Diwali, as all of you are no doubt aware, is the most widely celebrated festival in the Hindu world. In any country which carries a significant number of Hindus there are massive Diwali celebrations. In many cases, non-Hindus are also drawn into the festivities, and as a result Diwali is extremely well known in most of the world.

If you ask most non-Hindus if they have heard of other Hindu festivals - for example Janmashtami, Holi or even Navratri - nine times out of ten you will draw a blank expression. But the vast majority will have heard of Diwali and know that it to be ‘Hindu festival of light’… 

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In a victory for commonsense, Amrit Lalji, the lady who was sacked from her airport job for refusing to remove a nose stud that she wore as part of a Hindu marriage ritual has been reinstated (click here to see previous coverage).

Mrs Lalji wore the nose stud to her interview, and was not told that it would be any problem. It was only several months later that one of her bosses at British Airways started to make an issue about it.

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In the concluding portion of this gripping two-part series, a young Hindu describes an unfortunate event where he confronted a group of troublemakers at his community Navratri event, where the security were not discharging their duties. The confrontation set off a chain of events which ended in him having to spend the night in a police cell, followed by a long drawn out court case. Such events are not isolated, and have been an unfortunate part of our Navratri celebrations in Britain.

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In a terrible month for Pakistan, the country has seen both devastating terrorist attacks as well as the imposition of ‘emergency rule’ by its army chief turned dictator turned president, General Pervez Musharraf (right).

The number of terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil has greatly increased in the past year, in a country deeply divided by violence and hostility between different ethic and ideological factions: Sunni versus Shia, Baluchi separatism, Sindhi nationalism, militant Islamist versus westernized modernists, democrats versus supporters of military rule. All the conflicts appear to be coming to a head at once…

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Many of you will have heard a catchy song with the chant ‘Hare Krishna Hare Rama’ being aired extensively on the radio in the past few weeks. It is in fact the lead track of the recently released Indian thriller-comedy ‘Bhul Bhulaiya’, and the popularity of the song is credited with helping the film register very impressive box office figures in the first fortnight since its release.

Although well received by most, the song has ignited the wrath of a section of Hindus, who claim that the lyrics and especially the video that accompany the song are too explicit and sexual to be placed alongside the holy names of Krishna and Rama. Some Buddhists have also complained, as a statue of Buddha features prominently in the video (click here to see video and song).

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A few of my friends had started a new Hindu Society in their university, as it hadn’t existed earlier. They wanted it to be a place for Hindus and those interested in Hinduism to come together in celebration of Hindu Dharma and be conversant about a wide range of issues effecting Hindus and Hinduism. Freshers’ fairs offer the unique opportunity to present yourself and your society to other students, and are also a great time to meet both a diverse range of people and to get involved in common causes and activities with like-minded people. So I went to the fair to help my friends with their stall.

The day was going great, until…

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I was already nervous for my driving test; little did I know what I had in store for me from the driving examiner, who turned out to be closer to an immigration officer… 

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