Latest Hindu News

KAULA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, April 7, 2007: Islamic authorities took away the baby of a Muslim woman who is living as a Hindu in defiance of the law in the latest case of religious conflict straining ties in multiethnic Malaysia, officials said Friday. Revathi Masoosai's 15-month-old daughter was taken by the Islamic Religious Department in southern Malacca state on March 26 and handed to Revathi's Muslim mother, said department enforcement officer Mohamad Imran Ahmad. "The baby's grandmother has custody of her for now," Mohamad Imran told The Associated Press. Revathi, an ethnic Indian, is being held in a rehabilitation center run by Islamic authorities for her religious transgression. The baby was with Revathi's husband when she was seized. He has filed a police complaint, but it was not clear if he plans to take the case to court. Meanwhile, the baby will stay with her grandmother.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 31, 2007: A Malaysian court has taken the rare step of ordering a Muslim man not to go ahead with plans to convert his baby son to Islam, pending a last-ditch legal effort by the Hindu mother to take custody of the boy. The Court of Appeal, which usually defers jurisdiction in religious matters to Malaysia's Islamic courts, granted the mother an injunction on Friday barring the father from converting their 1-year-old to Islam, local newspapers said on Saturday. Once the boy is converted to Islam, the father could seek custody of him in an Islamic court. He did this last year with the couple's elder son, aged 3, the papers said. The legal battle highlights constitutional tensions over religion in mainly Muslim Malaysia: the charter assures freedom of religion but in practice non-Muslims have found no recourse to civil courts where questions of Islamic identity are involved.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 8, 2007: The Hindu Sevai Sangam, along with the Malaysia Hindu Sangam, are organizing a Global Dharma Youth Conference, April 5-8, 2007, at the Mines, Seri Kembangan. Youths from Indonesia, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and many other nations in Europe, America, Australia, Africa and Asia are expected to participate. The spiritual leaders participating are yet to be announced. For additional information and to reserve your place, please contact one of the following individuals (in Malaysia, country code 60) - Ramaji at 012-3020254 or 016-6330309, Mr.Maniventhiran at 019-3266542, Ms. Malar at 012-2052334 or Mr. Partiban at 017-6834685.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 8, 2007: Of late, parents have spent too much time and money on wedding ceremonies, wedding parties and elaborate decorations. Not forgetting inviting crowds of guests to face the back of selfish cameramen and the rude relatives who crowd the manavarai during the height of the ceremonies. The parents have hardly spent any time on preparing the couple for a married life. They sometimes spend as much as US$45,000 on an extravagant wedding and the couple may even have a 16-day honeymoon. Yet, none of the parties have ever given any thought to arranging for the couple to spend 16 hours at a marriage course to prepare for their future married life. This was the sad lament of Datuk A.Vaithilingam at the close of the two day Marriage Course held at a Kuala Lumpur hotel on February 24th and 25th organized by the Yayasan Strategic Sosial.