As Ayodhya readies itself for the glittering, much-awaited consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir on January 22, and as millions of pilgrims and devotees pour into the holy city for the momentous event, companies are rushing to do their bit and be a part of the mega celebrations. Some are offering a part of their profits as donations, telcos are beefing up the number of cellular towers to ensure better connectivity, and there are those distributing jalebis and food platters.
Sooraj, hailing from Elanthur in Pathanamthitta district, was one of the main accused in the incident which took place on Tuesday when the hill shrine was opened for the two-day-long "Chithira Atta Thirunal," a special ritual.
Sivadasan's family has demanded a probe into his death.
Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
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.
Three pilgrims died en route to the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the death toll in the ongoing yatra to 88, officials said on Thursday.
While the Congress top brass has declined an invitation to the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit stuck to its plan to offer prayers in the holy city on Makar Sankranti.
On the Opposition's poll promise of statehood restoration, Shah said, "I want to ask Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi, who is going to restore the statehood. You cannot give it back. Why are you misleading the public?"
The train connects Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru.
The Amarnath Yatra has been suspended from Jammu due to inclement weather conditions and no fresh batch was allowed to proceed from Jammu to the base camps of the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.
The Supreme Court on Monday imposed an interim stay on directives passed by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display names of owners.
19 per cent of all travel in India (by bus, train or air) was pilgrimage or religious travel (possibly the single largest after business and family-related travel), discovers Ambi Parameswaran.
The Pandits congratulated the hajis for completing the pilgrimage and sought their blessings. They offered roses to the pilgrims.
Rediff.com's Utkarsh Mishra visits the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, which is fast being turned into another mandir-masjid dispute.
Glimpses of the Pratham Pooja at the Amarnath shrine in Kashmir's Anantnag district.
Amidst Covid scare, hundreds of pilgrims paid obeisance at the famous Ragnya Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Friday for the annual Kheer Bhawani mela, praying for peace in the union territory and for the pandemic to end.
Steep yourself in the atmosphere of some of most revered Hindu temples in India.
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Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday offered prayers at the historic 13th century dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in this pilgrim town after which a $1 million donation for the shrine was announced.
Mukeshbhai donated Rs 1.51 crore (Rs 15 million) to the temple's annadanam fund, the first devotee to donate such a large sum.
However, the usual rush of the devotees was missing due to the recent targeted killings in the valley.
A 12-hour hartal is being observed against the preventive detention of a Hindu Aikya Vedi leader.
The temple, which opened for the monthly puja on Friday evening, will allow pilgrims to offer prayers till October 21.
A tab was kept on visiting pilgrims through CCTV cameras to ensure there was no violation of COVID-19 protocol.
A high-powered probe committee set up by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the site and appealed to the general public to share videos, statements or any other evidence about the incident.
'Not only are Muslim homes and shops being bulldozed, but the cops are filing random FIRs even against people who died two-three years ago, against those who have moved to neighbouring states since almost two years to work there.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi, a project which is spread over five lakh square feet and connects the temple premises to the River Ganga besides providing several facilities to devotees.
In the first week, there shall be a cap of 2,000 pilgrims each day, of which 1,900 would be from Jammu and Kashmir and the remaining 100 from outside.
It is the first annual pilgrimage season at the hill temple after the coronavirus outbreak and authorities have decided to restrict the number of devotees to 1,000 per day and to 2,000 on weekends.
Glimpses of Lord Shiva being worshipped on Mahashivratri.
Elaborate security arrangements were also made at the temples in view of the rush of pilgrims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his greetings to people on the beginning of Navratri and wished them happiness, peace and prosperity.
Citing the examples of Kashi Vishwanath temple, Ujjain and Ayodhya, where major reconstruction works have been carried out in recent years, Modi attributed the "years of neglect" to a "slave mentality".
This past week, His Holiness has been in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, the Union Territory where Indian and Chinese soldiers have been in a standoff for two years, since April 2020.
The BJP/Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and right wing outfits have made it clear that they would not allow any woman in the 10-50 age group to offer prayers at the shrine, where the deity is 'Naishtika Brahmachari' (perennial celibate).
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The annual Amarnath yatra to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on June 28 and culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raskha Bandhan festival on August 22, officials said.
Taking to Twitter, Modi said that the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project will add to Kashi's spiritual vibrancy.
Microsoft's Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella, in communication with employees, said the company will align its cost structure with revenue and customer demand.
Modi said India's next general elections will be held in 2024 and he invited G20 delegates to visit the country to witness the "festival of democracy" in the "mother of democracy".
