Khan, a local politician and social worker, has been openly pro-temple during the bitter temple-mosque dispute. But there are other signs that his community wants to move on, beyond the dispute that many Hindus and Muslims feel held Ayodhya back.
The former Union minister said the question that was posed to the country then and faced it today was whether Muslims in India felt accepted, cherished and celebrated.
The meeting came a day after the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, set up recently to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, met for the first time on Wednesday.
The prime minister will also visit the Hanuman Garhi temple and the buildings on roads leading to it too are being spruced up.
The excitement on the foundation laying ceremony of Ram Temple reverberated across the country as Ram bhakts gathered to to celebrate the groundbreaking occasion. People across the country were seen chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' and waving saffron flags. Fireworks were also burst and sweets were distributed to mark the day.
The event brings to fruition the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.
Top India batsman Shikhar Dhawan saw it as a historic day of celebration, while former cricketer Mohammed Kaif reminded the country of its culture of peaceful coexistence as sportspersons reacted to the bhoomi pujan ceremony for a temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
Chief Minister Thackeray will definitely go for the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony, because the Shiv Sena shares sentimental, religious and national ties with this issue," Raut said.
For relatives of many kar sevaks who were killed in the Sabarmati Express coach fire incident in Gujarat's Godhra in 2002, the 'bhoomi pujan' for a Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday brought a sense of closure to the pains of losing their near and dear ones for the cause of the temple.
VHP national working president Alok Kumar also rejected questions about the muhurta of the event, saying the 'best advice' has been taken including from the Head of the Jyotish Department of the Banaras Hindu University on timing of the ceremony.
Prior to the function, the prime minister will take part in 'pooja' and 'darshan' at Hanumangarhi, a statement by the PMO said on Tuesday.
Interestingly, the choice of August 5 as the day of the bhoomi pujan coincides with the abolition of Kashmir's special status on the same day a year ago. Perhaps the RSS-BJP wants August 5 to be remembered as the date on which the foundation stone of their cherished Hindu rashtra was laid, notes Amulya Ganguli.
'All this (temple's construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities'
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In Washington, VHP members took out a tableau truck on Tuesday with the digital image of Ram temple, and went around the Capitol Hill with chanting of slogans "Jai Shree Ram" and moving around the city later.
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The state government decided to rename the area at Girgaum Chowpatty where Tilak was cremated, as 'Swaraj Bhoomi'.
Talking to reporters in Pune, Swami Govind Devgiri Maharaj also said all chief ministers must be invited for the ceremony. "The PM has agreed to come to Ayodhya on August 5 for the 'bhoomi pujan' of Ram temple. He will be there for one-and-a-half hours.
As the evening progressed, Ram bhajans echoed at virtually each and every street of the temple town and earthen lamps lined the streets from Naya Ghat and Ram ki Paidhi to Hanumangarhi, giving children a perfect selfie background.
Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal has criticised Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for questioning the judiciary over the timeline for the president to take decisions, calling it "unconstitutional " and a lowering of the dignity of the chair. Sibal asserted that Dhankhar's remarks are not neutral and amount to an attack on the judiciary by the executive. He also pointed out that the president acts on the aid and advice of the council of ministers, and therefore, the president's power cannot be curtailed. Sibal urged Dhankhar to seek a review of the judiciary's decision or an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court if he has problems with it. He also questioned why Dhankhar only focuses on actions taken during Congress governments and not after 2014.
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Invitations are being extended to several people who have been part of this temple movement including BJP leaders L K Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, Mishra said. Kameshwar Chaupal, another trustee of the temple, said top leaders of the RSS including its chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi are also being invited for the event along with VHP's working president Alok Kumar.
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The director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, V Kamakoti, has sparked controversy after making a remark about the "medicinal value" of cow urine, or "gomutra." Kamakoti, while speaking at an event celebrating Maatu Pongal (a festival dedicated to cows and bulls), cited an anecdote about a sanyasi who was cured of a fever by consuming gomutra. He also claimed that gomutra has "anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and digestive properties." The remark has been widely condemned by rationalist organizations, political leaders, and medical professionals who have criticized Kamakoti's statements as "pseudoscience" and "regressive." The controversy highlights the ongoing debate in India around traditional beliefs and scientific evidence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday vehemently defended Home Minister Amit Shah against the Congress' accusation that he insulted B.R. Ambedkar in a Rajya Sabha speech. Modi asserted that Shah had actually exposed the Congress' "dark history of insulting" the architect of the Indian Constitution. The prime minister went on to detail a litany of actions by the Congress party that he claimed demonstrated their disrespect for Ambedkar, including denying him a Bharat Ratna and preventing his portrait from being displayed in Parliament's Central Hall. He also criticized the Congress for failing to address the plight of marginalized communities during their time in power. Modi highlighted the efforts of his government in implementing Ambedkar's vision and honoring his legacy.
Bhoomi's blood-splattering, bone-crunching vigour is as unwelcome as the rest of this ghastly movie, feels Sukanya Verma.
'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ashish Shelar attacked the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi ahead of his upcoming visit to Maharashtra and sought an apology for his remarks on 'reservation ' and 'Veer Savarkar'.
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the validity of land acquisition for the integrated development of the Yamuna Expressway and its adjoining areas in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh.
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The Congress maintained that the state government had not ordered any such inquiry and it could be an internal matter of the CID. A top CID official has also said that no formal inquiry was ordered into the incident.
"It is the greatness of Ayodhya that the mosques surrounding the Ram temple are giving a strong message of communal harmony to the rest of the world," Haji Asad Ahmad, the corporator of the Ram Kot ward, told PTI.
'Today, if someone spits on us, we are ready to kill them, but these men, without raising a hand, led the country to freedom and that's easier said than done.;
Amid escalating tensions over the Sinjauli mosque in Shimla, a Muslim welfare committee on Thursday urged the municipal commissioner to seal the unauthorised portion and also offered to demolish it in accordance with a court order.
Sandeep Singh's directorial debut Safed saw a beautiful musical night, featuring performances from Sonu Nigam and Rekha Bhardwaj among others.
Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal structure in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration.
