Abbas was a classmate and friend of Pankaj Modi, the youngest of the Modi siblings.
Zardari suggested that if Singh's visit coincided with celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in November, it would be well received by the Pakistani people and reinforce the desire of both countries to promote inter-religious harmony.
In recent years, the twin demands of both religion and defence have been added to the development argument to sweep aside environmental and terrain considerations while undertaking infrastructure development in the Himalayan zone, points out former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Scores of people, some armed with sticks, walked in the funeral cortege of a youth killed during a Durga idol immersion procession in Bahraich amid cries for justice from the family and others on Monday, as tension escalated with shops being burnt down and angry crowds out in the streets.
Religious leaders cutting across faith lines have joined hands to condemn the threat by Terry Jones, an American Pastor, to burn the Holy Quran on September 11, the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Centre, New York. Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai, initiated the move to bring the religious leaders on the same platform. He dismissed the proposed threat as an act by a fringe group which is merely seeking publicity.
Police said 52 people have been arrested following Wednesday night's incidents and prohibitory orders preventing the assembly of more than four people have been imposed in Nagamangala town in Mandya district till September 14 as a precautionary measure.
A number of sacred items were damaged at St Alphonsa's Church.
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
On the last day of his week-long stay in Arunachal Pradesh, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama underlined the need for spiritual development for peaceful co-existence of different groups of people for establishing a developed and prosperous state.
Maurya had the right to give his own independent explanation different from explanations of many scholars but he cannot use such language which may disturb the religious feelings of a community, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court said.
On August 13, Muhammad Yunus visited the Dhakeswari Temple and reached out to the distressed Hindu community members in the wake of attacks on the minority communities.
A special quiz to mark the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera called the order "state-sponsored bigotry".
The police condemned the unprovoked, unacceptable attack on an individual's religious identity and added that stern legal action is being initiated.
The Tibetan spiritual leader said the world would be more peaceful if there were more women head of states.
India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution introduced by Pakistan and co-sponsored by China on Islamophobia, asserting that the prevalence of 'religiophobia' against Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and other faiths facing violence and discrimination must also be acknowledged rather than singling out just one religion.
'The irony of Indian political history is that those who championed the cause of the UCC destroyed the prospects of the UCC by pushing Muslims to their back,' says Reverend Valson Thampu.
'Your constant reiteration on the lack of religious freedom in India has sown doubts about the kind of information that you are being fed and based on which you seem to be making adverse references to India and its tradition of religious tolerance.'
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
The petition was filed against the order of the high court upholding the revocation of the nod to hold the prayer meet.
People in large numbers participated in the India Day Parade held in New York, United States.
Welcoming the election of Pope Francis I, religious organisations hope for interfaith dialogue and harmony among the world's diverse religions. George Joseph reports
Justice S Srimathy of the HC's Madurai Bench gave the judgement while hearing a plea from D Senthilkumar, who sought directions to the respondents to permit Hindus alone to the Arulmigu Palani Dhandayuthapani Swamy temple and its sub-temples.
'Sri Ayodhyaji will emerge as the greatest centre of cultural togetherness, universal harmony, vasudeva kutumbakam, compassion, and love for every single living being on this Earth.'
The Election Commission on Monday barred West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours for her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.
Earlier on March 29, a young man was apprehended for allegedly insulting a saffron flag placed near a mosque in northeast Delhi's Jyoti Nagar.
The city police told the Delhi high court on Friday they have granted permission to Mission Save Constitution, an organisation that claims to be working for protection of citizen rights, to hold an 'All India Muslim Mahapanchayat' at the Ramlila grounds on December 18 subject to certain conditions for safe and smooth conduct of the event.
If Saudi Arabia, with just two Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, can create a huge tourism-based ecosystem beyond oil, Ayodhya is sure to become the world's hottest religious tourism site in less than a decade, predicts R Jagannathan.
'Bharat is the core value that has to be lived by and if you deny it, then the people will discard you.'
A Sikh Indian Police Service officer, who was deputed at Dhamakhali to prevent senior West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari from visiting restive Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, got agitated after a group of activists of the saffron party allegedly hurled the 'Khalistani' jibe at him.
Peace committee meetings were held in Nuh and Sohna on Tuesday following communal violence in the two towns, with people assuring the administration that they will cooperate fully in maintaining peace, officials said.
Asserting that terrorism is not linked to any religion, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday said it is no coincidence that despite there being around 200 million Muslims, the involvement of Indian citizens in global terrorism has been "incredibly low".
'When my mom saw my performance in Dhoka, she loved it.' 'She said, "I don't know why I stopped you for so many years. Ab jaa beta, jee le apni zindagi".'
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking the constitution of a 'renaming commission' to restore "original" names of ancient, cultural and religious places "renamed" by invaders, saying India can't be a prisoner of the past.
Responding to media queries on the development, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that "such interference in India's internal affairs is unacceptable, and reflects a colonial mindset".
A right-wing vlogger has been booked for allegedly spreading hatred via social media in connection with the recent blast at a religious gathering that killed four people near Kochi last week, police said on Wednesday.
"We are appalled to notice the recent trend in this state to sensationalise every case of inter-religious marriage as either 'love jihad' or 'ghar wapsi' even if there was platonic love between the spouses before," the court said.
