Cognizant Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Cognizant, has extended a financial aid of approximately Rs 40 lakh (Rs 4 million) to Maharashtra-based non-governmental organisations.
All entry points to the riot-ravaged Kandhamal district of Orissa were sealed and security tightened in view of a special prayer meeting to be held later on Friday to pay homage to slain VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati.
Protesters torched 24 houses in Kandhamal on Saturday as the death toll in the week-long communal violence rose to 14, with the recovery of two more bodies in the Orissa district.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was headed for the curfew-bound district to review the situation in the affected areas and the Ashram at Jalespeta, where Vishwa Hindu Parishad Laxamanada Saraswati was gunned down along with three others on August 23, leading to the violence.
Asking the Orissa government to order an expeditious probe into the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in Kandhamal district, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Sunday expressed outrage over the incident.Advani said, "The fact that he was assassinated on the auspicious day of Janmashtami while celebrating the festival, reveals an ominous motive behind the incident, suspected to have been committed by Maoists."
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Orissa government to ensure protection for the Christian community in the state and said withdrawal of paramilitary forces should only take place in co-ordination with the Centre
A Facebook user, who had allegedly posted hate comments against Christianity, was on Tuesday slapped with a case after the community leaders lodged a complaint accusing him of disrupting peace and harmony.
The decision came a day after the Allahabad high court asked the Centre and the state government to file counter affidavits within a week on a petition challenging the decision to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.
Yoga guru Swami Ramdev has criticised religious conversion by inducement and said he would work to build a healthy and stronger India by taking the benefits of yoga and ayurveda to more than six lakh villages in two years.
The next general election must be held by May of 2009, and we already appear to have a clear choice. The National Democratic Alliance announced that L K Advani will be the prime minister should it come to power. Now, there is a fair degree of clarity that Dr Manmohan Singh shall lead the United Progressive Alliance if it should be returned to office. But how about the Third Front? Transparency is no friend of the Third Front!
Patnaik's image of a "clean and honest" politician is widely regarded as the reason why he was able to withstand a spirited challenge thrown by the Bharatiya Janata Party, analysts say of perhaps the lone regional satrap who cannot even properly speak the language of his native state.
A letter under the name of Al Qaeda reached the office of Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, shankaracharya of Puri's Gobardhan Peeth Math, threatening to destroy the math.
While there was no official communication about the closed-door meeting, speculation was rife that the Kanchi seer had been sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with some secret formula for an amicable settlement to the centuries-old dispute that had triggered several incidents of communal violence across the country in the past.
Photographs of the saffron cadres brandishing rifles, swords and even lathis (sticks) in the camps in some Bajrang Dal-managed schools had gone viral on social media and news channels.
The incident comes against the backdrop of a raging debate on lack of scrutiny of the curriculum and content taught in schools.
Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswati is among the accused in the case.
The Fair & Lovely Foundation's Project Saraswati scholarships for women graduates and undergraduates.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Dwarkapeeth Shankaracharya are at loggerheads over the issue of temple construction.
Hindu priest Prakashanand Saraswati, 79, has been charged with 20 counts of indecency with a child and released on a whopping $1 million bail bond by a United States court. Known to his followers as Shree Swamiji, the priest is accused of groping two underage girls on several occasions in the 1990s. The case stems from an investigation that started in May 2007, sealed indictments were issued in April after which an arrest warrant was issued against Saraswati.
Prakashanand Saraswati, 79, founder of the Barsana Dham centre in north Hays County in Texas -- one of the biggest Hindu temples in the US -- was arrested at an airport in Washington, DC last week. Known to his followers as Shiree Swamiji, the priest is accused of groping two underage girls on several occasions in the 1990s.
Balika Saraswati said people who live in India and praise Pakistan should be "hit with shoes" and sent there.
Deputy Chief Minister N China Rajappa and a host of other ministers also took a holy dip on the occasion.
Uniformed policemen of Uttar Pradesh lowered their guns as the last post was sounded by another set of cops as a mark of respect to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who was cremated in Allahabad with state honours on Monday noon.
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 death of Tulsi Ramsay signals the end of an era.'
3 persons were convicted while six others were acquitted by a court in Cuttack in connection with the nun rape case in Odisha's Kandhamal district during the 2008 communal riots.
The event is expected to start on Monday.
The Fair & Lovely Foundation announces the Project Saraswati scholarships for women graduates and undergraduates who have the aptitude and ambition to excel in society.
Government has approved Cairn Energy's one-billion dollar development plans for four of the 18 oil discoveries made by the British firm in its Rajasthan block.
While lashing out at Mamata Banerjee, the prime minister said he was going for a rally in Dum Dum later in the day but was not sure if the West Bengal Chief Minister will allow his helicopter to land.
'Ayodhya will once again become Ram's city.'
Advani's parikarma plans, however, have received support from the RSS, with its leader Suresh Soni saying the Sangh may consider joining him.
The former Miss World has shaped the lives of many.
He said he failed to understand the "process of judgement" of the crowning of the Miss World contest in 1997, in which Diana Hayden had got the award.
The participants lauded the government and the people for ensuring harmony after the apex court verdict on Saturday.
After hearing arguments of both the defence and prosecution, the magistrate at the Sessions Court, Chengalpattu, Akbar Ali, reserved the orders for January 27.
Over 25 lakh people had reached the Sangam Nagari on Monday night itself. They braved the early morning chill and fog to be the earliest to have a holy dip.
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