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Date uploaded in London – –21 FEBRUARY  2021     

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21-2-2021 WORLD HINDU NEWS ROUNDUP IN ENGLISH

Namaste , Namaskaram to Everyone

This is a weekly ‘HINDU NEWS ROUND UP’ from around the world.

Read by SUJATHA RENGANATHAN .

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Here is the WEEKLY HINDU NEWS BULLETIN from ‘Aakaasa Dhwani’

– Read by SUJATHA RENGANATHAN .

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VHP leader Ashok Singhal’s family donates Rs 11 crore for Ram Mandir

A cousin of late Vishwa Hindu Parishad  leader Ashok Singhal, who is a Udaipur-based industrialist, has donated Rs 11 crore for building the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. Arvind Singhal has donated the sum in memory of the VHP leader, who led a number of agitations for the Ram Mandir.

Arvind Singhal said that the family decided to donate the sum as the family always felt proud of the contribution of Ashok Singhal for building the Ram Mandir.

Singhal said the whole family was very happy as the process of building the temple has started. He said the family thought it should also contribute its part for the temple. This sum would be a tribute to late Ashok Singhal also, who gave his life for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, he said.

This was the highest donation made by a family in Rajasthan.

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News from Gujarat

11 year old girl Bhavika of Surat in Gujarat has raised Rs 50 lakhs for Ram temple. She raised the funds by singing sweet songs about Lord Ram in her Ramayana discourses.

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Chennai Muslim businessman donates Rs 1 lakh for Ayodhya Ram Temple

In a gesture aimed at communal amity, a Muslim businessman from Chennai has donated Rs 1 lakh towards the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

Daily wage earners like cobblers and small traders are among those making contributions to help raise the proposed magnificent structure.

When the members of the Hindu Munnani, accompanied by the volunteers approached businessman W S Habib, he gifted a cheque for Rs 1,00,008, taking the fund raisers by surprise.

According to K E Srinivasan, Chennai organiser of Dharma Jagran Manch a wing of RSS not only the affluent in the society but also the poor contributed.

“At Perambur, for instance, cobblers and other sections came forward to donate Rs 10,” he said.

At Kodungaiyur when the members solicited funds for the temple construction, shop keepers contributed their mite.

An enthusiastic seller of vermilion (kumkum) near a temple, who happened to be a Muslim, gave Rs 200 for the cause.

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ATTUKKAL PONGAL NEWS

The Kerala government has decided to conduct the famous ‘Attukal Pongala’ festival as per the COVID-19 protocol. .

Among an array of different festivals, beliefs and traditions, it is Attukal Pongala that has received a lot of attention among travellers and tourists alike. Organized in Attukal Devi’s temple in Trivandrum, the event is bedecked for the world’s largest annual gathering of women.

The festival sees women devotees visiting from all corners of Kerala making the conglomeration massive. It has also been listed in the Guinness World Record with 2.5 million women attending it at one time in the year 2009.

This year it is scheduled to take place on 27^th February.

The rituals started on 19^th February with tying the Kappu. Unlike previous years  the women are asked to cook and offer Pongal, that is sweet rice pudding, in their houses.

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Vasant Panchami brought new enthusiasm for country : Prime Minister Modi

Paying tribute to Maharaja Suheldev, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Today I have the privilege of laying the foundation stone of the grand memorial of Maharaja Suheldev ji in Bahraich.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial and Maharaja Suheldev Development project and dedicated to the public Maharaja Suheldev State Medical College (Baharaich) via video conferencing.

Launching the event, PM Modi said that the spring season this year has brought new hopes leaving the pandemic behind.

King Suheldev, an icon of the Rajbhar community, had defeated and killed the  Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud in a battle on the banks of the Chittora lake in Bahraich in 1033.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandi ben Patel and chief minister Yogi Adityanath were present at the programme organised in Bahraich on the occasion of birth anniversary of Maharaja Suheldev.

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Here is some good news from Kashmir

Bells ring as temple reopens in downtown Srinagar after 31 years

The Sheetal Nath Mandir in Kralakhud area of downtown Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, was re-opened after 31 years on Tuesday. Temple bells rang as Basant Panchmi puja and havan were performed, suspended since militancy erupted in the erstwhile state in 1990.

Around 30 Kashmiri Pandits, both migrants and non-migrants, attended the prayers. ‘Prasad’ was also distributed among the devotees.

“We have formally re-opened the temple,” Upendra Handoo, the priest, said, recalling how the temple was closed in 1990. 

Handoo said Basant Panchmi puja in Srinagar used to be performed at the Sheetal Nath Mandir where hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits congregated before militancy began.

He said Muslims living near the temple have always extended their help to the shrine management. “This time also, they helped us in the arrangements signifying the Hindu-Muslim amity.” 

He said reopening of the temple is a big confidence-building measure and would send out a message outside the Valley that Kashmir is safe. He said the Ashram Sabha members have urged the government to take more steps for the return of the Pandits to the Valley.

The Pandits had migrated en masse from the Valley after militancy erupted. According to official figures, 219 Kashmiri Pandits have been killed in the militancy-related violence in Jammu&Kashmir.

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Creative industries around Durga Puja in Bengal is worth ₹32,377 crore

The economic value of the creative industries that crop up around the Durga Puja – the biggest festival in West Bengal – is worth ₹32,377 crore, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said.

The chief minister was citing a 2018 report that the state government had commissioned to find out the economic impact of Durga Puja. The study was conducted by experts from the British Council, IIT Kharagpur, and Queen Mary University in UK.

“As per the report that was submitted on Monday, the economy of creative industries around Durga Puja is ₹32,377 crore, which is equal to $4.53 billion. This is a huge amount of money for a seven-day festival. It is comparable to the GDP of Maldives and around 2.5% of the GDP of West Bengal,” Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.

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HERE IS SOME MOUTH WATERING, TASTY NEWS FROM BALAJI TEMPLE

An unusual offering of two tonnes of pickles was made by a devotee to the shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, an official of the temple said.

After offering worship at the temple, the devotee Kaaturi Ramu from Chirravuru village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh handed over the pickles to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board chairman YV Subba Reddy at the temple-run pilgrims free meal canteen, the official told PTI.

Different varieties of vegetable pickles, including mango, lemon, tomato, and gongura were packed in plastic canisters, the official said.

Ramu requested the TTD to utilise pickles at the canteen where over a lakh meals were served daily to the visiting devotees.

Meanwhile, a TTD press release said the foundation stone would be laid on February for the construction of a replica of the temple of Goddess Padmavathi to be built by the TTD in Chennai.

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MASS MARRIAGES IN TIRUPATI TEMPLE

A team of Vedic pandits of TTD fixed auspicious dates for the Kalyanamastu mass marriage programmes and handed over the Lagna Patrika to TTD Executive Officer Dr K.S. Jawahar Reddy  on Wednesday.

The team comprised veteran Vedic scholar G. Bala Subramanya Shastri, Dharmagiri Veda Vignana Peetham principal K.S.S. Avadhani, chief priest of Tirumala temple Archakam Venugopala Deekshitulu and former Agama advisor of TTD Vedantam Vishnu Bhattacharya. They met at Nada Neerajanam platform to deliberate and finalise the muhurat for the prestigious programme.

Speaking to media persons later, the EXECUTIV OFFICER said that the pandits finalised three auspicious dates in 2021, including May 28 ,October 30 and November 17 .

He said that Kalyanamastu is aimed at organising free mass marriages for couples from poor families. “It was successfully conducted in six phases between 2007 and 2011 as part of Hindu Sanatana Dharma Pracharam programme.

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Haryana To Revive The Sacred Saraswati River

In an effort to revive the ancient Saraswati River, the Haryana government is planning a barrage, dam and reservoir at Adi Badri, reports The Indian Express.

While addressing a seminar on ‘Saraswati River-New Perspectives and Heritage Development’ during the ongoing International Saraswati Festival-2021 on Monday (15 February), Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the project of Saraswati river revival would be beneficial to develop all such places where there is evidence of Saraswati river and its heritage.

“All the doubts regarding existence of Saraswati river have been resolved and scientific evidence has been found for its flow. According to the description found in Mahabharata, Saraswati originated from a place called Adi Badri, which is just above Yamunanagar in Haryana and just below the Shivalik hills.

 Even today people consider this place to be a place of pilgrimage,” said CM Manohar Lal Khattar while addressing the seminar organised by Vidya Bharti Sanskriti Sansthan and Haryana Saraswati Heritage Development Board.

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Kumbha Mela 2021 from April 1-30

Mahakumbh 2021 in Haridwar will start on April 1 and conclude on April 30, 2021, said Uttarkhand state government officials. 

The officials also added NO special trains will be run for the religious congregation given the coronavirus situation.

Om Prakash, chief secretary said,

Keeping in mind the prevailing Covid-19 situation, the state government has planned to integrate CCTV cameras with artificial intelligence software to keep the headcount from exceeding from the prescribed limit.

The Mahakumbh is expected to have expenses of Rs 800 Crore which are being used to provide facilities to the devotees and saints visiting the mela. 

Dates of first holy bath in the Ganges River have been announced already. The first bath will be taken on March 11, 2021 (Mahashivratri), the second on April 12 (Somwati Amavasya), the third on April 14 (Baisakhi Kumbh snan) and the fourth on April 27 (Chaitra Purnima). 

Every four years the Mini Kumbhamelas are held in rotation in 3 different places. The major festival is held every 12 years in Prayag also known as Triveni Snagam.
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NEWS ABOUT RIHANNA CONTROVERSY

Singer Rihanna is facing accusations of cultural appropriation and religious insensitivity after she posted a topless image of herself wearing a pendant depicting the Hindu god Ganesha.

The photo, which appeared on her Twitter and Instagram accounts Tuesday, shows the singer in a pair of lavender satin boxers by her lingerie label, Savage X Fenty. Among her matching purple jewels are a bracelet, a large pair of earrings and what appears to be a diamond-studded carving of the elephant-headed deity — a move branded “disrespectful” by some Hindus and other social media users in India.

The controversy comes just two weeks after Rihanna divided opinions in India by expressing her support for farmers protesting new agriculture laws in the country.

A number of commentators were quick to link Rihanna’s decision to wear a Ganesha pendant to her stance on the protests. Lawmaker Ram Kadam, a member of the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), suggested that she had now discredited her involvement in the matter.

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