BOSTON (AP) — A Hindu activist is calling on luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton to pull a yoga mat made partly from cowhide leather, calling it “hugely insensitive.”
GURUGRAM, India (AP) — Staying home under lockdown as they wait for the worst of the coronavirus pandemic to pass, millions of Indians are turning to their gods. Not in prayer rooms, but on TV....
NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of demonstrators perched themselves on the steps of an iconic mosque in the Indian capital on Friday to protest against a new citizenship law that excludes Muslim...
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Bali's airport will close for 24 hours, the internet will be turned off and streets emptied as the predominantly Hindu island in Indonesia observes its New Year with an...
TEA, S.D. (AP) — A Hindu temple opening this weekend near Sioux Falls will be the first of its kind in the Dakotas, according to its founders.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A spiritual leader from Nevada will deliver the Oklahoma Senate's first Hindu prayer, part of an interfaith movement in a Legislature in the Bible Belt that has faced criticism its lack of religious diversity.
NEW DELHI (AP) — Violence erupted in several parts of northern and central India on Monday as thousands of dalits, members of Hinduism's lowest caste, protested an order from the country's top court that they say dilutes legal safeguards put in place for their marginalized community.
Caste prejudice is endemic in Hindu-majority India, even though the constitution outlaws the practice and has made it a crime punishable by up to a year in prison.
BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's normally bustling Bali has shut down social media, closed the airport and shuttered all shops for a Day of Silence that marks New Year on the predominantly Hindu resort island.
"Nyepi" began at 6 a.m. Saturday, emptying streets and beaches for 24 hours except for special patrols to ensure silence is observed. This year, phone companies agreed for the first time to turn off the mobile internet on the island, home to more than 4 million people.
BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Bali's annual Day of Silence is so sacred that even reaching for a smartphone to send a tweet or upload a selfie to social media could cause offense. This year it will be nearly impossible to do that anyway.
The head of the Bali office of Indonesia's Ministry of Communications, Nyoman Sujaya, said Tuesday that all phone companies have agreed to shut down the mobile internet for 24 hours during "Nyepi," a day marking New Year on the predominantly Hindu island.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Vasudha Narayanan, University of Florida
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago
In this photo by Aijaz Rahi, a trader pushes his goat past an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha before selling the animal ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha in Bangalore, India. Eid al-Adha, or the festival of sacrifice, is celebrated by Muslims to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's test of faith. During the Eid, Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor. The Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi lasts 11 days and is celebrated with statues of the god being immersed in water. Hinduism is the predominant religion in India with Muslims making up about 13 percent of the population of 1.3 billion.