Nirvani Ani Akhada president Mahant Dharmdas said that only the mela officer or the chief minister has the right to announce the "end of the Kumbh Mela".
The number of Padma awardees this year is 89, which includes seven recipients each for Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.
Despite Sharad Pawar's categorical stand, the Maharashtra government has done nothing to ease the suffering of the Bhima Koregaon 16, who have been denied their basic rights to health and to communication with their families while in jail.
Six people have been detained in various raids.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday visited the Sivagiri Mutt, a revered spiritual centre established in Varkala, Kerala by the renowned 20th century saint-social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, and paid respects at his samadhi.
What is particularly worrying is that the vast majority will not have access to testing or even to proper treatment. These cases could have been avoided if the government had shown the political will to do so, observes Rashme Sehgal.
Controversy erupted at the World Cup after the International Cricket Council asked former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to remove the dagger insignia from his wicket-keeping gloves.
Political stalwarts Murli Manohar Joshi, Sharad Pawar and former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma, cricketer Virat Kohli and Carnatic musician K J Yesudas were among the 89 people who were selected for this year's Padma awards.
'The Sabarimala issue is no longer in splendid isolation.'
'Only when they are in a group or in mobs, then they attack.'
The group will not just seek permission for women to offer prayers in the mosques, but also fight for appointing them as 'imams' (clerics).
Archis Mohan tells us how the event came to be celebrated on June 21
Pandit Ravi Shankar was George Harrison's link into the Vedic world.
In the event of a triangular contest the winning party will need about 40 per cent of the votes polled. And it is here that the votes of the numerically smaller communities will come into play.
Rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan who is visiting the Magh Mela, witnessed the Naga babas busy twiddling away on their smartphones, corresponding with their supporters, using modern techniques such as WhatsApp and Facebook.
Tubes gone, Irom Sharmila the brand is dead. As long as she was trying to kill herself, she had value to the cynics trying to build their careers over her fast, says Shekhar Gupta.
PM Modi addressed the Sri Lanka Parliament on Friday.
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