Remarks by Congress and NCP (SP) leaders in Maharashtra suggesting the term 'Sanatani terrorist' have sparked a controversy, drawing strong criticism from the BJP, which accuses them of 'Hindu hatred' and 'appeasement politics'.
Unidentified persons vandalised the office of investor Sushil Kedia in Mumbai after he challenged MNS chief Raj Thackeray to make him learn Marathi.
Jahan claimed she was returning home from her son's school on Wednesday when hundreds of local residents in Golabari area surrounded and intimidated her for attending the recital in a hijab.
The assault allegedly took place over playing Hanuman chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn in praise of lord Hanuman, at a shop in central Bengaluru area.
Students at Udai Pratap College in Varanasi, India, protested demanding the removal of a mosque located on the campus. The protest came after tensions arose when a section of students recited Hanuman Chalisa near the mosque while prayers were being offered. The college administration has denied claims by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board that the mosque and surrounding land are Waqf property, stating that the mosque was built illegally. The college administration has also accused the mosque of stealing electricity.
Amid escalating tensions at the Uday Pratap College in Varanasi over a mosque located on its premises, police on Thursday restricted outsiders' entry to the campus, allowing only students with valid identity cards.
Right-wing organizations, including Bajrang Dal and All India Karni Sena, held a 'shuddhikaran' (purification) ceremony and chanted Hanuman chalisa at a long-abandoned Shiva temple in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The temple, located in a Muslim-majority locality, was "reopened" by members of these groups. The ceremony took place on Wednesday night amid tight security measures. Local residents, including a former Aligarh Mayor, have voiced concerns over the state of the temple and called for its restoration.
Weeks after violent clashes over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, the district administration in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has launched a campaign against encroachments and illegal power theft in the area around the historic mosque. The administration began removing encroachments on Sunday morning, focusing on clearing drains outside houses and shops. The operation uncovered an illegal stockpile of domestic gas cylinders in a house, and the electricity department unearthed illegal connections in four mosques and a madrasa. The Bhasma Shankar temple, which was reopened by the district administration, has resumed regular worship.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
Sharma told PTI that dozens of members from right-wing organisations, including the Bajrang Dal and the VHP, participated in the demonstration, chanting the Hanuman Chalisa.
Devotees thronged the Khaggu Sarai area in Sambhal on Tuesday to offer prayers to an idol of Lord Hanuman that was discovered in the Bhasma Shankar temple, reopened last week after being shut for 46 years.
Gambhir emphasised the rarity and significance of reaching such a state.
Several Muslim families in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, have adopted Hindu surnames such as Dubey, Pandey, and Tiwari, claiming their ancestors were Brahmins. This follows a campaign by the Vishal Bharat Sansthan, which aims to "reconnect people with their roots" and reduce religious conflict. The campaign has sparked controversy, with some accusing families of converting their religion. The local police are investigating the situation and have deployed extra personnel in the area as a preventive measure.
As the US gets tougher with visas, the prayers of US-bound devotees in India are getting more fervent, and their purse strings looser. Called Visa Hanuman temples (there are half a dozen all over India), some of them ask for a 'fee'.
He said the then prime minister Manmohan Singh had given a speech in which he had said Muslims have the first right to the country's resources.
A row erupted when women bodybuilders posed in front of the image of Lord Hanuman at the venue of the 13th Mister Junior Bodybuilding Competition held in Ratlam on March 4 and 5, after which local Congress leaders sprinkled 'ganga jal' as part of the "purification" of the venue on Monday. They had also recited 'Hanuman Chalisa'.
Hindu outfits that took out a march in Kullu demanding the demolition of the mosque were involved in a scuffle with the police on Monday.
Amravati MLA Ravi Rana has claimed Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray head and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will join the Modi government in 15 days after the Lok Sabha election results come out on Tuesday.
The protestors chanted 'Jai Shri Ram', recited the Hanuman Chalisa and displayed placards reading "Qutub Minar should be called Vishnu Stambha", after the Hindu God Vishnu.
Alleging a "pattern" of triggering communal riots and winning elections, Raut said this will break the country into pieces.
The police sought that the couple's bail be cancelled on the ground that they had allegedly violated one of the conditions imposed by the special court while granting them bail last week.
Heavy police security was deployed in Mumbai in the wake of Thackeray's call for "silencing" loudspeakers atop mosques.
The British prime minister, who is of Indian origin, has often emphasised his Hindu roots and said he is proud of it.
Athawale said nobody can do any dadagiri at the mosques.
Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal structure in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration.
Addressing a public rally in Aurangabad late in the evening, in which he was termed as 'Hindu Jananayak', the MNS chief said if Uttar Pradesh government could remove the loudspeakers, what was stopping the Maharashtra government, led by his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray, from doing so.
In the letter sent on Sunday, the Lok Sabha MP from Amravati has demanded strict action against Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay PandeY.
Loudspeakers will be removed from masjids, Bal Thackeray said in the old clip.
Raj has set May 4 as the deadline to remove loudspeakers from mosques.
The BMC notice to the couple recently arrested over the Hanuman Chalisa row was issued under Section 488 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, according to which, officials can visit any building and ascertain whether any illegal alterations have been undertaken.
The couple had approached the HC seeking that the FIR registered against them by the Khar police in Mumbai on the charge of deterring a police officer from discharging her official duties be quashed.
From the time he first rose to prominence during the movement against the then UPA government, Arvind Kejriwal has regularly grabbed headlines for his surprise moves and decisions. Here are 10 such instances.
Meanwhile, many BJP members chanted 'Hanuman Chalisa' for several minutes, awaiting resumption of the House.
Couples -- young and old -- celebrated Valentine's Day on Tuesday with flowers and gifts even as a few right-wing outfits played spoilsport in some parts of the country.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has appealed to his party workers to not perform 'maha aarti' on May 3, the day of Eid ul Fitr and Akshaya Tritiya.
Addressing BJP's rally in Mumbai, Fadnavis also claimed that he was in Badaun jail for 18 days while doing 'kar seva' for the Ram temple construction purpose.
Expressing anguish over the move to recite "Hanuman chalisa" at an AIDS awareness programme, the Bombay high court has asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Nagpur Municipal Corporation if, according to it, "India is for Hindus only".
A controversy has erupted over namaaz allegedly being offered during a cultural event at a private school in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, a claim rejected by officials.
Kejriwal alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party has been mocking him ever since he recited the 'Hanuman Chalisa' on a TV channel.
Some have been cherry-picked to assert the BJP's supremacy over its allies or, significantly, its leaders who charted an independent course in the recent past.
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