A school owned by a BJP MLA in Thane advised students not to bring root vegetables in lunchboxes during the Jain Paryushan festival, sparking a controversy. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) objected, while the MLA clarified it was a request, not a mandatory order, aimed at respecting religious sentiments and promoting healthy eating.
As per the plea, the image of eggs shown in the augmented reality game appear in places of worship of different religious groups.
Members of the Muslim community in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district said they would offer their first Friday namaz at home and wear black bands after the court setback in the Bhojshala case.
Vantara will join the Maharashtra government's petition in the Supreme Court to seek the return of elephant Madhuri to a monastery in Kolhapur, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
The bench, which asked Jain to withdraw the plea filed against a Delhi high court order that dismissed a writ petition challenging the registration and recognition of the AIMIM by the Election Commission (EC), granted liberty to the petitioner to file a writ petition, wherein he may make a wider prayer for reforms in respect of political parties on different counts.
Music composer Vishal Dadlani has been booked by Haryana police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with his sarcastic tweet on Jain monk Tarun Sagar.
The music composer came under sharp criticism for his "sarcastic" tweet on Jain monk Tarun Sagar.
Jains fear Sammed Shikharji will be defiled by the influx of tourists.
A Supreme Court order relocating an elephant to a care facility in Vantara has sparked public outrage in Maharashtra by putting the state government in a difficult position over issues of animal welfare and public sentiment.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday defended its directive requiring eateries along the kanwar yatra route to display the names of their owners and staff, saying the idea was to bring in transparency, avoid 'potential confusion' and ensure a peaceful yatra.
Dadlani had tweeted a photograph of the spiritual leader, saying he was making a "monkery of democracy".
The monk asked him to seek forgiveness from the Jain community for hurting their sentiments.
The accused has since been arrested and police have been deployed at his house to prevent any flare-ups.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
Deora, while campaigning in Zaveri Bazar area on April 4, had made an appeal to the Jain community to not vote for the Shiv Sena as it had hurt their religious sentiments earlier.
While acknowledging that they needed strong allies for a chance in the assembly polls, AIADMK cadres seemingly prefer actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to the BJP, owing to the latter's 'communal agenda' and consequent hardline Hindutva image, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
'You cannot take offence at everything,' the bench said.
As per statistics available with the Mumbai police, only 1 per cent of the temples in the metropolis have obtained permission to use loudspeakers in their premises, an official said.
Mathura has a prominent mosque -- the Shahi Idgah -- located next to a temple, believed to be the site of the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The mosque has been at the centre of a legal battle for years with Hindu groups claiming that the Idgah was built on land where Lord Krishna was born.
Congress local leader Rashid Khan on Tuesday claimed that prayers were earlier held at the Charminar, an Archeological Survey of India protected site, however, Muslims were debarred from offering prayers at the site two decades ago.
The move was "per se illegal for violating the concept of freedom of speech and expression enumerated in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and the right to freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution", it said.
'The government is going to introduce legislation that would make it easy for Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Zoroastrians, Sikhs and Jains to migrate legally to India.' 'But looking at that list, my entire well-meaning question, as may be obvious, is: What about Muslims? They seem to have been specifically left out of this formulation,' says Aakar Patel.
The right to life and health of the public at large cannot be sacrificed at the altar of a right to celebrate a festival
'I do hope the Patel family sues the hell out of the state of Alabama, and I hope the Hindu American Foundation and other community organisations are helping with legal aid and monetary support. For, there is reason to believe that it is religious and racial bias that led to the incident: In other words, a hate crime. There is no reason to suffer that silently.'
The Assam assembly on Friday passed a bill to regulate the slaughter, consumption and transportation of cattle, notwithstanding the walkout staged by the opposition parties in protest against the government's refusal to forward the legislation to a select committee.
'Politics and religion is a dangerous mix in India and anybody even remotely seen crossing the line is taken to task.'
There was no response from the government but it has taken note of the demand, Sangma said.
Struggling to gain political traction on issues of corruption, the West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party is shifting its focus to emotive topics such as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in a bid to achieve its target of securing 35 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state.
'No lives should be taken during Paryushan.' 'When fish is taken out from the sea it is dead, hence no ban on it.' 'They hang the meat in shops and those who are fasting are pained by this sight.'
The decision to repeal the Act was taken at a late-night cabinet meeting on Friday as it is an obsolete pre-Independence Act of the British for the then province of Assam, the CM said.
"Indians see religious tolerance as a central part of who they are as a nation. Across the major religious groups, most people say it is very important to respect all religions to be 'truly Indian'.
The plea argued that any changes such as inclusion of same sex marriage in the Customary Law are much easier, convenient and practical in marriages which are a type of contract between the partners as they are very remotely based on religion and more generic in nature.
The governor's move has been welcomed by a large segment of the Indian-American community who were opposing the bill.
'If you want to keep a cow and do business you can keep it in your compound or your home, but not tie them up at public places.' Taking up this problem by its horns, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is planning to take action against all those who illegally tie cows to the footpaths and turn it into a business. The civic body has proposed to increase the penalty for tethering cows, bulls and horses to poles on roads and footpaths to Rs 10,000 from Rs 2,500. The proposal follows a request by Matunga corporator Nehal Shah, who said that at various places -- temples, footpaths and roadside corners -- cows are tied up to poles and passers-by pay owners to feed the animal. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, she says that tying up animals on the streets is tantamount to cruelty and that the steep fines will act as a deterrent.
District Judge AK Vishvesha turned down the Hindu petitioners' plea seeking scientific investigation and carbon dating of the 'shivling', citing Supreme Court directives for its safe keeping so that no tampering can be done.
'Education played the most significant role in entrenchment of Hindutva ideology in coastal Karnataka.' 'Teachers of most of the schools, junior colleges, degree colleges and universities are active agents of Hindutva propaganda.'
Eighty per cent agree with the idea that "when there are few jobs, men should have more rights to a job than women."
Ravi Shastri said he is confident that the government has thought through the decision to introduce the law.
'In a country like India, it is clear that respecting religions -- in politics or in the kitchen -- is disastrous,' says Amberish K Diwanji.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday demanded a referendum by an "impartial organisation" like the United Nation to see how many people were in the favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
