Indian village bans unmarried women from using mobiles
Filed under Law, People, Religion
Apparently, the council of elders feared women would use phones to arrange forbidden marriages.
Well here’s the full story: An Indian village has banned unmarried women from using mobile phones for fear they will arrange forbidden marriages that are often punished by death, a local official said today.
The Lank village council decided unmarried boys could use mobile phones, but only under parental supervision, said one council member, Satish Tyagi. Local women’s rights group criticised the measure as backward and unfair.
Marriages between members of the same clan are forbidden under Hindu custom in some parts of northern India, where unions are traditionally arranged by families. In conservative rural areas, families sometimes mete out extreme punishments, including “honour killings”, for those who violate marriage taboos. In some cases, village councils themselves have ordered the punishments, though police often intervene to stop them.
The Lank village council feared young men and women were secretly calling one another to arrange to elope!
Hilarious, but true!
Read more on The Guardian.
Tags: India, mobile phones, mobile phones in India, women in India
Conversion in Malaysia Still a Problem
Filed under Malaysia, People, Religion
Interesting article on the hurdles of religious conversion in our country:
Despite cabinet announcements about conversions to Islam and proposed legal amendments to allow a Muslim convert to divorce in the civil court, other scenarios arising from conversions are not being addressed.
As a result, numerous conversion cases are not being resolved and beg the question of how effective the state’s response has been to the complex issue of conversion to Islam in Malaysia.
For example, proposed amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 to allow a Muslim convert to end a civil law marriage in the civil court only addresses this one scenario.
***
February 2008: A teenaged Indian Malaysian boy from Tapah was converted to Islam by school friends who took him to the religious department where he recited the syahada (proclamation of faith) and received a conversion certificate. He was subsequently given a MyKad which stated “Islam” as his religion.
His family only discovered his conversion two months later when a sister found his MyKad in a pocket. The boy, now 19, has resumed performing Hindu prayers and wants to leave Islam. But the family, whose father is a prominent businessperson, is not keen to pursue it in court for fear the publicity will damage their name and standing in the Indian Malaysian society.
“They fear that even the chances of marriage for the boy’s sisters will be affected,” Sivanesan said.
bullet Early 2008: An Indian Malaysian female student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kajang, was converted by university mates. Her father, a teacher, and mother, a homemaker, only learnt of her conversion in her final year of studies.
The family had wanted to seek legal recourse after her final year exams but the girl “disappeared” with friends for a few days. In the end, the family decided that it was best for her to leave the country. She now works in Singapore.
Read more on The Nut Graph
Thanks for the tip, Ugen.
Galileo’s fingers found!
Yea, like this is a big issue! But then again, it’s funny and worth mentioning.
Apparently, a jar containing two of Galileo’s missing fingers has been located. The jar containing the digits has been missing for more than a century. An individual purchased them at auction and delivered them to the Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy. The two fingers will join a third finger (image below) and a tooth that were removed from Galileo’s corpse in 1737.
The museum plans to display the fingers and tooth in March 2010, after it re-opens following a renovation, Galluzzi said. The museum has had the third Galileo finger since 1927, so the digits will be reunited for the first time in centuries, he added.
If you were wondering what the hell this is all for, well, removing body parts from the corpse was an echo of a practice common with saints, whose digits, tongues and organs were revered by Catholics as relics with sacred powers. And Galileo was considered one alike.
Source: Boing Boing
Happy Diwali @ Deepavali!
Filed under General, Religion, World
To all my Hindu friends in Malaysia, Happy Deepavali!
And to all my Hindu readers and friends around the world, Happy Diwali!
Regards,
Raghu
Selamat Hari Raya @ Happy Eid ul-Fitr!
Filed under General, Religion, World
To all my Muslim friends in Malaysia, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!
And to all my Muslim readers and friends around the world, Happy Eid ul-Fitr!
Different people from various cultures celebrate this day differently, with different ways of wishing one another. From the few I’ve managed to discover online: Wish you all a Happy Eid, Ramadan Eid, Smaller Eid; Idul Fitri, Hari Lebaran; Riyoyo, Riyayan, Ngaidul Fitri; Boboran Siyam; Rojar Eid; Ramazan Bayram; Korite; Sallah; Kochnay Akhtar; Eid-e Sa’eed-e Fitr; Choti Eid; Ramazanski Bajram; and Cejna Remezanê! 
Regards,
Raghu
Always wanted to Levitate above the ground? It’s easy, actually.
Filed under Interest, Religion, Science, Youtube/Vimeo/Videos
Behold the secrets of levitation. This ancient magical act has impressed millions of people for generations, and you can do the same now too. Yea right, give me a break.
I ain’t going to talk about how great those people who used to do these are. Instead, I’m going to show you a video on how they used to do it. And after watching it, you’ll know why I said “it’s easy, actually”.
Thanks to Forgetomori, we have this Youtube video:
Source: Forgetomori
P/S: Sorry to have spoilt anyone’s pot of rice 
