Hindu women plaintiffs who have filed a civil suit before the Varanasi court seeking declaration and asserting the right to darshan and worship Hindu deities whose idols are located on an outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi has referred to stand taken by the British government in a 1936 suit seeking it to be declared as Waqf property.
'Muslims are depressed and disillusioned.' 'The safety valve is that we still have a multicultural mosaic in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.'
'The BJP should identify those involved in the protest against singing Gandhiji's bhajan and take action against them.' 'Such people should be removed from the party because they harm the BJP's image.'
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
Narsinghanand, notorious for making intemperate remarks against Muslims, stoked yet another controversy with his comment that "50 per cent of Hindus will convert" in 20 years if a Muslim becomes the prime minister of India.
'Initially, I didn't think much of him. But when I walked alongside him, I realized he has what it takes.'
'We can't sit back clutching our memories of the riots. The country, the future of our children are more important.' Jyoti Punwani reports on an unusual election meeting in Mumbai.
"It is necessary for all to oppose this together," RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambekar said.
'The Hindu quest for political power in terms of a Hindu identity can pose a problem for tolerance, as the alignment of religion with power often does.'
In a heart-warming tale of communal amity, a Muslim youth performed 'kanyadan' of a tribal Hindu girl at a village ravaged during the 2002 post-Godhra riots even as her own relatives stayed away.
The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra indicates a tactical course correction post the Lok Sabha debacle, with factors like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's active role in the poll campaign, Ladki Bahin scheme, rise in women voting, and subtle message of Hindutva playing a crucial role.
The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board has, in its opposition to the move, submitted an affidavit to the apex court stating that though triple talaq is "undesirable", it is "permissible" in Islam.
A Muslim man was gunned down in broad daylight in Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's hometown Etawah on Sunday. Adnan, 22, was allegedly killed for daring to marry a Hindu girl. Kirti, 21, who had married Adnan after years of courtship, squarely blamed the registrar of marriages -- the local city magistrate Surendra Kumar Sharma -- for the incident.
Police have detained social activist Sandeep Pandey and three others ahead of a foot march planned on Monday to express solidarity with Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven of her family members murdered during the 2002 Gujarat riots, police said.
Initially, banners were placed during the annual Kaup Marigudi festival in Udupi district, stating that non-Hindu vendors and traders should not be allowed entry.
'In his first speech in Parliament, Modi spoke about the slavery of 1,400 years, and though he didn't say in so many words, the meaning was that he had come to re-establish a Hindu Rashtra.'
A Varanasi court on Thursday rejected the Gyanvapi masjid committee's objection to a petition seeking the right to worship a 'Shivling' claimed to have been found in the mosque complex, and fixed December 2 for hearing the case.
'He is the only president, the only American politician, who had the guts to stand with Hindus.'
The security has been stepped up in view of the Friday prayers to be offered by the Muslim community members at the site, a police official said.
'I am a lover of Hinduism, a lover of Jainism, Buddhism and other religions that were born in India, but we need to protect the rights of all people there. Whether they're Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Jains'
As Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeks another shot at power in his first ever assembly election from Gorakhpur Urban, also underway is a silent re-branding of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a radical outfit he established in 2002 when he was a parliamentarian, Sai Manish reports.
'This is not about Hindu-Muslim. Why should I go to vandals?'
Police have defended in the Gujarat High Court the public flogging of some people from a minority community following stone pelting in the state's Kheda district last year saying the persons were 'cornered' to maintain peace and it was not done with any criminal intent.
President-elect Donald Trump urged his supporters to donate to Democrats to help them overcome the 'financial strain' in the aftermath of the general elections.
'Hindutva will not win any elections. Hindutva as a political plank never works.'
Replying to the motion, he said the crime rate has not increased if the population growth is taken into account.
Gauri wasn't very happy about living the Bombay life. With no friends in the city, she wanted her husband's films to flop so they could go back home, to Delhi.
Ali Asghar Zaveri, a Muslim businessman who had purchased a sprawling bungalow in Bhavnagar's Krishna Nagar in 2014, has finally let go off his prized property, under duress from the VHP. Prasanna Zore reports on how the VHP went about its task.
At least 12 people have been detained as police have formed a Special Investigation Team, while deputy commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan has assured the protesters that stern action will be taken against the accused.
'Now that an extremist organisation like the PFI has been banned, it is time for the leaders to reach out to the minority community.' 'You need to have co-ordination between the State and the social fabric to send out the message that it is not directed at the community, and they should not feel vulnerable.'
Two Hindu organisations, Hindu Sena and Hindu Front for Justice, have moved the Supreme Court seeking to intervene as parties in a pending plea in which notices have been issued to the Centre and others on allegations of hate speeches made against the Muslim community at Haridwar and New Delhi.
'...or go to jail.' 'The government is getting them silenced.'
Pooja Oad was said to have been shot in the middle of the street after she put up resistance to the attackers in Rohi, Sukkur.
'This chauvinistic attitude, what they call nationalism in the name of religion, is sad.' 'It is a tragic state that we are all in currently.'
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
Over 100 writers, translators, and publishers have signed an open letter accusing the "JCB Prize for Literature" of hypocrisy, highlighting the British bulldozer manufacturer's role in demolitions across India and Palestine. They argue that the JCB's involvement in these projects contradicts its purported support for marginalized and diverse writers. The letter was released ahead of the announcement of the JCB Prize for Literature winners on November 23.
'In India, the establishment not only endorses, but many a times instigates anti-Muslim hatred.'
A four-member team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted a survey of the recently-discovered Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, five pilgrimage sites, and 19 wells in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India. The survey followed the discovery of three damaged idols inside a well of the Bhasma Shankar temple, which was reopened after being shut for 46 years. The Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, also known as the Bhasma Shankar temple, was reopened on December 13 after authorities found the covered structure during an anti-encroachment drive. The temple houses an idol of Lord Hanuman and a Shivling and had remained locked since 1978. The district administration has requested carbon dating of the temple, including the well, from the ASI. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has restrained courts across India from entertaining new lawsuits or passing any orders in pending ones seeking to reclaim religious places, especially mosques and dargahs, until further notice. This action halts proceedings in approximately 18 lawsuits filed by Hindu parties seeking surveys to determine the original religious character of 10 mosques, including the Gyanvapi at Varanasi, the Shahi Idgah Masjid at Mathura, and the Shahi Jama Masjid at Sambhal, where four individuals died in clashes. The Supreme Court will examine the legality, scope, and boundaries of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits the conversion of places of worship and ensures the preservation of their religious character as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The particular channel on messaging platform Telegram was flagged on social media by users who pointed out that it was targeting Hindu women, sharing their photos and abusing them.
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