Describing Bodh Gaya as the "land of enlightenment", Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said his government would develop the site as the spiritual capital for it to serve as a civilisational bond between India and the Buddhist world.
Here's a recap of all the events that shaped the world from the previous week.
'I am more concerned about my future, my family's future. The fate of the Ram temple is neither going to affect my career, nor would I let it be affected'
'The valiant upholder of national honour is strangely silent when African envoys are complaining about the insecurity of blacks in 'tolerant' and 'incredible' India,' says Amulya Ganguli.
"Is it possible for women to trek kilometers through the forest path and stand amongst the packed crowd?"
BJP would observe the next 10 days -- from Sunday to September 17, the birthday of the PM -- as 'seva parva'.
As Melania Trump arrives in Ahmedabad, Sheela Bhatt offers the First Lady Of The United States a primer on one of India's oldest, and historic, cities.
The issue combined with its alliance with anti-Congress parties in 1989 won the BJP 85 seats in Lok Sabha elections against mere two in 1984.
'If the Ram Mandir is made, it is because of the collective strength of our country.'
Modi is the first foreign leader to be invited to the palace by the Crown Prince, who appreciated the role played by Indian workers in the development of UAE as a modern nation, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
There are several other famous temples across India that disallow non-Hindus to enter their place of worship, Rediff.com lists some of them.
The focus on non-issues like 'love jihad' has dragged radicals like Vijaykant Chauhan from the fringes to the mainstream in Uttar Pradesh
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh say they will ensure that the university does not come up at the temple town. Vicky Nanjappa reports
'Her elevation in public life signified the end of parochial extremism and hate on a casteist basis.'
Tired of living under the restive shadow of communalism, Ayodhya residents, be it Vijay Singh or Mohammad Azim, do not want any fresh political trigger for communal disharmony.
'Isn't it in India's long-term interests that Tibet-related issues do not remain a point of discord in Sino-Indian relations?' asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.
These photographs show India in various colours and moods in 2015.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite Indian films of 2021.
The Kerala government dubbed Desai's attempt to visit Sabarimala as a 'conspiracy'.
'Mainly, his strategy to win UP veered around spreading the message of Hindu identity, projecting Modi's leadership, encashing anti-incumbency against the Samajwadi Party and UPA governments in Lucknow and Delhi respectively.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com provides exclusive insights into Amit Shah's strategy that gave Narendra Modi an awesome victory in Uttar Pradesh.
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A country as diverse as India has some of the strangest rituals and traditions. From bizarre ways to cure illnesses to an unusual matrimony to please the rain gods...the things people do here must be seen to be believed.
'The condition in Bengal is such that if you chant Jai Shri Ram, you would be put behind bars
'The Supreme Court should not have come out with this kind of order and in my opinion, the court should correct it.'
'If policy-makers hold the lives of animals to be more significant than the welfare of a human populace, I can't believe that they're likely to do anything progressive for India.'
The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on the Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing, says Tarun Vijay.
Pavan K Varma, diplomat, writer and politician, embarks on a quest about Hinduism's great thinker's stay in Varanasi.
Narendra Modi has a once in a lifetime chance to change and take the RSS-BJP-VHP to a new level. Varanasi is the right place to turn the page on saffron history. By surrendering to the spirit of mystical Varanasi, Modi and his party can change the trajectory of their political journey.
'No one has ever heard of a thulabharam scale collapsing before.' 'I was very fortunate to have escaped with a head injury, which could have been a lot worse if my optic nerve was hit or say if the hook had landed on my neck.'
Here's the full text of President's Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on the first of Budget Session 2022.
'This is an emotional issue and cannot be resolved by law alone.' 'This can be resolved only by creating trust again.' 'So much bloodletting has taken place, there is no point in going on and on.' 'Let us sit together and negotiate'
The babas' vote banks and the politicians' greed for en bloc votes, is the curse of Punjab and Haryana.
'The osmosis between Hinduism and Islam that really gave birth to the Hindustani or Indo-Islamic civilisation was due to the conversation between Muslim mystics and yogis.'
Here's a glimpse of Modi's first day in Israel.
Right in the midst of bustling Kolkata lies what might be the most prominent population of Britons in India.
Siva Sankar looks at S P Balasubrahmanyam's fantastic repertoire.
Slamming Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's demand for restricting Amarnath yatra to 30 days, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on Saturday.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
'The success or otherwise of Modi's foreign policy will largely depend on the equation he is likely to strike with Donald Trump.'
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
