Buildings were decorated with colourful lights and earthen lamps dotted houses as people across the country thronged temples and celebrated Diwali with pomp on Monday.
'Ayodhya is a sacred pilgrim spot. Construction of a temple of Lord Ram is a matter of faith for crores of people. And Lord Ram himself is a symbol of faith for crores of people of the country'
As Ayodhya gears up for the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple next month, a set of imposing sun-themed pillars -- 'Surya Stambhs' -- are being installed along a prominent road of the temple town.
Anupam Kher shared a picture with megastar Rajinikanth when they met in Ayodhya.
The main road that leads from Sitapur Road side to the airport has been decked up with several posters carrying images of Prime Minister Modi, and a welcome message.
South African cricketer Keshav Maharaj, who has Indian roots, conveyed his heartfelt wishes ahead of the pran pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram Mandir on Monday.
Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com decodes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech after the Pran Prathistha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodha.
When the temple issue predominated BJP's discourse, its victory margins have been narrow.
The government aims to better its last year's Guinness World Record by lighting 25 lakh diyas on the banks of Saryu river.
Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said the Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive should pass a resolution to demand investigation by these agencies in the land case.
Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera captures the faces from Ayodhya.
The Bombay High Court has upheld the suspension of a Dalit PhD student from the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) for allegedly participating in a politically motivated protest against the central government's policies. The court found that the student's participation in the protest, under the banner of TISS' student organization, brought disrepute to the institute.
30,000 volunteers lit 2.5 million diyas in Ayodhya.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra General Secretary Champat Rai has shared glimpses of the remains of an ancient temple discovered during excavation at the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
On January 16, 2024, devotees in Ayodhya lit the 108-feet incense stick that sent from Gujarat in the presence of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra President Mahant Nrityagopal Das Maharaj.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust reported that a five-foot shivalinga, seven black touchstone pillars, six red sandstone pillars, a 'flower pinnacle' and four broken idols of gods and goddesses were found.
Adityanath alleged that illegal mining, including rampant extraction of sand, coal and forest resources, was flourishing under the protection of the ruling coalition, leaving Jharkhand hollowed out by mafia activities.
A Naga sadhu was killed allegedly by his two disciples on the premises of Ayodhya's famous Hanumangarhi Temple, police said on Thursday.
BJP president Amit Shah accused the Congress of adopting "double standards", saying on one hand Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is on "election tour of temples (mandir ka chunavi daura) in Gujarat, while on the other his party wants the hearing on Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute to be deferred.
The RSS on Sunday said it has not abandoned its commitment to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and sought speeding up of the case proceedings in the Supreme Court.
The Congress on Friday said it will take a decision at an 'appropriate time' whether its senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi will attend the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
While the Congress top brass has declined an invitation to the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit stuck to its plan to offer prayers in the holy city on Makar Sankranti.
This would be a 100 per cent jump over 2024, when the state had logged tourist inflow of 650 million
Raking up the Ayodhya issue, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Saturday said the aim of his life would be achieved the day a grand Ram temple was constructed in this holy city.
Quite a few film folk attended the pran pratishtha ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Indian origin Hindus living in Europe and US are mulling opening overseas chapters of Prayagraj-based 'Ram Naam Bank' in their countries. On the occasion of Ram Navami on Sunday, the idea of opening a Ram Naam Bank was discussed among the devotees in Sweden.
"I have always felt that Lord Ram has been shielding me and my family from all the bad times and I strongly believe that it is him, who chose me for the auspicious task," Yogiraj, who has received effusive praise for his work, told PTI.
The old idol of Ram Lalla, kept in a makeshift shrine, will be placed in front of the new idol which will be consecrated at the temple in Ayodhya on January 22, said Govind Dev Giri, the treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
With the 'bhoomi pujan' for a temple at the spot where many devout Hindus believe Lord Ram was born, priests are enlivened with the hope that their Badhi Devkaali Mandir too will get footfalls from far and wide.
Several seers on Monday came out strongly in support of the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram's idol at the temple in Ayodhya, which is scheduled for January 22, amid criticism of the exercise by some 'shankaracharyas' on the ground that the temple is not fully constructed yet.
Singhal has said this is more important than increasing security.
Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com captures scenes from Ayodhya hours before the pran prathishta ceremony.
Delhi chief minister Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday offered prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya, and said his government will include the temple town of Ayodhya in the Delhi government's free pilgrimage scheme.
A minaret of Khajoor ki Masjid in Gudri Bazaar in the heart of Faizabad city is said to be encroaching on the proposed Ram Path by three metres.
Thousands of Shiv Sainiks are expected to accompany Eknath Shinde on his visit to Ayodhya on Sunday, his first such visit after being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in June last year.
'No COVID-19 positive person will be allowed when the bhoomi pujan happens on August 5 in Prime Minister Modi's presence.'
As Lord Ram's temple is set for a grand opening, the banks of the river in Ayodhya erupted with celebration, reports Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com
As dusk fell, volunteers lit up nearly six lakh diyas lined up on the Saryu riverbank. 'Representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records witnessed this grand festival. With 5,84,372 earthen lamps, the event made the world record,' a state government statement said.
Manish Tripathi who designed the outfit adorned by the Ram Lalla idol in the newly constructed temple in Ayodhya said a divine connection with the deity helped him achieve the task.
The ornaments for the Ram Lalla idol consecrated at the grand Ayodhya temple have been prepared after an extensive research and study of texts such as the Adhyatma Ramayana, Valmiki Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas and the Alavandar Stotram, according to the temple trust.
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