Voting for the Delhi Assembly elections began on Wednesday, with prominent leaders like President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi casting their ballots early in the day. Other notable figures who participated in the electoral process included Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, and Delhi Chief Electoral Officer R Alice Vaz. The election is a triangular contest between the ruling AAP, BJP, and Congress, with the AAP aiming for a third consecutive term. Polling is underway at 13,766 stations across Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies to decide the fate of 699 candidates. The results will be announced on February 8.
'Her grandfather left the village more than 70 years ago. None of her family is here. Nobody from her gothram is here. The people who knew her grandfather are long dead. I cannot understand why people keep coming here and asking us questions about her.'
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi was on Wednesday suspended from the Maharashtra legislative assembly till the ongoing budget session ends on March 26, over his remarks eulogizing Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
While 'Ram' and 'Sita' were the preferred names for many, a baby boy born to a Muslim family in the district hospital in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, was named Ram Rahim by his grandmother.
This is the story of a man who fought racism and casteism throughout his life to become a professor of Bharata Natyam at the premier centre for performing arts in India, the Kerala Kalamandalam.
The boy, who was barely two days old when he was found abandoned in Hamirpur, has defied all odds to not only get a new lease of life, but also a new name -- Krishna -- and most recently, a temporary abode, the government-run children's home in Prayagraj.
The construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is likely to be completed months before the deadline, an office bearer of the Sriram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said.
Rajinikanth, who had been admitted to Chennai's Apollo Hospital on September 20 after complaining of ill health, was discharged on Thursday night.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has vowed to reclaim every inch of land taken under the pretext of Waqf, stating that the state government will actively investigate all "occupied" land. He also criticized the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its leaders, alleging that they failed to uphold the principles of socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia. Adityanath praised the Maha Kumbh, highlighting its significance as a symbol of India's spiritual heritage and national unity.
Making an early morning trip to the holiest Sikh shrine, Dr Singh accompanied by his wife Gurusharan reached the complex at 6 am and spent an hour there.
After being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, Trump started his inaugural address with a sentence that echoed Modi's coinage some years ago, notes Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Will Hindus not vote for a Muslim candidate? Is that why such few Muslims are given tickets? Two constituencies in Mumbai break prevalent stereotypes about these difficult questions.
Around 2,500 personnel from police and paramilitary have been deployed in the district this year a day before the yatra, police said.
'My father died in the liberation struggle. Bangladesh is our Motherland. This is home,' says Monindra Kumar Nath, a Hindu who has lived his 74 years in Dhaka.
In doing so, it further cemented the community's determination to support the opposition. But at the same time, it consolidated its Hindu vote bank like never before.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
After several women were prevented from entering the Sabarimala shrine after the Supreme Court verdict upheld their right to do so, Bindu and Kanakadurga managed the seemingly impossible. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com finds out how they did it.
This would be the first Ram Navami since the consecration of the Ram idol at the new temple, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22. The system was tested by the scientists on Tuesday.
The construction of the temple is expected to be completed by December 2023 and Lord Ram is expected to be seated in the sanctum sanctorum by the Makar Sankranti festival in January 2024.
'Kamala likes south Indian food.' 'She likes a special rasam which her husband also likes, she likes coconut rice, she likes puri aloo...'
'If someone fiddles us on our religion then we will pay back five times more to that person. We have proved that time and again.'
India summoned the Pakistani charge d'affaires in New Delhi and lodged a firm protest, expressing grave concerns at this reprehensible incident and the continued attacks on the freedom of religion of the minority communities and their places of religious worship in Pakistan.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
What some of our leaders were up to this week.
The efforts drew the spontaneous appreciation of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The child was diagnosed with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, which was triggered by an allergic reaction to pigeon proteins, and required immediate medical attention, Dr Dhiren Gupta, co-director of the pediatric intensive care unit, said.
Established in 1977, The Hindu Temple Society of North America Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam, popularly known as the Ganesh temple, is regarded as the first and oldest Hindu temple in North America.
After attending the pran pratishtha ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, film folk were spotted at the Mumbai airport, as they made their way home.
To me he always symbolised the sincere, confident, face of a Bharat whose rise is unstoppable. Ratan Tata was a Rishi who was unquestioningly trusted by people who never saw him and never met him, asserts Tarun Vijay, the former BJP MP.
Alia headed for Ayodhya immediately after gracing an awards ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she was honoured.
'The inauguration of the Ram temple was the pinnacle of the BJP's religious politics.' 'Politics is dynamic. What goes up has to come down.'
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed nominations to contest from the valley for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, aiming to ensure the return and rehabilitation of their fellow community members, whose number run up to 3 lakh.
While the country awaits for the grand pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya's temple, on the sixth day of the ceremony, the Ram Lalla idol was bathed with water from 114 Kalash (vases), each containing specially medicated liquids.
The specter of how the Munambam issue was exploited during the November by-elections is proof of the price Kerala is paying for its emergent politics. Controversies become the stuff of slow-burn and brinkmanship. The former promises mileage; the latter searches for an advantage, notes Shyam G Menon.
'Our border guarding forces have also been instructed to be exceptionally alert in view of this complex situation.'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday visited the Tirupati temple. He went barefoot to the temple, as per rituals, and performed circumambulations (walking around the temple) twice.Steadfastly sticking to the rituals, the PM took a bath and removed his shoes and socks before entering the temple. He performed the circumambulation of the holy dwajathsthambam (flag post) twice.
'When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to become its leader.' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com profiles Dr Leo Varadkar who will step down as Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) next week.
Addressing a health card distribution ceremony in Peshawar, Chief Minister Khan said the government has issued orders to rebuild the temple. The attack on the temple in Terri village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) Karak district on Wednesday drew strong condemnation from human rights activists and the minority Hindu community leaders.
'When the bombing happened in the Taj Mahal hotel in 2008, that was a very sad moment, but he really took care of the people, took care of everybody and that was when you saw some of his best moments.' 'There are some things which we will never forget. That is when the best of a person comes out.'
Videos on social media showed protesters climbing a statue of Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a 1971 Liberation War hero, in Dhaka and smashing it with hammers.
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