'Our greatest enemies lie within us Kama -- selfish desires; krodha -- anger; moha -- attachment; lobha -- greed; madha -- pride and matsarya -- envy. Life is a constant battle against these dark forces. An enlightening excerpt from Priya Arora's book, Rama: A Man of Dharma.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appeared to make a pitch in the assembly for a temple where a mosque stands now in Mathura, saying that Krishna Kanhaiya wouldn't have it any other way.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, who turned down the invitation to the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, on Monday said Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray is a victim of betrayal.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the passengers onboard the bus that fell 150 metres into a river in central Nepal were from Jalgaon district in the state as per preliminary information, and efforts are on to bring them back.
'We should not underestimate the power of Hindutva.'
He also accused the Congress of questioning the existence of Ram, evoking a sharp reaction from the Opposition benches.
To me he always symbolised the sincere, confident, face of a Bharat whose rise is unstoppable. Ratan Tata was a Rishi who was unquestioningly trusted by people who never saw him and never met him, asserts Tarun Vijay, the former BJP MP.
Rammu Guru, the head priest of the temple, said, "Sai Baba was being worshiped without proper knowledge, which is forbidden according to scriptures."
Is 2024 a done deal for the BJP? It was a done deal five years ago itself, but it did not have a guarantee.
Now, with the temple consecration, it seems to have acquired a Ramji Ki Guarantee, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
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.
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
Destiny had decided that a grand temple of Lord Ram will be built in Ayodhya and it chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this, BJP stalwart L K Advani has said in an article to be published in a special edition of the Rashtra Dharma magazine next week.
The threats via microblogging platform X came a day after three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats, causing trouble to hundreds of passengers and airline crew.
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned the motive behind the inauguration of the "incomplete" temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS.
The event brings to fruition the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.
The prasad included laddoos, a copy of the Ramcharitmanas and tulsi mala, Chief Minister's Media Advisor Shalabh Mani Tripathi told PTI. He said the first prasad was sent to the Mahaveer's family in Ayodhya.
As a consequence of prominence given to the brutality during those few days, a very important aspect of that episode got almost glossed over. This was the intervention by a very significant section of people who restored faith in humanity, and conveyed the message that only a small section of Indians, that too politically backed, were consumed by anti-Sikh majoritarianism. The overlooked facet of the events of 1984 was the story of significant sections of the city's populace, public figures and nondescript ones, stepping out hand-in-hand, to first stand with little but bravery in hands, in the way of attackers, and thereafter to provide immediate relief to those who lives were uprooted and who lost family members in the violence, recalls Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Authorities said social media posts will be monitored to ensure that no attempt is made to vitiate the atmosphere.
'They are from the north, east, west, south and northeast part of India. They will be the 'mukhya yajmaan' (main hosts)'
Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com captures glimpses of the activity around the Ram temple on his iPhone 14 Pro.
With the Bhoomi Pujan scheduled to be on August 5 and the who's who of Indian politics likely to make a visit in Ayodhya, the district administration has deployed hundreds of people for a beautification drive in the temple town. Roads, walls, streets are being painted, cleaned to give them a new refreshing look. Thousands of municipal workers have been deployed to do a cleanup drive in the town which will see visits of dignitaries on August 5. Take a look.
"I do not think the idea of turning India into a 'Hindu Rashtra' is appropriate," Sen, 90, said.
As BJP leaders went all out to project the event as a moment of national pride, some leaders were directly critical of the ceremony with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, belonging to the Communist Party of India-Marxist, slamming the state's role in the Ram Temple consecration, saying the line that demarcates religion and state seems to be 'getting thinner and thinner'.
Addressing a public rally in Sabroom in poll-bound Tripura, Shah said that the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist had put the Ram Mandir issue in the jurisdiction of the court for long, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for it after the Supreme Court's order.
The BJP had registered a one-sided victory on all the 17 SC-reserved seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in 2019, out of these 17 seats, it lost Nagina and Lalganj seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Even as parleys continue in both states, the grand old party is expected to contest less than 110 seats in the November 20 polls for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly.
Many people have received fake messages related to VIP invitations, donation drives and prasaad of the mega event.
Reacting to the results, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that in the by-elections held on 13 seats in seven states, the people of the country have given their support to the INDIA bloc.
'Those who opposed Ram, none of them was given power. Even all of them together were made number two. God's justice is true and enjoyable'
The BJP enters challenging times where it has been given a task to hold onto the values of Ram in running the country as defined by Narendra Modi in Ayodhya, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Within minutes of Gohil's announcement of the Congress' action, Der called a press conference at his residence, saying he was not aware when he was suspended by the party and announced he will join the BJP at its state headquarters 'Kamalam' in Gandhinagar on Tuesday.
Later, Pratibha Singh said she and her son Vikramaditya Singh have received a joint invitation and she is yet to take a call on attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya on January 22.
'The haste which PM showed for the temple should also be shown for giving house and pension to poor'
Besides, various representatives of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and their allies are also aiding in hand-delivering the invitations.
A general knowledge competition based on the 'Ramayana' will be organised at national and international levels, an official statement on Sunday said quoting the minister.
'Besides Ayodhya, the BJP lost in nine other constituencies with a Ramayana imprint; it tasted success only in Thrissur.' 'In Rameswaram, K Navaskani of the Indian Union Muslim League won with a 44% voteshare in a 84% Hindu constituency.' 'In the 21 seats in the Ayodhya and Varanasi regions, both crucial to the Hindutva project, the BJP won just 7.' 'It won just 3 out of 12 seats around Modi's constituency,' points out Krishna Prasad.
There were also posts on social media claiming that some Indians are cancelling their scheduled trip to the Maldives in view of the row.
The ancient Shiv Mandir is located at Bisrakh village, believed to be the birthplace of Ravana, the antagonist to the hero of Lord Ram in the epic Ramayana.
'Ayodhya will once again become Ram's city.'
RSS to interact with Muslim professionals ahead of Ayodhya verdict.
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