'Senior Vatican officials were pleasantly surprised at the number of Indians who had come to witness the ceremony.'
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections have turned into a fierce battleground of slogans, one-liners, and AI-generated memes between the three main contenders: AAP, BJP, and Congress. From the AAP branding the BJP as the "Bharatiya Jhootha Party" (Indian Liar Party) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the AAP "AAP-Daa" (disaster), the war of words has taken center stage. With the poll results set to be announced on February 8, the elections are being viewed as a referendum on the AAP's governance model, which emphasizes free welfare schemes. The ruling party faces stiff competition from a resurgent BJP that is seeking to return to power in the capital after a gap of more than 25 years. The Congress, although a long shot, hopes to regain its lost ground.
In a purported video which surfaced on social media, the accused man, reportedly a Tamil Nadu native, could be seen sitting on a platform atop the Ponnambalamedu Hills, located about four km from the Sabarimala temple, and chanting mantras and doing some rituals.
Prime Minister Modi presented the crown to the Jeshoreshwari Temple in March 2021, during his visit to Bangladesh.
The Madras high court has ruled that pedigree based on caste will have no role to play in the appointment of archakas (priests) in temples and allowed trustees to appoint any person well-versed and qualified to perform the puja as per the requirements of the temple Agama.
Going against the assurances given to the Kerala high court, the protesters agitating in front of the under-construction Vizhinjam seaport had on Saturday blocked the trucks carrying construction materials to the site.
A first information report (FIR) was filed in Ghaziabad on Monday against Alt-News co-founder Mohammad Zubair for allegedly promoting enmity among religious groups and other offences following a complaint by an aide of controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand, according to police.
A state government that came to power after swearing to protect all people without discrimination refused to help a non-Christian organisation till the high court rapped it on its knuckles, observes former BJP MP Tarun Vijay, former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
A farmer's family in Gujarat's Amreli district has become the talk of the town after they held a grand burial event for their 'lucky' car.
The chief minister said after consultation, the government will take its decision with respect to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, the official custodian of world-renowned Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati.
Rammu Guru, the head priest of the temple, said, "Sai Baba was being worshiped without proper knowledge, which is forbidden according to scriptures."
The three-day celebrations began on Saturday with a recital of Yajurveda and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performing an 'abhishek' on the Ram Lalla idol.
The Ajrakh print has taken 2024 by the storm.
The Bhasma Shankar temple in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has reopened after being locked for 45 years following communal riots. The district administration has requested the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct carbon dating of the temple, including a well on the premises. The temple is being guarded round the clock and worshippers have started visiting. The reopening of the temple has been met with gratitude from local residents, who have expressed their desire to reconnect with their heritage.
'I speak after asking Ram Lalla. I spoke with Ram Lalla's inspiration'
Armed with a Kerala high court directive, the Orthodox faction entered the church known as 'Piravom Valiyapalli', a major Christian spiritual centre in the state, two days after Ernakulam district administration took over its control fromrival Jacobite group.
"The Pujari is only a grantee to manage the property of the deity and such grant can be reassumed if the Pujari fails to do the task assigned to him, i.e, to offer prayers and manage the land. He cannot be thus treated as a Bhumiswami," the bench said.
The family, which had refused to conduct his last rites, was assured that they would be provided Rs 10 lakh compensation, a contractual job for a dependent and a house under Indira Awas Yojna besides removal of a local revenue officer and a station house officer, police said.
'Till the BJP does not understand Kejriwal they cannot win Delhi.'
India needs to address Bangladesh's longstanding concerns to improve bilateral ties between Dhaka and New Delhi, Hossain said adding: Bangladesh's previous (ousted) government addressed the concerns of India, but India did not address Bangladesh's concerns.
"There was no water leakage but the rainwater came down from the pipes fixed to install electric wires," Mishra said.
Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, the newly anointed titular head of the erstwhile Royal family of Mewar, visited the Eklingnathji temple and Udaipur City Palace to complete his father's mourning rituals. The visit to the city palace was met with a deadlock as the property is under the control of his uncle Arvind Singh Mewar, who warned of legal action on trespass. However, after a consensus was reached, Vishvaraj Singh and four others were allowed to enter the palace premises for darshan. The visit comes after violent clashes in the city following the coronation ceremony of Vishvaraj Singh in Chittorgarh fort.
Narsinghanand has several cases against him, including for allegedly making a hate speech at a conclave in Haridwar in December 2021, and was out on bail.
'Instructions may be given for the representation of Akhil Bhartiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha in the management of temples and religious places,' Mahesh Pathak, national president of the body said in a letter to the PM.
A yagna was conducted at the Dola Mata temple in Jhulasan village in Gujarat where her father Deepak Pandya hailed from for astronaut Sunita Williams's return from space.
Talking to PTI, he said the development works should be implemented by protecting the lives of the people.
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.
The TDB has decided to appoint 19 lower caste people, including 18 belonging to the scheduled caste and one from the scheduled tribe
Having a left-arm quick of Singh's calibre gives the bowling attack the much-needed heft and variety. It's like having another bow in Team India's quiver, notes Vishal Menon.
Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday passed a resolution urging the central government to confer 'Bharat Ratna', the country's highest civilian award, on legendary industrialist late Ratan Tata.
More than 51,000 diyas were lighted on Friday on Dev Deepawali at a Varanasi ghat to form 'Batoge to Katoge' -- a slogan given recently by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a call apparently to Hindus to stay united.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Mahant Satya Narayan was hiding in the house of his follower in a village under Ughaiti police station from where he was picked up.
Gehlot's comment comes after he came under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party and other Opposition parties over the incident in which a temple priest was burnt alive in Karauli district over a land dispute.
Till the time Badal does not seek an apology for the mistakes he committed by appearing before the Akal Takht in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib, he is declared a 'tankhaiya', the Jathedar said.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Ghaziabad's Loni seat Nand Kishore Gurjar has alleged that the crowd which had gathered on Friday night to protest against Yati Narsinghanand had pelted stones at the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad and police should have 'shot' the attackers.
This was the second incident of desecration at a BAPS temple in less than a month in the US amidst the growing trend of temple vandalism as part of a systematic hate crime against the Hindu community in the country.
Dhanush deserves credit for imagining a visually rich, edgy action thriller which is enhanced by a fascinating background score from A R Rahman, observes Divya Nair.
The mortal remains of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday amid the chanting of religious hymns. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh.
The Kerala high court on Wednesday reduced to 10 years, the 20 year jail term awarded by a lower court to a defrocked priest convicted in the Kottiyoor rape case.
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