A purported video of three monks being attacked by a mob in West Bengal's Purulia over suspicion that they were 'kidnappers in disguise' has triggered a political row, with opposition Bharatiya Janata Party alleging collapse of law and order in the state.
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No official estimate is available about the number of sadhvis and sanyaasins at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, but there is no dearth of women who have left their families behind and 'surrendered themselves to God's service'.
'Releasing dam water for a holy bath is the most unholiest thing. No religion propagates polluting or squandering resources.' Professor Hiralal Desarda explains why he went to court against release of water for the Shahi Snan at the Kumbh Mela in Nashik.
With the surge in tourist footfalls to Varanasi in 2022, it almost rivals the arrivals in Agra and puts it way ahead of Prayagraj and Ayodhya.
Rediff.com takes a look at some stunning pictures of the previous Kumbh Mela festivities.
Besides the national capital, polling for the sixth round of the marathon seven-phase elections will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.
The tableau also depicts the first-ever operational high-speed regional rapid transit system (RRTS) of the country. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the priority section of its first corridor in October.
Simhastha Kumbh Mela, the largest congregation of faith in the world, began on Tuesday with the traditional ceremony of hoisting of flags and thousands of people taking a holy dip in Kushawart and Ramkund in Godavari river in the two towns.
The 10-day long event, called Mahamaham, will take place in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu.
Capturing the shades of India on Monday, February 20, 2023.
To conserve the environment, the Akhara Council has decided to put a ban on the use of plastic items and loudspeakers at the venue of the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Nashik.
It was an emotional reunion of Kashmiri Pandits visiting the valley for the first time since their migration about two decades ago, and local Muslims on the occasion of annual Khir Bhawani mela at Tulmulla in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
Maha Kumbh Mela, that began at Sangam in Allahabad on the Makar Sankranti day on Monday, is expected to attract nearly 11 crore people, setting a new record for world's largest gathering. Sharat Pradhan reports from the evnie of the mega 55-day festival.
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Nashik, the venue of the mela, has been experiencing incessant rains since July 26.
The NDA government will be following the footsteps of its predecessor, the UPA, which had introduced the concept of "loan mela" to boost credit by directing banks to lend to people through public meetings.
Further, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the banks have sufficient liquidity, and efforts are being made to ensure that due payments are released to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector by large corporates.
A camp set up at Kumbh Mela ground for Asaram Bapu's discourse was vandalised while several outfits have opposed the proposed visit of the self-styled godman, who has drawn flak for his remarks on the Delhi gang rape victim, at the religious congregation.
'Nitish Kumar has no vision for the people of the state. He also had no justifiable reason for ditching us and going back to the BJP-led NDA'
The Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair is the second largest congregation of mankind after the holy Kumbha Mela at Prayag.
The push to develop Ayodhya as a tourism centre, accompanied by large-scale infrastructure projects, comes on the back of years of limited income growth and tourist inflows.
"Seven people have been killed and 90 injured in and around the Mela area," district collector Kavindra Kiyawat told PTI. The second Shahi-Snan is due on May 9.
Four people were reportedly killed after a stampede broke out during a procession at the Kumbh Mela's Juna Akhada in Haridwar on Wednesday morning.It has been reported that the stampede took place following a brawl between the priests and the devotees over the removal of a vehicle.There are reports that two women were among the devotees killed in the ensuing stampede and several others were injured. The stampede took place on the last day of the Shahi Snan.
At least seven pilgrims were killed and nine injured, four of them seriously, when a stampede broke out at the Gangasagar mela in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal early on Thursday.
Rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan who is visiting the Magh Mela, witnessed the Naga babas busy twiddling away on their smartphones, corresponding with their supporters, using modern techniques such as WhatsApp and Facebook.
Thousands of sadhus and sants from across India have congregated in Haridwar to attend the Purna Kumbh Mela at Haridwar.Many of them participated in the Chaitra Purnima Snan at Har ki Pauri, the main ghaat in Haridwar, on Tuesday.
Over 20 fire tenders fought the flames for over two hours, sources said.
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Giving the chilling details of the incident, Guwahati Police Commissioner Diganta Bora said the beheaded body of a 64-year-old woman was found covered with a blanket on the staircase of the Joy Durga Mandir in the precincts of the Kamakhya Temple on June 19, 2019 hours after she was killed.
His comments come against the backdrop of a campaign by Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, which has claimed that applying for CAA would turn legal citizens into foreigners.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will arrive in Mumbai on Tuesday to inaugurate the Swadeshi Mela-2003 at the sprawling Somaiya Trust grounds.\n\n\n\n
From melodrama to mockery (remember Amar and Prem's phony separated-at-Kumbh Mela reunion in a gag of Andaz Apna Apna?), there are numerous instances of its presence.
All you wanted to know about the Kumbh Mela
The Naga Sadhus at the Kumbh Mela happen to be the most low-profile and reclusive bunch of saints at the religious gathering.
The prime minister took no names but made an apparent reference to reports about "rate card" for different government jobs in the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal and prevalence of "cut money" in the state.
Draped in red and saffron robes, flaunting long untidy hair, beard and some long nails too, these tantriks (magicians) are standing out among the teeming devotees.
Coming after a gap of 12 years, the royal bath was accompanied by frenzied chants by Naga sadhus belonging to ten akharas (centres of congregation).
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