Over two crore Hindu devotees took their cherished holy dip at the 'Sangam' in Allahabad on Sunday on 'Mauni Amavasya', widely believed to be the most auspicious of all days at the 55-day long Kumbh Mela.
The hanging of Afzal Guru has prompted the Uttar Pradesh government to beef up security in and around the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, where nearly two crore people are expected to be converging over the next 24 hours to take a dip on what is considered the 'most auspicious' day of the 55-day-long festival that began on January 14.
Billed as the largest gathering of humanity in recorded history, Maha Kumbh has commenced in Allahabad. Over the next few weeks, pilgrims will jostle to take a dip at Sangam the confluence of two polluted rivers of the country, the Ganga and the Yamuna. Bharat Lal Seth analyses why the rivers will remain dirty.
Raja Ram Tiwari has helped as many as ten lakh lost people find their family members in the confusion and clamour of such holy gatherings, says Sharat Pradhan
The all-embracing spirit of Maha Kumbh has caught on with the armed forces which have thrown open up parts of a fort built by Mughal Emperor Akbar at the holy Sangam, giving pilgrims and tourists access to the historic Patalpuri Temple and the Saraswati Koop.
The eight-week-long festival is beginning from Monday, in which thousands of devotees will bathe at the Sangam -- the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
Rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan who is visiting the Magh Mela, witnessed the Naga babas busy twiddling away on their smartphones, corresponding with their supporters, using modern techniques such as WhatsApp and Facebook.
AAP's Atishi, who had unsuccessfully contested last year's Lok Sabha polls from the East Delhi constituency, was fielded from Kalkaji in place of sitting MLA Avtar Singh Kalka. She won the seat by a margin of over 11,300 votes.
Three pilgrims died en route to the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the death toll in the ongoing yatra to 88, officials said on Thursday.
Infighting in the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of municipal elections in the national capital cost a party worker his life when he was stabbed to death allegedly by some people after an argument with sitting party councillor and candidate.
Six pilgrims died en route to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the death toll during the pilgrimage to 30 this year, officials said.
An audit report of the Delhi Jal Board states that failure in timely construction of underground reservoirs and booster pumping stations has resulted in an unequal distribution of water, reports Priyanka.
'It would be interesting to see how Yogi Adityanath is received in Tamil Nadu, where he is due to end his Ram Rajya Rath Yatra in Rameswaram on March 23.'
During her three-day visit, Priyanka will cover a distance of 100-km by boat in Ganga from Prayagraj to Varanasi.
To repeated questions, the SP chief asserted that the Congress was 'very much in the alliance'.
Addressing his first rally in the national capital in the run-up to the February 8 Delhi Assembly polls, he said the current environment in the country, the hatred, the violence and the attacks on women were harming India and people were not benefitting from it.
The fast, to be held at the Jantar Mantar, would see a large number of students and politicians, Dr Sangam Prithviraj, chief of the Students Joint Action Committee for Telangana confirmed.
The Congress on Friday pitted former Delhi minister Kiran Walia against Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal from the prestigious New Delhi constituency in February 7 assembly polls.
'We will meet each villager in Kerala and chalk out a massive agitation plan to protect the Sabarimala temple.'
Relations between fishermen from India and Sri Lanka used to be friendly in the 1970s, informs S P Royappan, president of the District Country Boat Fishermen Sangam- Pamban. Pamban is a small village in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram district. Royappan has been engaged in the business of fishing for 20 years and has headed out to the sea for the last 15 years. The friendly equation between the fisher-folk of the two countries was disrupted.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
Dr Sangam Prithviraj, who leads the students at the Osmania University in Hyderabad, says that they were foolish to trust TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao and that now all students in all the 10 districts of Telangana will take the movement forward themselves.
The first Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat may believe that the water crisis is a media creation, but the photographs below suggest otherwise.
A recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours
Dr Sangam Prithviraj Yadav, chief of the Students' Joint Action Committee for the Telangana movement, claims that the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which has been at the forefront of the movement, is actually delaying the creation of a new state. In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, he explains why.
State-owned BSNL has become the first telecom firm to launch mobile services at the Holy Amarnath cave, as well as on the two routes of the yatra.
Indian films, and Raj Kapoor in particular, have a special place in Iranian cinephilia or cinemadoosti, Ranjita Ganesan discovers on a visit to Iran.
It said there is no part of the country that he did not visit during the 125 days between December 25 and May 1 as he crisscrossed from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Jamnagar to Silchar, while speaking to students to scientists, farmers, entrepreneurs, foreign heads of state and political workers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold discussions with public sector banks (PSBs) and financial institutions to draw up an action plan for banking reforms
Usha Ananthasubramanian said the bank will leave no stone unturned to recover unpaid loans.
What was the RBI doing, what was the PNB top management doing, what were the auditors doing, asks Debashis Basu.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has urged the Income-Tax department to ensure enhanced accountability and probity in public dealings and see to it that honest and tax compliant people are treated with "dignity and courtesy".
The people of the southern part of the country could see a greater part of the partial solar eclipse because of the geometry of the eclipse path.
Several celebrities congratulated Haasan on social media including superstar Rajinikanth.
What shows keep telly stars glued on to the small screens? We find out.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has completely halted production and new orders, exporters say that payments have also been delayed for the shipments sent before the lockdown. Exporters say some customers are not taking delivery of the shipments because they have shut shop. Ready-made garment players had been hoping for a revival in demand in China but with the virus spreading to Europe, the US and other major markets, there are no orders coming from the major retailers.
Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, was elected president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) as his panel swept all six posts in a tension-ridden election of the state body.
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