It was complained that the special financial assistance to the Haj pilgrims from the tax payers' money was discriminatory as no such similar facilities were being extended to Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs and other communities.
This year's yatra will begin on a happy note as the ice lingam has already started forming naturally inside the cave, nearly 13000 ft above sea level.
Nearly 125 people from Maharashtra and Telangana are stranded in Nepal after a high-magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayan nation.
'If the series of instances in the recent past are taken into account -- guns falling silent on the border; vastly reduced cross-border infiltration into J&K; positive approach to meeting Indian demands on the Kartarpur Sahib pilgrimage; resumption of overflight for Indian aircraft; visible disinterest in rhetoric and so on -- Commander Jadhav may see better days in a conceivable future,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Here's a look at some deadly hajj-related incidents in the recent past.
Congress is the only other horse in the race for national power, never mind how distant. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah know better than to take the Congress lightly, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The encounter began in the afternoon at a village in Kulgam as Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Central Reserve Police Force and the army, were carrying out operations to clear a national highway ahead of the Amarnath Yatra, beginning June 28, a senior police official said.
The previous state government had spent around Rs 1,300 crore for the Maha Kumbh, which was held in 2013.
In wake of the last year's attack, special gadgets and new and better technology have been used to further strengthen the security.
With the MeT department warning of heavy showers at various places in Uttarakhand on Friday and major rivers in spate, the Chardham yatra has been suspended even as the Centre decided to provide two Mi-17 helicopters to the state to deal with any emergency.
Opposition leaders believe this entire plan has been put in place to ensure that Mamata Banerjee is kept out of office in West Bengal.
'Stories can change people.' 'But there's a story we have been afraid to see and hear about ourselves in this industry.' 'A story about which voices we respect and elevate, and which we tune out.' 'Story about who's offered a seat at the table and who is kept out of the rooms where the decisions are made.'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said there was no increased threat perception to this year's Amarnath yatra compared to previous years and fears of attack as reported in the media were "gross exaggeration".
Here's our pick from CES 2014, which, we feel, you should be excited about.
The first batch of over 12,000 yatris (pilgrims) left for the cave shrine located at 14,500 feet above the sea level from the two base camps.
Asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was concerned about Jammu and Kashmir, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday assured "maximum possible assistance" to the victims of the last year's devastating floods.
Pandalam Royal family member Sasikumar Varma, one of the petitioners, said he was happy with the apex court's decision to review the September 28 verdict.
Eleven persons, including 10 devotees, have died due to medical reasons during the ongoing pilgrimage to Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
The Yuva Sena chief asked the party's rank and file to gear up to win the hearts of the people and the state.
Here is part three of Deepak Kirpalani's Punjab travelogue.
Over 1.5 lakh Indians along with tens of thousands of Muslims from across the world began moving from the holy city of Mecca to nearby tent-city of Mina, marking the beginning of the annual Haj pilgrimage.
Modi, who inaugurated the centre in the heart of the national capital in Janpath, also took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi's comment on being a Shiva devotee and said some parties talked more of Baba Bhole (Lord Shiva) than Babasaheb.
Hegde, who was arrested on Thursday, had allegedly posted that a Jain monk was attacked by a Muslim youth, they said.
Sarfaraz Ahmad Khan went on his first Haj in 1972.
Bakri Id was celebrated across the Muslim world on Wednesday with devotees offering special prayers in eidgahs and mosques and sacrificing animals.
The new service will travel through 18 countries and each bus will accommodate 20 passengers.
Here's the final part of Deepak Kripalani's travelogue of his journey through Punjab.
Water level of the river Kali has been continuously rising and reached the danger level.
For as long as he remembers, Deepak Kirpalani has been a traveller at heart. Recently, he travelled to Punjab and wrote in this fascinating travelogue which we are now publishing in four parts.
In a new twist to the probe into the terrorist attack in Ayodhya, Rehan, the driver of the jeep used in the attack, has claimed the militants had hijacked his vehicle and drove it themselves to the scene of the incident.
The Cellular Jail and the Viper Island are two places in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that should be like a pilgrimage for all Indians, says Bishnu Pada Ray, the two-time BJP MP from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in our special series where various Indians tell Rediff.com what they love most about India.
This is the second major disaster at Mecca this month.
Over 2 million Muslims, including 136,000 Indians, will begin Haj when they assemble in the valley of Mina as Saudi authorities said preparations have been completed for the world's largest annual gathering after the city underwent a multi-billion overhaul.
Sania Mirza is a rocking fashionable mother-to-be.
A group of tourists, who have just come back from deluge-hit regions of Uttarakhand, on Friday recounted tales of horror from their unforgettable trip. "An entire road on which our vehicle was travelling caved in due to pressure of the gushing flood waters," recounts a woman tourist from Pune who survived the Uttarakhand deluge.
India cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was stranded in Joshimath due to incessant rains while on a pilgrimage, was rescued and taken to safety by the Indian Air Force.
He was allegedly stabbed by a former sacristan of the parish.
The traditional Pahalgam route for the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir will open on July 9, an official of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said in Srinagar on Monday.
With less than 10 days left for the start of annual Amarnath Yatra, the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government said there is a terror threat to the nearly two-month-long pilgrimage and that additional security forces are being deployed to provide safety.
