Undeterred by the explosions, the devout went back to the mosque about one-and-half hours later to offer prayer.
Two damaged idols were found inside the well of the Bhasma Shankar temple in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was reopened last week after being shut for 46 years. The temple, which houses an idol of Lord Hanuman and a Shivling, was reopened on December 13 after authorities stumbled upon the covered structure during an anti-encroachment drive. The idols, a Lakshmi idol and a Parvati idol, were found in the well, which authorities had planned to reopen. The district administration has written to the Archaeological Survey of India for carbon dating of the temple, including the well.
Holi was celebrated with pomp and splendor across India on Friday, with people soaking in the festivities by smearing 'gulaal' on each other and exchanging greetings and sweets. Homes and streets wore a colourful look as the revellers splashed colours and feasted on traditional delicacies. Public transport did not ply in the morning in most major cities while metro services started functioning from noon. As Holi coincided with the second Friday prayers during the holy Islamic month of Ramzan, security -- including increased patrolling and picketing -- was beefed up in several states. In Delhi, more than 25,000 security personnel were deployed. Police closely monitored about 300 sensitive areas with CCTV cameras and drones.
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.
Will Hindus not vote for a Muslim candidate? Is that why such few Muslims are given tickets? Two constituencies in Mumbai break prevalent stereotypes about these difficult questions.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday offered prayers at the historic Jama Masjid and visited the Red Fort in Old Delhi area.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with the five other Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh will visit violence-hit Sambhal on Wednesday, party's state unit chief Ajay Rai said.
Electricity Department has imposed a fine of Rs 1.91 crore on Lok Sabha MP from Sambhal Zia Ur Rehman and also disconnected the electricity supply to his residence for alleged power theft at his residence, an official said on Friday.
The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions challenging the validity of certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits lawsuits to reclaim a place of worship or change its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947. The pleas, including one filed by Ashwini Upadhyay, argue that these provisions violate the right to judicial remedy and create an arbitrary cut-off date. The matter will be heard in the backdrop of several ongoing cases related to places of worship, including the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura. The Muslim side has cited the 1991 law to argue that such suits are not maintainable. The Supreme Court had previously sought the Centre's response to Upadhyay's petition, which alleged that the law creates an "arbitrary and irrational retrospective cut-off date" for maintaining the character of places of worship.
Two days after violence broke out during a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, life is gradually returning to normal with schools reopening and shops resuming operations. Internet services remain suspended and authorities continue to monitor the situation closely with restrictions in place on entry of outsiders and public representatives. The area around the Shahi Jama Masjid remains deserted, while the police investigate the violence and make arrests.
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.
'Unless Justice Chandrachud's judgment is (over)turned, there is no end to it.'
The 2025 Sony World Photography Awards has announced its National and Regional Award winners, celebrating talent from 56 countries.
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.
Families of the four men killed in the Sunday violence in Sambhal are now forced to contend with the double tragedy of death and poverty, reliant as they were on the frugal income the four once brought.
The mosque's management committee chief, however, claimed that the Noori Masjid in Lalauli town was built in 1839 while the road around it came up only in 1956, and said they have already moved the Allahabad high court which will take up the petition on December 12.
While there is no need for any panic, B Raman states that any casual approach to the firing outside the Jama Masjid in New Delhi would be unwise.
Police said prima facie, the two incidents were not related. "We are investigating the matter. We are checking whether it has any link," a senior police official said.
A Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vijender Jain, however, said that it would decide the fate of the existing unauthorised structure.
Commencing hearing on pleas challenging the constitutionality of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to reply to cross-pleas against or seeking implementation of statute.
'Delhi's streets were not alleys but an artist's canvas,' the eminent poet Mir Taqi Mir noted more than 150 years ago. Syed Firdaus Ashraf savours the sights and cuisine of the national capital.
Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar were chargesheeted by the Delhi police in a court on Thursday in connection with the September 2010 Jama Masjid terror attack case where a bomb fitted in a car had exploded.
Despite claims made by senior police officials of the Delhi police that they would be able to catch the culprits of Sunday's shooting incident near gate number 3 of Jama Masjid in which two foreign tourists were injured, sources in the intelligence agencies feel it would take sometime before a break through is achieved.
The Supreme Court's 2023 order refusing to stay a scientific survey at the Gyanvapi Mosque complex has sparked claims over several other disputed places of worship across India. This has led to several court cases, including one in Mathura where a survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque complex was ordered, and another in Ajmer where a claim was made that a Shiva temple existed within the dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti. The article also highlights a dispute over the Bhojshala in Madhya Pradesh, which Hindus consider a temple and Muslims consider a mosque. The Supreme Court's order has reignited debates about the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits the change of character of religious places as they existed on August 15, 1947.
A body representing the 'Khadims' of the Ajmer dargah has condemned a plea in a local court that seeks to declare the shrine of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz as a temple, saying right-wing forces were trying to "isolate" Muslims and "disrupt" communal harmony in the country.
Visitors to shrines were being searched thoroughly.
Police have said the intention of the blasts was to cause panic.
The firing incident in New Delhi and the explosion of a car should serve as a warning to security agencies, says Wilson John.
The e-mail was sent using a mobile phone. The sim card as well as the phone were purchased using a fake address and name, from Mumbai.
"I raised the issue of attack on tourist bus in which two tourists were badly injured. Chidambaram told me that while he does not rule out the possibility of a terror attack but it would be too premature to say anything about it," Advani told rediff.com after attending the function.
Suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Fasih Mahmood, who was deported from Saudi Arabia last year, was on Saturday chargesheeted for terror acts in connection with the 2010 Jama Masjid attack.
Miffed at not being able to meet Jama Masjid's Shahi Imam Bukhari, a 32-year-old man allegedly threw a bottle of kerosene at the cleric on Sunday in an attempt to set him ablaze.
The server from which an e-mail was sent a few hours after Sunday's Jama Masjid firing incident has been traced to Norway, Home Minister P Chidambaram said.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Sunday led a special prayer for world peace at the historic Jama Masjid in Delhi and said it is regrettable that Muslims are being targeted in the name of terrorism. The Dalai Lama, who was in Delhi to participate in an international Anti-Terrorism conference, was accompanied by several foreign dignitaries and people of different faiths.
Were the Chinnaswamy stadium blasts in Bengaluru and the Jama Masjid firing in Delhi in any way connected? It has been ascertained that the terror incidents are inter linked to the extent that it was the Indian Mujahideen which carried out the attack, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
The jama'ath of a mosque in Kerala has allegedly opposed the participation of people belonging to the lower strata of the Muslim community in their general meeting, drawing sharp criticism from progressive organisations in the society.
Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue an order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which were set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31 in Sambhal.
Foreigners wearing mini skirts and entering Jama Masjid prompted Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhaktal and his aides to commit a terror strike at the historic mosque in September 2010, the Delhi police told a court.
