Britain’s tough new law to prevent immigration via ’sham-marriages’ was struck down by the London High Court earlier this month, on the grounds that it discriminated against individuals on grounds of nationality and religion.

‘Sham marriages’ are a renowned method of bypassing immigration control for young men wanting to move to Britain to live and work. The law, enacted in February 2005, was created to combat sham marriages by requiring non-EU immigrants who were in the UK for limited stay to gain special permission from the Home Office if they wished to marry. These rules did not apply to individuals undergoing a Church of England marriage ceremony or who were European Union citizens…

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M. F. Hussain is one of India’s most celebrated artists. His art is auctioned at prestigious venues across the world for considerable sums of money. At the same time, he has always had a precarious reputation with many Hindus. His work has always pushed the boundaries of what is considered artistically sensible.Hussain’s art often takes a Hindu theme. Nothing wrong with that, most of the time. But it gets a bit pushy when we see paintings that show Sita masturbating on the tail of Hanuman. Or Parvati fornicating with a bull while husband Shiva looks on. Or Goddess Durga in union with her lion. Up until now, Hindus have (with the exception of the odd murmur) refused to be provoked by such paintings of Mr Hussain…

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On Friday 14th April BBC Radio London had a discussion on the subject of Bank Holidays. One of the discussions that took place was whether Diwali should become a public holiday in Britain. The text of the discussion that took place can be found here. What are your views - would you like Diwali to be made into a public holiday in Britain?

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Only a few figures in the course of history have had an epic fame enduring for many thousands of years. Of these perhaps the best known is Rama, whose fame has endured to the present day, sustained by millions of devotees across the world. Rama lived at a very ancient period; long before Christ, Buddha, Moses or Krishna.

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Mona Vijaykar, a Visual Communications and Advertising professional, originally from India, has made her presence felt in the San Francisco Bay Area (USA). She is a children’s author and also heads ‘India in Classrooms’, a growing organisation that addresses Hinduism in American schools. Hindu Voice UK recently caught up with Mona to talk about the trials and tribulations that went into forming India in Classrooms.

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A remake of the well-known 1977 Wes Craven film, ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ is one of the creepiest and disturbing movies you’ll watch in a while.The backdrop for the film is the genetic fall out caused by lingering radiation from the 331 nuclear bomb tests that were carried out during the 1950s and ’60s by the USA in its’ deserts. The intro of “The Hills Have Eyes” consists of scenes from real nuclear explosions and pictures of those who were genetically mutated as a result, with sad music playing in the background. According to the film’s intro, the American government still denies that the huge nuclear testing programme it conducted caused any significant ill effects.

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Too many Hindu mums and dads have long suffered trying to unravel the tangle of Hindu misconceptions their children often bring home from school. “Why do we pray to idols in the temple?” these innocent young ones ask their parents in confusion. “Are we really superstitious? Why do we worship so many Gods and Goddesses? What is the caste system and why does it exist? Why have Hindu wives committed suicide by throwing themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre? And does Goddess Kali really kill people and drink blood?”

Hinduism as it is taught in public school systems has always been distorted to one extent or another by errant Abrahamic interpretation. The book, Hinduism for Schools (133 pages, Vivekananda Centre London), written by Seeta Lakhani, addresses these misrepresentations with intelligent clarity…

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With the release of the Da Vincie Code movie set for next month, it is amazing to find that many people have still not read the book!The Da Vinci Code hardly needs any introduction. Its fame has spread far and wide. Two-and-a-half years after its release it continues to sell like crazy, and author Dan Brown has become the highest paid writer in recorded history. After reading it, you will understand why! To put it simply: it’s good, damn good. The plot has all the elements required for a classic thriller: Intrigue, deception, mystery, murder and a hint of romance. It is well written and fast-paced, with surprising turns of plot regularly shocking readers, especially when they start to think they have it all figured out…

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Many of us will flick through the daily horoscopes in our newspapers every morning. Yet many people also believe that really, this whole astrology thing is just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. Whether you are a believer or not, the popularity of astrology in this day and age is at an all time high. The question is: is astrology for real and, if so, what exactly is it and how does it enable us to actually predict what’s going to happen to us in our daily lives?Basic horoscope columns in newspapers and magazines may lead us to believe that all there is to know about astrology is your sun-sign and that, therefore, we all belong in one of the 12 signs of the zodiac depending on the month you were born in. However this is very elementary. To a practitioner, astrology is much more intricate and complex…

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Every Indian is accustomed to the joys of an Indian wedding. We’ve all been to plenty in our lifetime and no doubt some of us will probably have seven to attend this summer alone. With the wedding season well and truly on its way I am here to ask: ‘What does an Indian wedding mean in the 21st century?’Let’s start with what we already know. When the words ‘Indian’ and ‘Wedding’ are thrown together most people will probably roll their eyes and think of a hundred things which they despise about this most auspicious occasion. Whether it be oily food, Mercedes with red ribbons, or the fact that the damn thing never starts on time, we have all had our fair share of wedding misery, and we’re not even the ones tying the knot! Then there’s those who only go there for free food, those who only go their to talk, those who only go there to fix up their own offspring, and those who only go there to see what everybody else has wore…

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