Zafar Ali, the president of the Shahi Jama Masjid committee in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Sunday in connection with the violence that erupted in November 2022 over a court-ordered survey of the mosque. Ali's brother alleged that the arrest was intended to prevent him from submitting his testimony before a judicial commission investigating the violence. The mosque has been at the center of a controversy after a petition claimed it was the site of an ancient Hindu temple. The violence resulted in four deaths and several injuries.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud also sought response of priest Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas by April 30 on the plea of the mosque committee.
An angry mob attempted to set ablaze Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras in a southwestern Pakistan province over alleged desecration of a holy book in Sindh, local media reported on Monday.
By all yardsticks 2024 isn't expected to be like 2014 or 2019. But with the mandir expected to be ready in time for the next Lok Sabha polls, Modi will have a new ally in Ram to see him through, observes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
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.
The bill was defeated by a voice vote on February 23 in the upper house, where the Opposition has a majority, after it was passed by the assembly on February 21.
The ASI is carrying out a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, next to Kashi Vishwanath temple here, to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
The Supreme Court of India has extended its stay on a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque complex in Mathura, which is located adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple. The court deferred the hearing on a plea against the survey to April 1, while the interim order staying the survey will continue to operate. The Hindu side claims that the mosque complex holds signs of a temple that once existed at the site, while the Muslim side contends that the lawsuits filed by the Hindu litigants violate the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991.
The Raja Parba or Raja festival celebrates the enduring spirit of womanhood.
The famous 5th century Pashupatinath Temple Kathmandu has survived the massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake that flattened several World Heritages like iconic Dharhara tower and Darbar Square in Nepal.
The order was passed by Justice Prakash Padia, who was hearing a petition filed by Anjuman Intazamia Masazid, Varanasi.
The petitions filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board had also challenged a Varanasi court order of April 8, 2021 to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that if Hindus are safe, then Muslims are also safe in his state.
The new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, an event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and watched by lakhs of people on television at their homes and in temples across the country.
This is important because he is to be seen as a sure winner before criss-crossing the state to campaign for candidates of the party or an alliance, highlights N Sathiya Moorthy.
Narendra Modi has proved through execution of this event in Ayodhya that amongst all his contemporaries in politics he knows ordinary Indians like none other, notes Sheela Bhatt.
And it's not just the festival Kolkata's beloved tram service is celebrating.
Additional Inspector General Jamil Ahmad said that police has taken the accused in protective custody.
Modi believes that the Congress leadership does not have the political sagacity to undertake a course correction because of its preoccupation about not losing its current gains in the voter base, observes Shekhar Iyer.
The Shiv Sena, a ruling party in Maharashtra, has demanded the removal of the protected monument status from Aurangzeb's tomb in Khultabad. This demand comes after protests and calls for the tomb's demolition from organizations like the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protects the tomb as a monument of national importance. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stated that the state government will protect the tomb but will not allow the glorification of Aurangzeb.
"This entire period is highly sensitive in terms of law and order, healthcare, sanitation, education, and disaster management. Hence, all related departments and district administrations must work with coordination and accountability," Adityanath said, according to an official statement.
In an unusual venue for a Muslim wedding, a couple on Monday married at a temple run in Rampur, Shimla, by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
The court said the modalities of the survey will be discussed at the next hearing on December 18.
The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) on Wednesday urged a Varanasi court not to make its Gyanvapi mosque complex survey report public for at least four more weeks, according to the lawyer for the Hindu side.
A first information report (FIR) was registered against 11 persons on Tuesday night and two of them have been arrested.
Besides the not-so-hidden unease between Modi and Adityanath, Modi chose to address the Lok Sabha to ensure that he could personally claim all the kudos, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Supreme Court of India will hear a plea from the mosque management committee challenging an order rejecting its petition in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh on January 15. The Allahabad High Court had rejected the mosque committee's plea, stating that the religious character of the Shahi Idgah mosque needed to be determined. The case involves claims that the mosque was built after the demolition of a temple, a claim disputed by the mosque committee. The Supreme Court will now decide on the maintainability of the mosque committee's plea.
The court fixed December 11 as the next date of hearing in the matter, Yadav said.
A Hindu trust has changed the name of a temple, proposed to be the world's largest, in Bihar's East Champaran district from Viraat Angkor Wat Ram Temple to Viraat Ramayan Mandir in view of a controversy.
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The notice further highlights that the Congress party is a secular-based party, which respects every religion and society in India equally.
The police said it was not a case of hate crime.
'They are from the north, east, west, south and northeast part of India. They will be the 'mukhya yajmaan' (main hosts)'
More than 30,000 devotees thronged the Arulmigu Sri Raja Kaliamman Temple better known as the "glass temple" in Johor, whose structure is 90 per cent made of glass.
...the DMK chief minister's campaign -- which includes criticism of the BJP's 'pro-Hindutva, anti-Tamil, anti-federal' policies and building on his own government's social welfare programmes targeting especially women and youth -- appeals to Tamil Nadu's voters in next year's assembly election, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The bodies of four Indians, who were among 22 people killed in the Tara Air plane crash in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district, were cremated on Thursday at the sacred Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu.
Five members of the Muslim side also participated in the survey. Its advocate Tauheed Khan said advocates of the Intezamia Masjid Committee Akhlaq and Mumtaz accompanied the survey team.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will hear the plea of Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee.
Jitendra Singh Visen, president of Vishwa Vaidik Sanatan Sangh, however, refused to divulge the reason behind the decision.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged a 'well-planned' conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, where a team of Congress MPs led by Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit on December 4 amid restrictions imposed by the district administration.