Hindus

19 Stories

Nepalese Toddler Is Country's Latest 'Living Goddess'

Meet 2-year-old Aryatara Shakya, Nepal's new 'Kumari,' according to Hindu/Buddhist tradition

(Newser) - A toddler chosen as Nepal's new living goddess was carried by family from her home in a Kathmandu alley to a temple palace on Tuesday during Dashain, the country's longest and most significant Hindu festival. Aryatara Shakya, at 2 years and 8 months, was chosen as the new...

The 3rd Biggest Religion on the Planet: None

Pew: Muslims saw the most growth; Buddhism was the only group to lose members

(Newser) - A new study from the Pew Research Center provides a global snapshot of religious change between 2010 and 2020, showing Muslims as the fastest-growing faith group, followed by people with no religious affiliation. The standout findings:
  • The world's Muslim population rose by 347 million over the decade—that'
...

Fire Tears Through Tents at Earth's Biggest Religious Fest

No injuries reported at India's Maha Kumbh festival

(Newser) - A fire tore through at least 18 temporary tents at a massive Hindu festival thronged by millions of people in India's northern Prayagraj city, officials said Sunday. There were no injuries, the AP reports. The blaze was caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder and was contained by...

Ex-Politician Being Taken From Jail to Hospital Fatally Shot

Ex-Indian lawmaker, alleged mobster Atiq Ahmed, brother were fatally shot Saturday in Uttar Pradesh

(Newser) - A former lawmaker in India, also a convicted criminal who was allegedly a bigwig in a local criminal organization, was shot dead, along with his brother, on live TV over the weekend as they were being escorted by cops to the hospital for a routine checkup. Per Reuters , gunfire rang...

Newark Disowns Sister City Invented by Alleged Rapist

Indian fugitive claims to have created nation of Kailasa, and New Jersey city fell for it

(Newser) - Newark, New Jersey, agreed to a sister-city relationship with a nation it has now been forced to admit doesn't exist. The city held an official ceremony honoring the partnership with the Hindu nation of Kailasa earlier this year. "I pray that our relationship helps us to understand cultural,...

New Year's Gathering at Shrine Turns Into 'Horrifying Sight'

At least 12 are dead, 15 injured after crowd surge at Hindu shrine in Kashmir

(Newser) - A crowd surge at a popular Hindu shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 12 people and injured 15 others on New Year's Day, officials said. Initial reports suggested an altercation between a group of devotees led to the crush early Saturday at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, where...

India Cracks Down on Mother Teresa's Charity

Amid rising anti-Christian sentiment, India bars Missionaries of Charity from foreign funding

(Newser) - On Christmas Day in India came a move that some say is the result of rising anti-Christian sentiment. On Saturday, the Hindu-majority nation refused to renew the license that allowed for funding from abroad for Missionaries of Charity, the group founded by Mother Teresa that runs nun-managed shelters and other...

That Foam Is Toxic. They Entered It Anyway

Hindus flocked to India's Yamuna River for a religious festival this week

(Newser) - It sounds innocuous enough: traveling to a tributary of India's Ganges to bathe as part of a Hindu ritual. But as CNN reports, some sections of the Yamuna River were far from ripe for bathing in this week. What's being described as white toxic foam currently cover portions...

Another Shocking Rape Jolts India
Another Shocking
Rape Jolts India
Apr 12, 2018 3:40 PM CDT

Another Shocking Rape Jolts India

This time, the victim was an 8-year-old girl, sedated and assaulted for days

(Newser) - The fatal gang rape of a female medical student in India in 2012 galvanized hundreds of thousands of Indians to take to the streets to demand tougher rape laws. A horrific new case has the potential to unleash similar unrest. The victim was an 8-year-old girl in Kashmir who belonged...

19 Dead in India After Hindus, Muslims Clash

Gun and knife battle sparked by killing of 3 villagers last month

(Newser) - Hundreds of troops have been deployed to quell deadly riots and clashes between Hindus and Muslims, sparked by the killing of three villagers who had objected when a young woman was being harassed in northern India. Police said 19 people were killed, including an Indian broadcast journalist, a police photographer...

37 Hindu Pilgrims Run Over, Killed by Train

In retaliation, mob beats up driver, sets fire to train

(Newser) - A train ran over a group of Hindu pilgrims at a crowded station in eastern India today, killing at least 37 people. A mob infuriated by the deaths beat the driver severely and set fire to coaches, officials say. Dinesh Chandra Yadav, a local member of parliament, says the pilgrims...

What the 'Largest Gathering in History' Leaves Behind

Lots of garbage, unsurprisingly

(Newser) - One would have to imagine that the aftermath of what has been described as the "largest human gathering in history" wouldn't be pretty. The Wall Street Journal today confirms that is indeed the case. It presents photos taken three weeks after the end of the 55-day Kumbh Mela,...

Inside the 'Largest Human Gathering in History'
 Inside the 
 'Largest Human 
 Gathering in History' 
in case you missed it
Jan 19, 2013 12:07 PM CST

Inside the 'Largest Human Gathering in History'

The Kumbh Mela draws tens of millions

(Newser) - If you've never heard of the Kumbh Mela, well, you're sort of forgiven. As Quartz explains, the event is largely ignored by the West—even though it occurs every three years, with a big to-do every 12, and just so happens to be the "largest human gathering...

Nepal Suffers Shortage of Sacrificial Goats

Country running short of goats ahead of major Hindu festival

(Newser) - Baa-ad news. Nepal is facing a severe shortage of sacrificial goats ahead of one of the Hindu calendar's biggest festivals, the BBC reports. Officials are searching the countryside for as many as 4,000 goats to buy and bring to Kathmandu ahead of the Dashain festival, in which goats are...

Indian Women Fight Back With Pink Panties

Women fight back after Hindu extremists vow to disrupt Valentine's Day

(Newser) - An extremist group opposed to young couples in India celebrating Valentine's Day is being deluged by pink panties, reports Radio Netherlands. The protest—organized after members of Sri Ram Sena attacked women drinking in pubs and vowed similar action today—seems light on the surface but actually is a sign...

Killers Aim for Mumbai Dream
 Killers Aim for  
 Mumbai Dream 
opinion
Nov 29, 2008 12:58 PM CST

Killers Aim for Mumbai Dream

City's a golden songbird they want dead: Mehta

(Newser) - A Mumbai native and 9/11-era New Yorker asks a familiar question in the wake of India's attacks: Why do they hate us? The beloved city he still calls Bombay "stands for lucre, profane dreams, and an indiscriminate openness." It's a sensual, vibrant place that understands money and...

140 Killed in India Temple Stampede

40 children among the dead in mountaintop pilgrimmage

(Newser) - At least 140 people, including at least 40 children, were killed today in a stampede when a restraining rail gave way at a Hindu temple in northern India, the BBC reports. The pilgrims were attending a 9-day religious festival. Authorities used a cable car to remove the injured from the...

India Locks Down Jaipur After Bombs Kill 80

City locked down to prevent Hindu/Muslim clashes

(Newser) - Police have locked down the old city of Jaipur today after seven bomb blasts killed at least 80 people yesterday, the AP reports. Police in the western Indian city suspect Islamic terrorists were behind the carnage and have imposed the curfew to prevent any retaliatory violence from the city's Hindu...

World's Holy Days Converge
 World's Holy Days Converge 
Mar 21, 2008 8:51 AM CDT

World's Holy Days Converge

Believers of almost all stripes have something to celebrate today

(Newser) - This Good Friday is not simply the most solemn day in the Christian calendar but a convergence of movable feasts that doesn't occur more than once in a century. March 21 is also the first day of the Jewish festival of Purim and the celebration of the birth of the...

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