Hindu Press International

Source: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2008/4/26#1.shtml

NEW DELHI, April 22, 2008: (By Rajiv Malik, HPI Correspondent India/South Asia)

“Media in India has become like a marketplace and it is not functioning in a democratic way. As far as the issues concerning the dalit community, the media is not dealing with them in a sensitive manner, and the portrayal of their problems has been done in an unfair and biased manner. It would be helpful if more dalits were given employment by the media houses so that the community’s aspirations and problems were presented in a correct way.” This was the broad consensus arrived at a seminar held in New Delhi today on the subject “Dalit Issue In Indian Media.” A number of journalists and dalit activists addressed and attended the event organized jointly by Delhi Media Centre For Research and Publication and Delhi Union of Journalists.

Mr. Anil Chamadia, a freelance journalist and writer in his address highlighted the kind of problems he had to face due to his hailing from a less privileged background.  According to Mr. Chamadia, “For dalits it is not easy to get a job as a journalist because those in powerful position do not like the colour of their skin and also chide them for their poor dress sense.” In his address, Mr. Mohammad Mujtaba Khan, Professor of Political Science and Director, Dr. K. R. Narayanan Centre For Dalit And Minorities Studies said,  “The media looked at the dalit problems with the Brahminical lens. We do not have any problems with the Brahmins as such but what we do not like and are against is the Brahmin mentality.” Other speakers at the seminar included Mr. Ashok Bharti, National Co-ordinator of National Conference of Dalit Organisations and Mr. S.K. Pande, Director , Delhi Media Centre For Research and Publications.

Source: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2008/4/26#2.shtml

TRINIDAD, April 25, 2008: A puja will be performed near the Trinidad volcano on Sunday April 27, 2008 at 10a.m. The mud volcano in Columbia coconut estate in Fullerton, Cedros, Trinidad, is revered annually.

Annually, during the month of April, Hindus perform puja to prevent further destruction. They also express gratitude and appreciation that it has not done more damage. They know that scientists cannot accurately predict an eruption, and that government agencies can only put plans in place for an evacuation. The balka puja is a grand event in Cedros, attracting scores of religious adherents and curious onlookers for decades. Pilgrims and visitors drive one mile inside Columbia coconut estate, up steep winding slopes into forested land with wild trees and shrubs. Old folks travel up the mountain out of a sense of tradition. The journey to the hilltop is a metaphor for the ascent to spiritual enlightenment.

In their homes during the night, villagers hear the sound of the mud bubbling in the belly of the earth. Hindus interpret this sound as a reminder to pray and perform puja near the volcano. The mud volcano is active with constant emissions of bubbling hot water and soft clay. Though there is no immediate danger, but devotees are not taking chances. The constant swelling of the mud domes and the increasing deposits around the orifices are a source of worry. The escape of methane gas from the subsurface is also a source of concern. Methane gas boils and churns clay and salt water, and ejects them as a slurry of fine solids.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_6hEgJlYYk

KAUAI, HAWAII, USA, April 26, 2008: This video shines light on the debate about the Aryan Invasion theory, claiming that all Indians are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Click on the link above to see the video.

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2008/4/26#3.shtml

Devotion must not be like the flood of the rainy season in which all get washed away. Devotion should be like the river that retains water even in the hottest season.
   Saint Kabir (1440-1518)