Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked his cabinet colleagues not to visit Haridwar during the Maha Kumbh mela. This prime minister's request was based on a plea from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhrial that VVIP visits during the mela should be avoided as the district administration found it difficult to make protocol arrangements on those days.
Over two crore Hindu devotees took their cherished holy dip at the 'Sangam' in Allahabad on Sunday on 'Mauni Amavasya', widely believed to be the most auspicious of all days at the 55-day long Kumbh Mela.
The hanging of Afzal Guru has prompted the Uttar Pradesh government to beef up security in and around the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, where nearly two crore people are expected to be converging over the next 24 hours to take a dip on what is considered the 'most auspicious' day of the 55-day-long festival that began on January 14.
From melodrama to mockery (remember Amar and Prem's phony separated-at-Kumbh Mela reunion in a gag of Andaz Apna Apna?), there are numerous instances of its presence.
The Naga Sadhus at the Kumbh Mela happen to be the most low-profile and reclusive bunch of saints at the religious gathering.
An air ambulance ofIndian Air Force successfully evacuated eight persons, injured in a fire at Kumbh Mela, for emergency medical attention in the national capital.
Coming after a gap of 12 years, the royal bath was accompanied by frenzied chants by Naga sadhus belonging to ten akharas (centres of congregation).
During this day, elated Hindu monks and pilgrims take holy dip in Ganges to wash away their sins and make offerings to the gods.
Over 70 lakh people took dip at the holy 'Sangam' on the last of the 'Shahi Snan' during the on-going Kumbh mela in Allahabad on Friday.
Rediff.com takes a look at some stunning pictures of the previous Kumbh Mela festivities.
Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi and Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde performed the dhwajarohan (flag-hoisting) ceremony at Ramkunda on the banks of Godavari River.
"Seven people have been killed and 90 injured in and around the Mela area," district collector Kavindra Kiyawat told PTI. The second Shahi-Snan is due on May 9.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday sought the stand of the Centre and city government on a public interest litigation seeking a direction to the authorities to use the "proper meaning" of the term "religion' and not use it as a synonym of "dharma" in official documents.
Lost siblings in the Kumbh Mela were once a recurrent theme in Hindi films, but in these modern times, mobile phones are coming to the rescue of many who get separated from friends or families in the world's largest religious gathering. Almost 10 times a minute, the public address system at Hardiwar sets cracking about Raj from Jammu or Koki from Haryana, who are lost or have lost someone close in the sea of humanity.But in modern times, technology helps pilgrims keep track.
A bonfire lit by some devotees to beat the cold could have spread to bushes at the foot of the Kailash hill, atop which several VIPs, sadhus and sants were staying in tents.
Modi said that for nearly one and a half years he has been putting in place details of new schemes to give new pace to the country's development and curb poverty.
Raja Ram Tiwari has helped as many as ten lakh lost people find their family members in the confusion and clamour of such holy gatherings, says Sharat Pradhan
BJP sources suggest that the upcoming elections will likely revolve around the renewed enthusiasm for the temple unless another theme with religious and nationalist undertones emerges.
In the wake of mounting pressure from Sangh outfits, the MP government may take a fresh decision on the fate of the marketing contract with a Lintas subsidiary for Simhastha Kumbh Mela in Ujjain.
Chief Minister-designate Mohan Yadav, an OBC leader and three-time Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, started his political career when he was a student and rose to become higher education minister of Madhya Pradesh where he announced to make Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas as an optional subject in colleges in 2021.
Sadhus of various akhadas of the Vaishnava sect reached Ramkund in a royal procession carrying golden idols of deities, traditional flags and spears with silver rods.
Lakhs of devotees thronged the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati on Sunday at Allahabad for a holy dip on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivaratri, bringing the Maha Kumbh to a close.
By any standards, the crowd was far bigger than what the festival has witnessed ever since it began on January 3.
A total of about seven crore Hindus are expected to converge in Allahabad.
The woman, Trikal Bhavanta, the Pari Akhara head, who entered into a samadhi on Tuesday for not getting facilities at par with male seers in the Mela, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of disrupting peace.
As the temple is inaugurated, unfortunately for Advani but unsurprisingly for the rest of us, the architect of the party's rise will not lead the ceremony and claim credit for his achievement, notes Aakar Patel.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
This statue, which is 28-foot tall including the pedestal, was made using the ancient lost-wax technique of metal casting that was used for making the famed Chola bronzes, sources said.
"The Central government thought that the COVID-19 pandemic has ended and they were also applauded by the World Economic Forum. However, they didn't know that there would come a stage when there would be no testing and there would be no oxygen," said the senior Congress leader.
Reuters's Indian Photojournalists Adnan Abidi, Amit Dave, Danish Siddiqui and Sanna Irshad Mattoo were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography at Columbia University in Manhattan, October 20, 2022.
The exhibition of artefacts -- in physical and digital formats -- will be done on the same floor level where the leaders' meetings will take place, and they will walk through this 'cultural corridor' while moving into and out of the summit room, official sources said.
Once Ram temple is built it will become a 'ghoshit (declared) Hindu Rashtra', a VHP leader told the gathering.
Made of silver with a coat of gold, the historical sceptre will be installed near the chair of the Lok Sabha Speaker on May 28, the same day the new Parliament building will be dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Traditionally the biggest of all the sacred bathing days in the 50-day long Mela, Mauni Amavasya this time holds greater significance as it falls on a Monday and that too during the Kumbh - a rather rare combination on many accounts.
The Uttarakhand high court on Monday stayed the Chardham Yatra reversing a cabinet decision to open it partially for residents of three districts from July 1.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said 166 criminals were killed and 4,453 injured in encounters with the Uttar Pradesh police in the past five years, highlighting his government's zero-tolerance policy on crime.
Announcing this in Dehradun on Thursday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said conducting the yatra amid the raging pandemic is not possible.
Yadav had recently visited Haridwar where the Kumbh Mela is underway and met various religious leaders, including Akhara Parishad chairman Mahant Narendra Giri who had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier.
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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh executive head Bhaiyyaji Joshi has expressed confidence that the Ram temple will be constructed in Ayodhya by the time of next 'Kumbh'.
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