Security was beefed up on Monday a day after a row broke out over the removal of a saffron Hanuman flag from Keragodu village in Mandya, with protests demanding its restoration and the incident sparking a political confrontation between the Congress government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular).
"In Pahalgam, terrorists not only shed the blood of Indians, but also attacked our culture. They tried to divide our society and the biggest thing is that the terrorists have challenged the women power of India," Modi said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged people to celebrate the Hanuman Jayanti festival peacefully, and said while religion is a personal choice, festivities were an occasion for all to join in.
A man playing Lord Hanuman in a 'Ramlila' fell down at the feet of the person portraying Lord Ram for a bit longer, the audience clapped and it seemed a scene well enacted, except that it turned out to be the last performance of the 62-year-old.
The Indian team left for the five-day Asian Athletics Championships on Saturday night from Delhi and Bengaluru.
Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde on Tuesday tore into the Uddhav Thackeray faction for 'abandoning' Hindutva and Bal Thackeray's ideology and even recited the Hanuman Chalisa in Lok Sabha as his party opposed the no-confidence motion against the Modi government.
Internet services were fully restored after 10 days, while the administration relaxed the curfew from 5 am to 8 pm, he said.
Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma was forced to address an event in the dark in his hometown Mau due to a power outage. The incident, which went viral on social media, led to action against four power department officials, including the suspension of two. Sharma was in Mau for a three-day event marking eight years of the BJP government in the state. The power failure lasted for hours, causing inconvenience to the locals and creating an awkward situation for the minister. While some BJP workers alleged that the outage was deliberate, locals praised Sharma for his composure and humility.
Maha Kumbh, which began on January 13, is the world's largest spiritual and cultural gathering, attracting devotees from across the globe. It will continue until Mahashivratri on February 26.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday sought to know from industry what is holding it back from investing in manufacturing, even though foreign investors show confidence in India. Drawing parallel between India Inc and mythological character 'Hanuman', Sitharaman said the government is willing to engage with the industry and take policy action. "This is the time for India... We cannot miss the bus," she added.
Devotees thronged the Khaggu Sarai area in Sambhal on Tuesday to offer prayers to an idol of Lord Hanuman that was discovered in the Bhasma Shankar temple, reopened last week after being shut for 46 years.
If one looks at them in the perspective of diplomacy, what situation they were in, what mission was given to them, how they had handled the situation, he said.
The security personnel conducted a flag march on Thursday in Odisha's violence-hit Sambalpur city, where internet services were suspended and security tightened as the district administration geared up to organise a peaceful Hanuman Jayanti.
Some 43 people have been detained so far for the violence which broke out on Wednesday which also resulted in injuries to at least 10 police personnel including a policewoman.
A row erupted when women bodybuilders posed in front of the image of Lord Hanuman at the venue of the 13th Mister Junior Bodybuilding Competition held in Ratlam on March 4 and 5, after which local Congress leaders sprinkled 'ganga jal' as part of the "purification" of the venue on Monday. They had also recited 'Hanuman Chalisa'.
The Ram temple at Ayodhya will see the installation of a 'Ram Darbar' next month, which will be open for devotees from June 6. The event will also mark the completion of the construction of the temple, which started in 2020. The installation of the Ram Darbar will take place on May 23 and will be a religious ceremony with pujas being held before it is opened to devotees on June 6.
The HAL displayed for the first time the scale model HLFT-42, at the Aero India.
While the saffron camp questioned the administrative capabilities of the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, the Trinamool Congress claimed that BJP leaders "behaved like good boys" this time.
Temples across Maharashtra are increasingly adopting dress codes for visitors, urging devotees to wear modest and traditional attire. While temple trusts argue that these codes maintain sanctity, visitors have mixed reactions. The trend, which started with the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganpati Temple in Mumbai, has spread to other temples, including those in Pune, Ratnagiri, and Ahilyanagar. The move has been welcomed by some, who believe it promotes respect and decorum within religious spaces. However, others argue that it is unnecessary and restrictive. Right-wing organizations are advocating for similar dress codes across all temples in Maharashtra, including prominent state-run temples like the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple.
'They must have thought that this kind of tapori language would please the common man, but they don't suit Hanumanji.'
Political battle over 'Pujari Granthi Samman Yojna' announced by Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal intensified on Tuesday, as he launched registration process for the scheme at a temple in Kashmiri Gate in New Delhi.
The protesting wrestlers and their supporters marched to the Hanuman Temple in New Delhi and will also visit the Bangla Sahib Gurudwara.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
All the issues around which the grand old party wanted to fight the May 10 assembly elections have been put on the backburner as party state president DK Shivakumar in damage control mode took up a temple run.
Also in Hyderabad, fans of actor Prabhas, who plays Lord Ram in Adipurush, beat up a moviegoer outside a theatre for criticising the movie.
A Delhi court refused to order an FIR on a complaint alleging that two paintings by late artist M F Husain hurt religious sentiments, stating that no further investigation was required. The court, however, issued notice to the Delhi Art Gallery for a complaint case hearing on February 12. The paintings, featuring Hindu deities Hanuman and Ganesh, were seized by the police earlier this month following the complaint. The complainant, advocate Amita Sachdeva, argued that the paintings insulted the revered deities and constituted obscenity.
If not in Hindustan, where else will the students recite Hanuman Chalisa, MP Home Minister asked.
He called it the party's attempt at trying to lock up those who worship Hanuman. He claimed that the Congress had earlier locked up Lord Rama and now it wanted to lock up those who chant 'Jai Bajrang Bali' (Hail Hanuman).
Two elderly devotees from Haryana, who had come to pay obeisance at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, died on Monday. Police have denied social media claims that the deaths were caused by a stampede. The devotees, a woman and a man, fainted outside the temple and were rushed to Sri Ram Hospital where they died. Both victims were aged above 60 and are yet to be identified. The exact cause of the deaths is not known but officials suspect that they died of cardiac arrest.
A three-hour heavy downpour accompanied by a dust storm hit Delhi-NCR early morning on Friday, causing flight delays and traffic disruptions as seven people were killed in rain-related incidents across north India.
Following the direction of the Calcutta high court, the West Bengal government on Wednesday decided to deploy paramilitary forces in three districts of Hooghly, Barrackpore and Kolkata during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations, a senior official said.
The central leadership will decide on who it will be, BJP's Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva said.
Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced the "Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana" which promises a monthly allowance of Rs 18,000 for Hindu temple priests and granthis of gurdwaras. This scheme is intended to support an often neglected section of society and registration for the scheme begins tomorrow. Kejriwal will visit the Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place on Tuesday to oversee the registration process for priests there.
Communal violence took place in West Bengal and Bihar during Ram Navami
In a video, an MNS worker, holding the party flag, was seen playing the Hanuman Chalisa on a loudspeaker from a high-rise in Mumbai.
The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha's had given a call for reciting Hanuman Chalisa inside the Shahi Masjid Idgah to mark the anniversary of the Babri Mosque demolition.
'Papaji had a dream one night where he saw my father as Hanuman.'
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.
In the wake of a political row in Maharashtra over the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa, the Shiv Sena on Monday hit out at the BJP and said the Hindutva ideology is a culture and not chaos.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has ridiculed the move as 'hypocrisy' saying Congress leaders had termed Lord Ram as an imaginary character.
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