Source: Indo-Asian News Service (IANS)

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/975302.stm

On October 16, 2003 the BBC News reported that "Belgrave Road in Leicester is the centre for this year's Diwali festivities and over 50,000 people are expected. It is the biggest such gathering outside of India. Leicester's business community and cultural life have benefited hugely from celebrations like these and there are calls for major religious festivals from all faiths to be recognised and marked with a...

Source: News 8 Austin

Source: The Journal News

http://www.nynews.com/newsroom/101303/a0113hindu.html

On October 13, 2003 The Journal News reported that hundreds attended the opening of Westchester's 1st Hindu temple. 800 worshippers chanted in Sanskrit as they sat cross-legged on the carpeted floors of the BAPS — Shree Swaminarayan Mandir (Temple) in Yonkers. The temple inauguration attracted Hindus not only from the tri-state area, which has the largest concentration of Indians in the...

Source: AlertNet news

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP36308.htm

On October 13, 2003 AlertNet news ran a Reuters article reported that "thousands of Indian Hindu activists, defying a government ban, are packing buses and trains headed to the town of Ayodhya to demand a temple be built over the ruins of a mosque...About 20,000 hardliners are expected for Friday's rally from Gujarat state alone, where more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14042-2003Oct11.html

On October 12, 2003 The Washington Post reported that the ninth annual festival of Diwali Mela, the Hindu festival of lights, was expected to draw 12,000 to 15,000 people to Maryland this year. The event is considered one of the biggest celebrations of Indian culture in the Northeast region. According to Dilip A. Jhaveri, one of the organizers, the purpose of...

Source: News Today

http://newstodaynet.com/12oct/ld3.htm

On October 12, 2003, News Today reported that "a blasphemous nude picture of Goddess Durga, published by Canada's leading daily newspaper, The Toronto Star, has caused widespread anger and outrage among Indians the worldover...The offending photograph, accompanied a write-up on the occasion of Durga Puja on the 4 October issue of the newspaper, raises the doubt if it was an intentional effort to defame the Indian community. For...

Source: Manukau Courier

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2687669a11,00.html

On October 11, 2003 the Manukau Courier reported on Diwali celebrations in New Zealand, highlighting the Sikh community's commemoration of the festival: "Sukhjot Singh, who will perform the Bhangra [a traditional Punjabi men's dance celebrating the Sikh religion], says Diwali is also significant for Sikhs [not just Hindus]. 'It symbolises the time when Hargobindji, the sixth prophet,...

Source: Birmingham Post-Herald

http://www.postherald.com/me100703.shtml

On October 10, 2003 Birmingham Post-Herald described the recent trend of internationalism that is transforming the fabric of Alabama life. "According to a new study of Census Bureau records by the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, Alabama's foreign-born population more than doubled from 42,141 in 1990 to 88,118 in 2000," said the Post-Herald. While Mexican and German born immigrants make up the...

Source: News Transcript

http://newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2003/1008/Front_Page/041.html

On October 8, 2003 News Transcript reported that the Hindu festival of Dushahra will illuminate the streets of Freehold Township this weekend. A celebration of the victory of good over evil featuring cultural programs, music and dancing, actors in colorful costumes, and Indian food and fireworks, the event will culminate in a burning of the 25 foot tall bamboo...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3167232.stm

On October 6, 2003 BBC News described the celebrations of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light, that illuminated Manhattan's South Street Seaport on Sunday. The Manhattan celebrations, now in their sixteenth year, celebrate the triumph of good over evil through "traditional Gujarati dance mingled with bhangra-style workouts amidst a feast of Indian cooking and shopping." The organizers of the festival, the...

Source: Staten Island Advance

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/106544790193420.xml

On October 6, 2003 Staten Island Advance reported that "Staten Island's Hindu community is preparing to build the borough's first Hindu temple in Sunnyside...The temple is expected to become the center of the Island's growing Hindu community and has a deep spiritual significance." The Staten Island Hindu Temple was founded in 1998, and the...

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

Source: Star Tribune

On October 3, 2003 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) reported that on a hill "between a swamp and farmland off the interstate in Maple Grove [MN]...a 35,000-square-foot temple will rise to become the first of its kind in the Upper Midwest. It will serve the 30,000 or so Hindus who live in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and western Wisconsin. The closest temple like it is in the Chicago area...The vision for this temple started 25 years ago with six people.         Dr. Kusum Saxena and her husband, Krishna, were among...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-me-surround2oct02,1,5221344.story?coll=la-news-religion

On October 2, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that a 75-year old Vedanta Temple in Hollywood remains a place of serenity amidst the chaos of the modern world. American-born monk Jnana Chaitanya said, "A lot of people say it's like an oasis here. But that's the nature of our activity — finding...