Over 50 per cent of all traffic to Jeddah consists pilgrims headed to Mecca and Medina.
The Amarnath yatra is not only a great bondage between the Hindu pilgrims and local Muslims who facilitate the yatra, but has also helped maintained a deep relationship in thought and aspiration between Kashmir and other parts of India that has existed for thousands of years.
When driver Rehan agreed to take four youths around the city for a 'quick pilgrimage' in his vehicle, little did he know that they were on a dangerous mission to attack the makeshift temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said it won't issue any clarification on the July 22 order as "We have said what needed to be said in our July 22 order. Can't force anyone to disclose names."
The Supreme Court on Tuesday frowned on the Centre's practise of "politicising" the annual Haj pilgrimage by permitting official delegations to accompany the pilgrims, for which the government offers huge subsidy, saying, "It's a bad religious practice."
Meanwhile, sources said that the Delhi Police may not visit Kejriwal's residence on Thursday to question his parents.
Doctors have completely stopped sedating Paris St Germain goalkeeper Sergio Rico, who had been in a medically-induced coma for 10 days.
The incident occurred when devotees were scrambling to gain entry into Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Samadhi Mandir in Alandi town, 22 km from Pune city, during the ceremonial procession which is part of the annual Ashadhi Ekadashi pilgrimage to Pandharpur.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to visit religious places in Pakistan, a move that could be of political significance for the two countries. Officials are considering a visit by Dr Singh to Pakistan in November, mirroring Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's Ajmer Sharif pilgrimage.
Work on in full swing for Jain pilgrimage
Paudwal praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said she was happy to join the party led by him.
Gadkari and Singh on Thursday came together to release a book on late Congress leader Ramkrishna More at Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune.
Ahead of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dongargarh, a popular pilgrimage spot, and met Acharya Vidyasagar Maharaj on November 5 and took his blessings.
The accident took place at the Tungi-Morh in the Chowki Chora belt of the district, the officials said, adding that the bus rolled around 150 feet down into the gorge.
Jesuralem is one of the international destinations for Christians in Meghalaya for its religious importance.
Singh, who got bail in the alleged excise policy scam from the Supreme Court on Tuesday, also asked the BJP if the prime minister will join the probe if police from the opposition-ruled Bengal, Punjab and Tamil Nadu knocked at his doors.
Passport agents and tour operators have told the police that many of the accused in the July 11 serial train blasts case had obtained "pilgrimage visas" for Iran, ostensibly for visting Shia religious sites in that country.
China on Monday opened the second land crossing in Tibet via Nathu La to allow the first batch of Indian pilgrims undertaking the arduous Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra, in the latest confidence-building measure between the two neighbours.
Glimpses from the annual Haj pilgrimage outside Mecca.
What some of our leaders were up to on Tuesday.
Online travel portals are flooded with flight and train bookings, hotels teeming with requests for accommodation, and spiritual merchandise on e-commerce platforms is selling like hotcakes. As the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 draws near, Indians across the country are putting their travelling boots on as the temple frenzy catches on. India's largest travel technology (traveltech) platform MakeMyTrip (MMT) has witnessed a substantial four-fold increase in bookings for Ayodhya compared to the previous year.
Women Of My Billion is stark and disturbing, but at the end of it Srishti Bakshi is still able to say, 'My India is not beyond repair', observes Deepa Gahlot.
A dozen teams of the NDRF will be deployed to ensure the safety of the people who embark on the yatra from July 1, they added.
Besides, Rs 360 crore will be allocated for Chief Ministers' Special Development Programme and Minorities Colony Development Programme in the year, he said.
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Exactly 50 years ago, the first Indian team, led by Manmohan Singh Kohli, reached the summit of Mount Everest. As Kohli and his team are felicitated to mark the anniversary, he reminisces on the event that continues to inspire generations of Indian mountaineers. Payal Mohanka reports
The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday as a batch of about 2,750 pilgrims left the base camp in Nunwan, Jammu-Kashmir, for the cave shrine housing the naturally formed ice-lingam in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
Film folk celebrate Mother's Day with white parties and heartfelt notes.
Citing the example of last year, he said many pilgrims who came for the yatra from rural areas of Uttar Pradesh had to return from Rishikesh and Haridwar as they had not registered in advance for it.
Jains fear Sammed Shikharji will be defiled by the influx of tourists.
The Save Sharda Committee (SSC) in Bengaluru on Friday sought the help of the Indian government to remove the 'encroachment by the Pakistan Army' on the Sharda temple premises in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), in order to pave way for its restoration.
The go-ahead given to prosecute Arundhati Roy would be seen by supporters of freedom of speech as an announcement that the Right-Wing doesn't feel humbled by the results of the elections, argues Shyam G Menon.
While the TN Government Railway Police sleuths are questioning five passengers, the commissioner of railway safety commenced inquiry over the mishap in Madurai.
In his absence, the party stares at uncertainty as many of its other senior leaders are either in jail or in political obscurity.
In an interview with Newsweek magazine of the US, Modi said for India, the relationship with China is significant.
'Allhamdulillah May Allah accept our prayers ...', Sania posted on her Facebook page along with photographs of son Izhan and her family.
'The Constitution of India defeated the BJP.'
The NCM had said earlier that it had received various representations from the Jain community regarding the conversion of Jain pilgrimage site Shri Sammed Shikharji Hill into an eco-tourism hub by the Jharkhand government and the central dispensation.
The BJP has been talking about Ram Rajya for years now. I have asked many a right winger what that means, but they cannot say beyond good government, notes A Ganesh Nadar.
Tokyo -- the songs Japan, Love In Tokyo and Sayonara from the 1966 Hindi film automatically pop up in the mind -- is buzzing and crowded like any other metropolis, discovers Deepa Gahlot. The modern apartment blocks are built cheek by jowl, so close together that one can open the window and borrow sugar from the neighbour in the next building. One of the fears of the Indian traveller is the unavailability of vegetarian food. Every city and town in Japan has an array of Indian restaurants that serve every variety of cuisine, right from Gujarati to Punjabi to Andhra and Kerala meals.
