NEW JERSEY: Hindus in India should vote as a Hindu block to counter the Muslim and Christian vote banks which have been cultivated by political leaders in India, said former Indian Cabinet minister Dr. Subramanian Swamy. This was one of the many solutions Swamy offers to counter what he calls "the siege" that Hindus are under in India.

ST. LOUIS: The emergence of India as a leading provider of information technology and services catapulted its growth in all industrial and commercial undertakings in such a manner that the country is now poised to become the leading contender to the third largest economy of the world by 2020.

MINNEAPOLIS: The Hindu Society of Minnesota and Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh held their first annual three-day Hindu Family Camp from August 9 at the new Hindu Mandir in Maple Grove, Minneapolis.

NEW YORK: Balbinder Singh Bhogal, Ph.D., has been appointed the Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies at Hofstra University, President Stuart Rabinowitz announced last week.

WASHINGTON: On August 3, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced Senate Resolution 299, "recognizing the religious and historical significance of the festival of Diwali." The resolution affirms the importance of the festival in the lives of millions of Hindus, Jains and Sikhs in the United States. The resolution also lauds the Hindu

FREMONT: The NRI version of popular Indian reality shows Indian Idol and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa was held in Fremont, California for the first time at the 15th Annual Festival of India and Parade on August 11 and 12th.

FREMONT: Comcast and Sony Entertainment Television (SET) Asia held a cocktail reception and dinner at the San Ramon Marriott on August 16 to celebrate SET's August 8 launch on Comcast. Broadcast on Channel 249 throughout most of Northern and Central California, this viewing option joins SET and SET Asia channels available in 100 countries including the US (where it launched in 2000 on satellite).

LOS ANGELES: The 67th International Youth Camp was held at Camp Seely, Lake Gregory (Near Lake Arrowhead, CA) from August 12-18 with the culmination by a ceremony at Buena Park Gurdwara on the August 19. As always, IIGS did a stellar job of organizing the Camp. It was attended by a lot of young Sikhs and some parents.

Sunday, August 26th, marks the 78th birthday anniversary of the late Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, also known as Yogi Bhajan.

RIVERSIDE: The 60th anniversary of India's Independence was celebrated Sunday in Riverside's Citrus State Historical Park. The program began at 10 am with the American National Anthem sung by Julius Gill and the India National Anthem was enthusiastically sung by everyone.