sometimes when I remember and inside I am shaking," she said. "Before I wanted to be a lawyer, but now I don’t know what I will do. Even my mama doesn’t want me now."

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