Australian Prime Minister – protection of our religious freedoms is synonymous with our identity

December 13, 2018 by ·

The Australian Prime Minister Hon Scott Morrison #ScoMo has a issued a press release vouching for the freedom of religion as essential to Australian identity in a diverse Australian society of today. Hindus applaud his statement and support a multicultural Australia, free of religious hatred and free of terrorism.

 

THE HON SCOTT MORRISON MP

Prime Minister

Australian PM Scott Morrison saying Namaste to Hindus at Deepavali 2018

 MEDIA STATEMENT

 Thursday 13 December 2018

RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS

There is no more fundamental liberty that any human being has than their fundamental right to decide what they believe and or not believe.

What you believe should always be a matter for you.

The protection of our religious freedoms is synonymous with our identity and it is particularly relevant because of our diverse Australian society.

Some of our largest and most established communities and some of our more recent arrivals to Australia have a higher proportion of members expressing identification with a religious belief.

94% of Indian born Australians identify as having a particular religious faith and those faiths are many including Hindu, Christian, Sikh and Muslim.

PM with some of the Hindu Council team members

If you support an open tolerant multicultural Australia then you will support and understand religious freedoms.

Religious faith is a way of life and an integral part of harmonious Australian culture that is critically important for our continued success.

Australians are substantially united that all beliefs and all Australians, including not having a belief, should always be respected by each and every citizen.

ENDS

Media Contact: Rosa Stathis, 0417 669 223

Prime Minister’s Press Office

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Pauline Hanson gives thumbs up to Indian Migration to Australia

December 9, 2018 by ·

By : Surinder Jain.

Pauline Lee Hanson is an Australian politician and a Senator representing the state of Queensland. She is also the founder and leader of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party (PHON). Despite Hanson’s repeated denials of charges of racism,[13] her views on race and immigration have been discussed widely in Australia. In her maiden speech, Hanson proposed a drastic reduction in immigration with particular reference to immigrants from Asia. Condemning multiculturalism, her One Nation party has rallied against government immigration and multicultural policies.[20] Hanson publicly backed Kevin Andrews, then Minister for Immigration under John Howard, in his views about African migrants and crime.[25]

Senator Pauline Hanson (source : Wikipedia)

Hindu Council of Australia, in association with the Hon Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs and Senator the Hon Zed Seselja Assistant Minister for Treasury and Finance, celebraterd Deepawali festival and Annakut in the Great Hall of the Federal Parliament House in Canberra on Monday December 3, 2018. Pauline was one of the honored guests at Diwali.

Although Diwali has been celebrated at federal Parliament for over ten years now, it was the first time that Pauline Hanson joined. “This is the first time I have ever been to this event. I am not anti-migrant at all.” She said that she did not see any  problem with Indians migrating to Australia.  She expressed her happiness for having joined Diwali festivities. “It’s very special what I understand as a community. I am still learning. I don’t understand it fully but I think as a member of parliament and a national political party, it’s nice to be a part of it and I support the Indian community on this special day.”

[Read more …]

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Dalai Lama endorses Hinduism as most tolerant

December 9, 2018 by ·

Muslim nations must learn about religion from India : Dalai Lama

There are various religions and traditions in India having population of over 125 crore. Muslim countries should learn from India. so that there is peace. There is coordination among all the religions here and due to non-violence principle, modern India is developing,” the Dalai Lama said.

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Christian missionaries who won’t take no for an answer

December 2, 2018 by ·

By Robert Burton-Bradley. ABC.

Christians who won’t take no for an answer — touched by God or ‘white saviour complex’? According to the Centre for the Global Study of Christianity, there are 440,000 long term missionaries in foreign countries. There are more than 1.6 million young Americans going abroad on short missions for weeks or months every year.

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Voilence during shifting of Hindu temple in Malaysia

November 30, 2018 by ·

After Islamic insult on Hindu temple in Malaysia, Violence breaks out

Surya Jeya Kumar| Selangor : Vehicles were set ablaze when violence broke out near the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Selangor’s Subang Jaya  in the wee hours of Monday (Nov 26).

The fight between two groups was sparked by a disagreement over the relocation of the Hindu temple, Subang Jaya district police said in a Facebook post.

Hindu devotees were reportedly protesting the relocation of the 100-year-old Hindu house of worship when they were attacked by another group of Muslim people, news portal Malaysiakini said.

“Eighteen cars and two motorcycles were torched in the incident. A police patrol car was also damaged by stones thrown during the incident,” said Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor.

“About 50 men were in the compound of the temple and a group of men was outside. They traded insults that led to the riot,” he added.

In a Malaysiakini video, it is clearly seen that Jihadi people came out in streets with Allha-o-Akbar slogans to chase the Hindus to stranded them from their demand to save the dignity of the 100 years old Sri Maha Mariamman temple in the seafield area of Selangor’s Subang Jaya. The Allaho-ho-Akbar people were telling not to make trouble in their speech, but they were set to create violence against Hindu people connected with Sri Maha Mariamman temple

Police has taken control of that area tough came a little bit late, as local people reported.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator P. Waytha Moorthy has appealed to all Malaysians to stay calm over the scuffle at a Hindu temple in USJ25 early today within the jurisdiction of UEP (United Estate Projects) Subang Jaya.

He said upon receiving various Facebook postings and video recordings on the incident at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, he contacted Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim, Bernama reports.

“The minister has raised grave concern of the community on the affray which appears to be a threat to the breach of peace and peaceful co-existence of our multi-racial and multi-religious society as well as freedom of religion,“ said a statement issued by the Office of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

The statement said the Deputy IGP has promised that a thorough investigation would be conducted on the incident.

In SHAH ALAM, Selangor Mentri (Minister) Besar Amirudin Shari said the matter should be left to the police to investigate as it involved a crime, AMAR SHAH MOHSEN reports.

“It is best that we give our full trust to the police to investigate the motive behind the attack and what actually transpired.

“This involves crime and as such, I advise that everyone refrain from making statements, or take actions, that can lead to unwanted scenarios,“ he told reporters at the lobby of the Selangor state legislative assembly, here, today.

In GEORGE TOWN, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy called on the local authorities and developers throughout the country to find ways to ensure that their development projects can co-exist with Hindu temples, IAN MCINTYRE reports.

Ramasamy, who is DAP central executive committee member, said that there needs to be a better way to settle disputes over the locations for places of worship, especially if the place of worship was established earlier than the proposed development project, he said in an interview.

Ramasamy, who plans to visit the site of the unrest, said the Pakatan Harapan government needs to make it a point to ensure that the co-existence of places of worship with new projects becomes a working policy.

“I am aghast over the incident, especially coming under the Pakatan tenure. We need to offer a solution to all parties,“ he said.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Hindu Sangam (MHS) called upon the Hindu community to remain calm and not to retaliate with violence.

Its president Datuk R. S. Mohan Shan condemned the violence and urged Hindus, temples and Hindu non-governmental organisations to lodge police reports nationwide.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) also echoed Mohan’s sentiment and condemned the attack.

“The MCCBCHST calls upon the police to leave no stones unturned in bringing to justice all those who were involved in this ugly incident.

“Such acts of violence must never be condoned. A temple is a house of worship and its sanctity must be maintained at all times.”

A source in MCCBCHST says,the Indian Jihadi Preacher Zakir Naik,  now in Malaysia, is radicalizing the Malay Muslims youth against the Hindus residing there. Zakir Naik has established an internal connection with many Muslim Ministers, Politicians, Administrators and Police Officials in Malaysia, who treat Hindu Citizens of Malaysia as second class citizens.

Source : Hindu Existence

After Islamic insult on Hindu temple in Malaysia, Violence breaks out

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Giving Tuesday promoting vegetarian diet in New York schools

November 28, 2018 by ·
By : Kelley Wind, Giving Tuesday.
 

I didn’t think it could happen. I didn’t believe that a New York City public school would adopt a vegetarian menu… and then become one of the highest rated schools in the state. But I was wrong. 

 
When the school leadership and staff is fully on board, and there is a great partnership in place, the extraordinary happens. At PS 244, The Active Learning Elementary School in Flushing, Queens, health and wellness are woven into all aspects of the curriculum. And the students are thriving. Test scores are far above the state average, with PS244 in the top 11 schools in the state. Students are absent less, and teachers report they are more attentive after lunch. 
 
Our friend and partner, Principal Bob Groff, reached out and welcomed us into his school. And by working together with the NYC Office of SchoolFood, the menu went from vegetarian two days a week, to three days, and after we asked if they would consider a vegetarian menu, finally by 2013, five full days.
 
We provide cafeteria staff training and support. We get as many of the recipes to be fully plant-based as we can. At Family Dinner Nights, we offer children, their parents/caregivers, and school staff a free fully plant-based meal featuring recipes from the lunch menu, and a nutrition education presentation for the adults. And during our after school classes, students make their own healthy plant based recipes.
 
With your support this GivingTuesday, we can make the unbelievable happen in more schools across the country. I don’t doubt it anymore.

 
Here are three ways you can help TODAY:
 
1. Donate by clicking here.
 
2. Sign up for the RoundUp app, a way to donate your spare change. You link your credit and/or debit cards, and each purchase is rounded up to the  next dollar. You can put a monthly limit on your giving. If we get 24 people to sign up on Tuesday, we’ll get $1000 from RoundUp.

 3. Whether you can give or not, please share this email with your friends, family, and co-workers. Ask them to donate to support healthy food and nutrition education in schools, or to sign up for the RoundUp app.  
 
Thank you for your interest in healthy school food. Together, we can make a difference! 

 
Sincerely yours,
 
Kelley Wind
Program Director

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Sikh Samadhi and Hindu temple of Gulyana Pakistan

November 27, 2018 by ·
By : Wali Imran.

Gulyana town Gujar Khan Pakistan that was destroyed twice

Comments 0 Comment
Courtesy : Wali Imran,
 
900 years old Gulyana town of about a 50,000 people, just a few kilometers South of Gujar Khan, was raised to the ground once several centuries ago, by raiders from the West. The second time it was destroyed during the 1947 partition riots.GulyanaBefore 1947, the Gulyana town center was mostly Hindu and Sikh. The Hindus and Sikh owned all the businesses in the town center and Muslims were their tenants, peasants and laborers. Muslims sold their lands to pay off their debts and also handed over their crop of wheat. The Dewan, Dutt, Mohyal Brahmin, and Singh families were always part of royal elite.

Bollywood Star Sanjay Dutt is from the same branch of warrior Brahmin Dutt and belongs to the same place.GulyanaLand owners were guaranteed protection from military’s presence in Gujar Khan from the North and a rivulet from the south. This land produced sheer gold and wealthy Sikhs and Hindus lived like kings in mansions make of stone, several storey high.GulyanaBakshi Tek Chand, Dewan Prithvi Chand Dutt, Bakshi Moti Ram and Tara Singh were the dominant names of those times.  They built temples, dug up wells for the 30-50 kanal holdings each and distributed these lands amongst their permanent serfs. They did however, treat their serfs with respect and gave them a good share of the crop — what do you expect from absentee landlords.The Sikh had a timber business. Logs from Kashmir valley were dumped into Jhelum River and recovered downstream near Jhelum city to be sold at Gujar Khan.

The Hindus were mostly traders, money lenders and retailers.GulyanaMuslims were mostly illiterate and poor and were destined to stay that way considering the only quality boarding school in nearby Gujar Khan had 95% non-muslim attendance.

During the 1947 riots, one Sikh Bali Singh and one Hindu Lady Banto were killed in the riots but the rest were whisked away with their gold, in the safety of Gorkha soldiers. The Muslim riot crowd burnt to the ground the several symbols of oppression and got rich in the process, during the looting.

One Hindu tehsildar had the magistrate’s powers to jail someone for 6 months.GulyanaWhen the British left suddenly in 1947, the carefully crafted social experiment in native subjugation came crumbling down within days.

 

Otherwise, one 100 years old resident of Gulyana tells me, “the Hindus and Sikh were very friendly towards the Muslims, their women played around with the boys, molvi were not trouble makers then; they cared about their serfs and neighbors’, built schools, hospitals and wells for the general public. No Muslim was allowed into their kitchen however. Balraj, Sita, Beera, Ramu Shikari, Gujrati, Peecha Singh, Mangat Singh, Jawals Singh, Raab Singh, Gurdyal, were the well-known Hindus and Labbu, Gurra, Jagdev, Santa, Paacha, Chatru were the known Sikh of the time. One Tek Chand Never left for India and embraced Islam. His wife and three sons left for India. Tek Chand married a Muslim lady and had seven children. They are all in poverty now. Several of the old mansion, one dhramsala, one temple, several bowlis (watering hole) have been lost to time.Gulyana

The surrounding farms around Gulyana were refreshing. The old styled spoke wells, Sikh Samadhi, Hindu temple and 100 years old Gujarati’s mansion still survives.I went into the temple inner sanctum and saw the most beautiful frescos of mixed Hindu and Sikh religious figures like hanuman, Krishna, Sita, Baba Guru Nanak, Bala, Mardana, etc.Gulyana

Pakistan government build a dam 5 km upstream, called the Ugahaun; it’s a lovely place to fish and boat around.

The union council in 1947 had more financial powers than it does today.GulyanaIn short, all the entrepreneurs, educators, administrator, jurisprudence people, revenue people, land record people and large scale farmers left in 1947.

GulyanaI am astonished how Pakistan survived with an illiterate mass of people, steeped in poverty — traumatized by exploitation and mass killings.

Other interesting places in Potohar region are:

Bedi Mahal, Pharwala fort, Malot fort, Sangini fort, Rawat fort and Mankial Stupa.

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Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti

November 23, 2018 by ·

Guru Nanak Dev Jyanti.
Karthik Poornima, 23 Nov 2018
Hindu Council of Australia wishes happiness and peace with the blessings of Guru Nanak dev ji to all on the auspicious occasion of His Birthday, Gurpurab.

Press Release - Guru NanakDev 550th Birth anniversary year

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Interfaith in Action at Religions for Peace

November 19, 2018 by ·

By : Surinder Jain.

What is RfP

Religions for Peace (RfP) is an organization representing religious leaders of different faiths in Australia and includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Bahai faith. Hindu Council of Australia has been a member, represented by its director Vijai Singhal for over a decade now.

According to RfP founder, this Interfaith forum is different from others. Apart from meetings and speeches, it tries to connect individual faith leaders together in a bond of friendship which is best manifested by leaders of different faiths become personal friends. She cited as an example of a christian member whose daughter’s wedding was attended by and blessed by Muslims, Jews and from other faiths.

RfP held a meeting on 19th November 2018 to discuss various issues.

Anti-Hate laws in NSW

High on its agenda was an anti-hate and anti-discrimination law being considered by the state of NSW. Phillip Ruddock, former Attorney General of Australia and now Mayor of Hornsby shire has held wide consultations with community and submitted a report. Ian Lacey, a lawyer explained to members that Australian constitution in 1901 has included a clause on freedom of religions which means that :

  1. Government can not establish a religion
  2. Government can not enforce a religion
  3. Government can not stop a religion and
  4. Government can not ask for a religious qualifications for a job

This, he explained, provides freedom of religion to all Australians.

Various states like Victoria and Queensland have enacted Vilification or anti-hate laws which are not working very well. He feared that NSW should not follow their path and instead enact a robust law like that in Britain which

  1. Allows people to criticize a religion but
  2. Does not allow adherents of a religion to be discriminated

He further explained that stopping people from criticizing religions can have the opposite effect of becoming a blasphemy law.  We all know how some fundamentalists regimes have enacted blasphemy laws and have used them to prosecute and impose a certain religion.

Jatayu earth centre

Robert from Vedanta society explained his recent visit to India and a “Jatayu earth centre” being established there.

Parliament of World’s Religions

Father Patrick and Rachelle Kahn who recently returned from Parliament of World’s Religions held in Toronto briefed about their impressions of the visit.  The first Parliament was held in 1893 where Swami Vivekanand had given his first now world famous address starting with “Brothers and Sisters” instead of the usual “Ladies and Gentlemen” salutation of the time.

Parliament of World’s Religions 1893 – courtesy Wikipedia

The next Parliament was held a 100 years later in 1993 and is now an annual affair. The representation was very wide spread with 7,500 people, from 80 countries, 222 religions and over 500 workshops. However, the depth of religious fervor was very shallow.

Eat Less Meat

Mr Vijai Singhal explained to everyone about Eat Less Meat project in which Hindu Council has joined with ARRCC (Australian Religious Response to Climate Change).

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A scholarship offered to Racist by Melbourne Law Firm

November 19, 2018 by ·

The Global Mobility Immigration Lawyers Scholarship is an annual initiative, open to all students enrolled in a course of secondary, tertiary or post-graduate practical education/training.

The topic for 2019 is:

The Racist Inside Me Discuss a time when you felt xenophobic and how you have since evolved.

The web site explains how to obtain this scholarship. Click here.

Have you been a Racist? You could be running for $1000 scholarship

 

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