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PATNA: Setting an example of communal harmony in the country, a Muslim family in Bihar has donated land worth Rs 2.5 crore for the construction of the world’s largest Hindu temple–Virat Ramayan Mandir in the Kaithwalia area of East Champaran district in the state. Talking to reporters here on Monday, Acharya Kishore Kunal, chief of the Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Trust, that has undertaken the project, said that Ishtiyaq Ahmad Khan, who has donated the land, is a businessman from East Champaran based in Guwahati. “He recently completed all formalities pertaining to the donation of land belonging to his family for the construction of the temple at the registrar office of the Kesharia sub-division (East Champaran),” Kunal, a former Indian Police Service officer, told reporters. The Acharya said that this donation by Khan and his family is a great example of social …

One of India’s best-known spiritual leaders is embarking on a 100-day motorbike journey from London to India to raise awareness of one of nature’s most undervalued resources. Sadhguru, or Jaggi Vasudev, is setting off on Monday on a 30,000km (18,600-mile) trip through Europe and the Middle East in an effort to “save soil”, meeting celebrities, environmentalists and influencers in dozens of countries along the way. The journey is part of his #SaveSoil campaign, which is calling on policymakers to make soil regeneration a priority. The UN has said a third of soil globally is degraded and more than 90% could become degraded by 2050. It can take 1,000 years to produce a few centimetres of soil, according to the UN’s campaign against desertification.   Safe journey @SadhguruJV Thank you for making this #JourneyForSoil to #SaveSoil May every nation take this up!!https://t.co/atDdMv7buC — Casey (@CaseyBDolan) March 21, …

Geneva [Switzerland], March 23 (ANI): Sindhi-American activist Fatima Gul on Tuesday highlighted the plight of Sindhi people in Pakistan and said there is no value of minority communities in the country as anyone can violate their rights, especially women. “Anyone can abduct us, rape us, and violate our rights. Anyone can force us into marriages, into a lifetime of sexual slavery, and even brutally kill us,” Gul said during the 49th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. During the session, Gul questioned who is accountable for the loss of thousands of Sindhi lives? Gul highlighted the case of Sindhi people facing human rights violations and said, “Notan Lal, a Sindhi teacher, was falsely accused by his student for blasphemy. Yet, he was sentenced for life for a crime neither committed nor proved.” “On September 15, 2019, Lal, the …

IndianSpice reported on the TikTok video that circulated on 21/22 January. On 25 January the South African HIndu Maha Sabha issued a release addressing the issue and its severity. The SAHS represents South African Hindu issues, although does not issue directives as the Vedic religion is not strictly hierarchical (often explained as “open source”). The wording of the release is terse and strict, but does not issue vain threats as it goes on record to show this that behaviour is unacceptable. South Africa has a troubled history of in-groups and denigration of other groups, and religions often bring out the worst of this. One has to ask the question how followers of other religions, eg Islam or fundamental Christians would take to these insults. A statement on Facebook by Narottam reads: She got the 15 minutes of fame that she …

Guest Writer: Thaipusam Kavadi is a Hindu festival observed and celebrated by devotees of The Worrior God, Thiru Murugan across the globe. A festival filled with passion, devotion, dedication, disciplined fasting, pride and joy for the sole purpose of praise, glorification and worship of Thiru Murugan, the mighty and victorious son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi.  However, at one Temple in the north of Durban, South Africa, the festivities, and sacredness of this glorious day of Thaipusam Kavadi was of no concern to one group of individuals who were more interested in drafting a Tiktok video in which they can be seen making blasphemous, disrespectful and derogatory comments regarding the festivities and prasadam being served to the devotees participating in the ritual.  Click here for video The video was then posted on TikTok and left to public consumption. It …

As per a new Tulane University study, Americans who eat beef could slash their diet’s carbon footprint as much as 48 per cent by swapping just one serving per day for a more planet-friendly alternative. The study has been published in ‘The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’.Using real-world data from a survey of what more than 16,000 Americans eat in an average day, researchers from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and the University of Michigan calculated how much of a difference people could make if they swapped one high-impact food item for similar, more sustainable options. They examined how the change would impact two metrics — their daily diets’ greenhouse gas emissions and water scarcity footprint, a measure of the irrigated water used to produce the foods they eat that takes into account regional variations in …

The Sadhguru environment initiative says that global warming is increasing, Wildlife is going extinct, Water scarcity is spreading, But there’s a bigger underlying problem… Soil itself is going extinct. 52% of World’s Agricultural Soils Already Degraded– UN Food & Agriculture Organisation 23 Hectares of Cropland Desertified Every Minute30 Football Fields Every Minute!– UN Environment Loss of organic content and carbon turns rich soil into sand.To sustain agriculture, minimum organic carbon in soil should be 3%. 62% of India has less than 0.5% organic carbon.United States has lost 50% of its topsoil. In major European agricultural nations, 75-85% of soil has less than 2% carbon. The Sadhguru environment solution Bring land under vegetation and shade. Plant litter will increase soil organic matter. Conscious Planet is a Global Movement to initiate a conscious approach to our soil and planet. The movement seeks …

Atrocities against minority women has now become common in Pakistan and according to recent data around 1,000 women belonging to Christian and Hindu communities are forced to convert to Islam every year. Forced conversion is a hot topic. Ashiknaz Khokhar, a human rights activist noted that kidnapping of minor girls from religious minorities is commonplace in Pakistan, reported Greek City Times. “The (Pakistan) government is not taking this issue seriously and parliament recently refused to pass the bill on forced conversion,” Khokhar said. “Every year about 1,000 Christian and Hindu girls are forced to convert to Islam. There is a dire need for a dedicated law to protect minority girls.” Citing another incident from Pakistan’s Punjab province, the publication reported that one more Christian girl was abducted by a Muslim in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Forced conversion frequent 12-year-old Meerab Abbas …

At a time when world leaders are making promises and decisions to step away from fossil fuels because climate science has shown we cannot burn our existing reserves (let alone drill for more), offshore oil and gas Operation Phakisa is pushing ever harder to get its hands on a local supply of gas. Shell must answer for how the harms done during this survey and any exploration drilling done hereafter are part of its energy transition plan to control global warming. (reprinted from Oceans Not Oil – november, 2021 Below you will see the notice that was placed today( 2 Nov 2021). Project Reference: 720.19161.00001 File Ref. Shell Transkei Survey Notification Letter 29Oct21 29 October 2021 Dear Sir/Madam, SHELL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SOUTH AFRICA – NOTIFICATION OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF A 3D SEISMIC SURVEY IN THE TRANSKEI EXPLORATION AREA OFF …

Isha Foundation head Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has called out microblogging site Twitter for suspending the accounts of ISKCON’s Bangladesh unit amid a spate of violence against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. “Protect the perpetrators, punish the victims. Is this Twitter’s sense of evenhandedness and fairness. Atrocious,” Sadhguru said in a tweet on Wednesday. Protect the perpetrators, punish the victims. Is this @Twitter‘s sense of evenhandedness and fairness. Atrocious! – Sg https://t.co/PLnoJQWSZk— Sadhguru (@SadhguruJV) October 20, 2021 On Tuesday, ISKCON tweeted that the account of ISKCON Bangladesh Chapter was removed from Twitter. Another account, Bangladesh Hindu Unity Council, was also taken down. “Twitter needs to explain why have they shut down @IskconBDH and @unitycouncilBD amidst the brutal attacks. Is this pressure from Bangladesh government or @Twitter? Why are Hindu voices are being silenced in the midst of an emergency,” said Yudhistir Govinda …