World Focus

DHAKA, Bangladesh — It was a Pakistani journalist, Anthony Mascarenhas, who gave the world the first detailed account of Bangladesh’s war of independence. In April 1971, soon after the army of Pakistan started suppressing the secessionist movement in what was then still the eastern part of the country, it invited Mr. Mascarenhas to report on [...]

PESHAWAR: A Hindu school teacher was allegedly kidnapped by unidentified people while on her way back home from school near the Pakistan Radio Colony on Saturday afternoon. Faqir Chand, the father of the missing 25-year-old woman Sapna Rani, said his daughter is a teacher at the Peshawar Science Academy near Ayub Flour Mill on GT Road. [...]

Update :  Editors Note Its come to our Attention that HAF’s report Coalition Against Genocide didnt credit Abhimanyu Arjun who supplied them the information with a compiled 400 page report with detailed breakdowns of all the groups, their inter-connections, tax information, website profiles, This information has also been used by think-tanks in India and in [...]

In the framework of Europalia India, a string of institutions including my Alma Mater, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, hosts a series of exhibitions, performances, films showings, conferences and lectures. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal was to speak in Brussels and Leuven, but he didn’t show up, being detained in a sex scandal. [...]

Johannesburg:  Sanskrit Shlokas from the Bhagavad Gita were recited today at a historic memorial service for anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela. More than 85,000 people attended the service at the FNB stadium near Johannesburg and millions more witnessed it across the globe. The Shlokas were recited by Pundit Ashwin Trikamjee, who is the President of the [...]

Respected Holy Father, Great hope for a positive change in the Catholic Church is pinned on the Pontificate of your Holiness and recent statements indicate that this hope may not be misplaced. The future, your Holiness said in November 2013, is in the respectful coexistence of diversity and in the fundamental right to religious freedom [...]

The White House celebrated the start of the Hindu holiday of Diwali on Tuesday, something they have done every year since the Obamas have lived there. Given that this is a non-Christian holiday and the Obamas were involved, you just know that the religious right could not stay silent. Sure enough, Bryan Fischer opened his [...]

Gary J Bass’s ‘The Blood Telegram’ details the genocide carried out ahead of the war. Ahead of Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971, the Pakistani Army systematically committed genocide” of the Hindu community in the then East Pakistan and the Nixon Administration kept a blind eye to it, a new book says. While the Indian Government was [...]

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on idol worship, music, art and ethics in Bollywood and politics. [...]

Religious fundamentalists are on the rise and that is bad for our societies. Most people will agree on this. Yet few examine who religious fundamentalists are. Obviously, such persons would want to stick to the fundamentals of their religion. They want to live a life that is advocated in their holy books and would please [...]