'It was really difficult for Laluji to expel his son from the party and sever family ties with him.'
More than 3,000 gifts for Lord Ram from Sita's birthplace in Janakpur in Nepal have arrived in Ayodhya.
After dating for almost four years, Rakul Singh and Jackky Bhagnani are set to get married on February 21.
In a statement, he said it is his belief that the Shri Ram Mandir will represent India as a strong, prosperous, peaceful and harmonious nation with justice for all and exclusion of none to truly usher in 'Ram Rajya, the epitome of good governance'.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said his party was fighting the 'Bharatiya Janata Party, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Indian state itself', triggering a row with the BJP alleging that everything the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha does or says is in the direction of breaking India and dividing the society.
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.
The eagerness of locals and tourists in Ayodhya seems to have peaked with Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi reiterating that Wednesday will be the last day of hearings in the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid land dispute case.
'In Independent India's politics you will not find any leader of a political party who has not contested elections or not held a powerful post.' 'It was only Balasaheb who never contested elections or held a post.' On the occasion of Balasaheb Thackeray's 99th birth anniversary, close aide Subhash Desai recalls vignettes about the Shiv Sena founder.
The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
As dusk fell, volunteers lit up nearly six lakh diyas lined up on the Saryu riverbank. 'Representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records witnessed this grand festival. With 5,84,372 earthen lamps, the event made the world record,' a state government statement said.
With the 'bhoomi pujan' for a temple at the spot where many devout Hindus believe Lord Ram was born, priests are enlivened with the hope that their Badhi Devkaali Mandir too will get footfalls from far and wide.
The three-day celebrations began on Saturday with a recital of Yajurveda and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performing an 'abhishek' on the Ram Lalla idol.
The posters shared by Australia Today, read "Canada investigates the role of India in June 18th assassination".
The Ram Mandir being constructed at Ayodhya is a temple of unity of the country and people from different faiths support it, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said in New Delhi on Sunday.
You can e-mail your pictures to getahead@rediff.co.in (My Lord Ganesha Pix) with your name, location, details about your Lord Ganesha and what this festival means to you. We will publish the best entries right here on Rediff.com.
Asked about the BJP's claim that its performance in southern states will be exemplary, Tharoor said, "The claim of an 'exemplary' performance is yet another product of the BJP's propaganda mill."
Occasional lovers' tiffs have marked the history of RSS-BJP relations. To think that Nagpur will bring about any change in leadership is a misreading of both its intent and its power, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Construction work for Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya would start "soon" and be "completed during this tenure" of the present National Democratic Alliance government, controversial Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi said on Friday.
An FIR has been lodged against 10 named and 200 unidentified individuals in connection with a clash and stone-pelting incident during a religious procession in Jharkhand's Hazaribag. The clash, involving two communities, broke out over the playing of an objectionable song. Police fired two rounds into the air to control the situation. The incident led to uproarious scenes in the Jharkhand Assembly with BJP MLAs demanding action against the perpetrators.
While the country is gripped by Ram Mandir frenzy, Danish Husain -- without shouting from the rooftops -- silently staged his opinion with this play on one of India's best-known poets, observes Neeta Kolhatkar.
'Does a secular nation not believe in its ancestry? The Constitution has a photo of Ram also.'
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is visiting Karnataka, said he intended to shut all the madrasas (Muslim religious schools) in his state, as they were not needed in "New India".
The BJP may be in the Opposition in many states, but nowhere is it as divided as it is in Karnataka, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Members from the Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal too were part of the group, their participation seen as another indication that the party is all set to switch sides from the SP to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi reacted to the court acquitting them in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Modi claimed the Congress, when in power at the Centre, had drawn up plans to allocate 15 percent of the total budget to minorities.
The right-wing outfit also accused the Centre of working on a deal to abandon the Kashi and Mathura temple issue.
Kangana Ranaut spent Gandhi Jayanti visiting a museum in New Delhi and seeing an exhibition with a difference.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain was replying to questions by mediapersons on what the party had to say on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's comment that the Ram Mandir movement had helped BJP but the Sangh was not looking for help from anyone to run its movement.
The BJP's year has been marked by a remarkable ability to adapt its message and methods, rebounding from Lok Sabha election setbacks with improbable wins in Haryana and Maharashtra. The party's campaign machine, drawing on the strength of the RSS and its affiliates, has demonstrated a capacity to shift focus and respond to regional dynamics. While the BJP faces challenges, its adaptability and Modi's unchallenged leadership suggest a continued strong presence on the Indian political landscape.
'Just this year alone, close to 40 major transactions involving Bollywood stars have been recorded.'
The Delhi assembly results have underscored that a section of Arvind Kejriwal's committed supporters abandoned him because they were let down by his refusal to take a stand on crucial issues that impinge on the security and Constitutionally enshrined rights of the people, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Can ordinary citizens counter this backward march? Can peace activists ensure that the two communities retain their bonds? Do they have a choice, asks Jyoti Punwani.
The decision will be taken by the trust in consultation with Shankaracharya Vijayendra Saraswati and other seers, trust functionaries said.
Neha is off to the Maldives... Parineeti tucks in momos... Esha goes to Venice...
Despite the Hindutva issue failing to cut much ice during the Lok Sabha elections, senior BJP leader L K Advani has renewed his commitment to build a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
'BJP sarkaar 5 saal mein Ram Mandir bhi nahi bana paayi. Ab Ram Mandir nahi toh Modi nahi'
Modi should reveal his 'Mann Ki Baat' on the contentious issue of Ram temple in Ayodhya, said Sena in Saamna
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.
Gujarat was labelled Hindutva's crucible and Modi was to become the chief 'chemist'. A revealing political saga excerpted from Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's The Demolition, the Verdict and the Temple: The Definitive Book on the Ram Mandir Project.
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