Hindu News Service Launched

In an interview, HINDUISM TODAY'S publisher, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, explained to me that he had long ago envisioned a daily announcement of developing news and time-sensitive stories which could not be accommodated by the bimonthly HINDUISM TODAY. Also, Gurudeva said, "The news media tend to take a negative point of view on Hinduism. Most religious news is slanted to the other faiths, not Hinduism. With this free public service, we hope to broaden the minds of media who can be quite flexible when shown a different perspective." He felt the nonstop coverage of the Kumbha Mela provided by HPI showed the strength of Hinduism and "sent out a strong message that Christian conversion just won't work." "HPI goes to the major wire services as well as hundreds of newspapers and magazines," Gurudeva said, "giving an instant channel for important Hindu news." I interviewed the HPI team by e-mail, curious how they got involved. Kauai-based Tara Katir spends an hour a day browsing through several Indian and mainstream media. She wrote, "How pervasive is the spread of Sanatana Dharma! Finding Hindu news coming from Russia was initially a surprise, but has now become a matter of course." Janaka Param in northern California explained he searches four Indian papers daily: Deccan Chronicle, Indian Express, Hindustan Times and The Hindu. Toshadeva Guhan of the Catalina Islands in Southern California told me that he enjoys reading reports on how Vedic culture is kept alive and woven through the daily lives of so many people. Then from UK, Vijay Pillai modestly claimed, "I must be one of the least contributors! There is hardly any news trickling down from Europe," which is his area of focus. He hopes to find more items pertaining to Hindu achievements. On the UK beat is Easan Katir of California, while Lavanya Saravan covers Singapore/Malaysia.