The president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Ravindra Puri, has demanded the evacuation of mosques built on ancient temples across India. Puri, who is also the president of the Mansa Devi Temple Trust in Haridwar, claims that around 80% of mosques in India are built on temples and that their domes resemble those of temples. He has appealed to Muslims to hand over such structures to Hindus and has called for the formation of a "Sanatan Board" to protect Hindu religious institutions. Puri also denied banning Muslims from attending the Maha Kumbh Mela, saying that they are welcome to visit and learn about Hinduism.
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 apex court also said it will consider whether the matter should be put before a five-judge bench
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 17 had appealed to sadhus to observe the remaining duration of the Kumbh only in a "symbolic" manner. Following this different 'akhadas' had agreed to keep their participation symbolic.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ayodhya on December 30, the streets in the temple town in Uttar Pradesh are being decorated with flowers to give the city a 'divine look'.
In a horrifying incident, Pakistani organised gangs were seen vandalising and terrorising Hindus in the United Kingdom's Leicester City.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
'The message is loud and clear: "If you're not falling in line, we will open a line of understanding with the MNS, and then the Shiv Sena will be in trouble".'
A war of words has erupted in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh after the Congress objected to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party putting up hoardings taking credit for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
A bench of Justices R F Nariman and B R Gavai said that it is of the prima face view that all kinds of sentiments are subservient to Article 21 of the Constitution.
The way the Bahraich riot has played out should worry the BJP. The party has emboldened Hindu youngsters to such an extent that its MLAs feel the need to go to the police against their party members. Is this what the BJP wants, asks Jyoti Punwani.
A school in Michigan's Canton township has barred students from bringing a kirpan, a dagger carried by the Sikh community, to the premises after a fourth grader was found carrying the religious symbol and parents of other students objected to it.
Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, George Kurian, strongly condemned the alleged threatening of teachers at a government school in Kerala by Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists over Christmas celebrations. Kurian urged the state government to take stringent action against the culprits to prevent such incidents from recurring. The incident sparked outrage, with opposition leaders accusing the Sangh Parivar of attempting to create communal tension. Meanwhile, VHP leaders clarified that they were not against any religion and admitted that their district office bearers had questioned the teachers about the organisation of the Christmas celebration.
The sweet taste of a laddoo is believed to attract prosperity and abundance.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the BJP spokesperson, saying it insulted Prophet Muhammad.
Two prominent organisations, the Hindu Yuva Sene and the Keshav Smriti Samvardhana Samithi, have a pivotal role in shaping Mangaluru's Ganesh Utsav celebrations.
The Archaeological Survey of India on Sunday conducted scientific tests of the area under the three domes of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi on the third day of the scientific survey to determine if the mosque was built over a temple.
Be it doormats, toiletries or beachwear, the moment these products have sketches of Indian idols, they become a rage in western markets.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandarchud, and Justices V Ramasubramanian and J B Pardiwala, took note of the submissions of senior advocate Meenakshi Arora that an interim order was needed keeping in mind the practical examinations, scheduled for some classes from February 6 in the state.
Invitees to the 'pran pratishtha' consecration ceremony at the Ram temple started arriving Sunday in Ayodhya -- once a sleepy town now resplendent with new infrastructure and gripped by heightened religious fervour on the eve of a seminal event in India's political and religious history.
'Days ago, India witnessed the horror of the brutal rape and murder of a woman doctor on night duty at the R G Kar hospital in Kolkata.' 'The crime was so outrageous that any self-respecting chief minister should have resigned, bearing moral responsibility.' 'But then the terms 'self-respect' and 'moral responsibility' do not exist in the modern Indian political lexicon,' argues Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
At Congress' 'Jan Vedna Sammelan' earlier this month, Gandhi had made comments co-relating his party's symbol 'hand' with religious gods.
Venues for different ceremonial functions, Rashtrapati Bhavan's iconic 'Durbar Hall' and 'Ashok Hall' were on Thursday renamed 'Ganatantra Mandap' and 'Ashok Mandap', respectively.
The Kerala government has dismissed a plea by a Muslim girl student seeking permission to wear hijab (head scarf) and full sleeve dress in the Student Police Cadet project as per her religious obligation, saying such a waiver in the state police's programme will significantly affect secularism in the state.
Brinda examines some alarming aspects of religious fanaticism through the narrative engine of a well-oiled serial killer mystery, observes Arjun Menon.
Karnataka has told the high court that its order dated February 5 did not ban the headscarf but only delegated the powers to decide the school uniform to the college development committees.
The court said the modalities of the survey will be discussed at the next hearing on December 18.
Separately, the poll panel also issued a notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, asking him to respond to the complaints filed by the BJP against him and the main opposition party's senior leader Rahul Gandhi regarding their remarks.
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.
'You can walk wearing the hijab on the street, but not in a school.'
As you know that the Karnataka Education Act and Rule does not permit any religious items inside the class. So we are very clear that no student can wear hijab inside the class, Nagesh explained.
Using the Mahabharat reference as a leitmotif, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday claimed that an atmosphere of fear prevails all around with a group of six trapping the entire country in a 'chakravyuh' he promised would be broken by the INDIA bloc.
The CAA was enacted in December 2019 for granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, which was attended by Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh, Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, and senior officials of the government.
Several police personnel were injured in the stone pelting, an official said, adding Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai was briefed on the situation by the chief secretary and the DGP.
'They are attacking my wife; they are attacking our 13-month-old daughter. They are saying that I do drugs.' 'I'm giving an open challenge to Mr Nawab Malik and Ms Sana Malik let's go to the labs and let's do the medical test of our family and your family.'
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A first information report has been registered against Khetan under Section 295 A (hurting religious sentiments).
There is definitely much more to the mythical king than his ten heads and his abduction of Sita.
As the campaign peaked, AAP leaders evidently realised they had to deflect their chief opponent's attempts to polarise the electorate over religious identity, explains David Devadas.
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