The 'deliberate attack' on a Hindu temple in Canada sparked strong condemnation in India on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.
Eleven persons from Muslim community killed in violence in Naroda Gam area of Ahmedabad during the bandh call given by right-wing organisations a day after the Godhra train burning incident.
B Naresh, was accused of making the remarks on Ayyappa and hurting the religious sentiments of the devotees and Hindus at large, while addressing a meeting in Vikarabad district on December 19, the police said.
Gujarat was labelled Hindutva's crucible and Modi was to become the chief 'chemist'. A revealing political saga excerpted from Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's The Demolition, the Verdict and the Temple: The Definitive Book on the Ram Mandir Project.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad will declare Gujarat a "Hindu state" by 2015 besides having its presence in all 18,000 villages of the state in the next two years, the outfit's leader Pravin Togadia claimed.
Prohibitory orders were on Sunday clamped in communally-sensitive Kandhmal district and security tightened across Orissa after the killing of a prominent Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and his five associates sparked protests in the state with a prayer house being torched.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Sunday accused the Congress-led government of trying to "malign the image of Hindu leaders by terming them as terrorists" and claimed it was the 'greatest lie' that Swami Aseemanand has confessed to the Samjauta Express blast."We are trying to enlighten the people. If the Congress tries to entangle Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders, then a movement will be started against them (Congress)," said Ashok Singhal
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court over alleged "blatant hate speeches" calling for killing Muslims and their social and economic boycott delivered at rallies in different states, including Haryana where recent communal clashes claimed six lives.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday said its volunteers were active in Gandhian Anna Hazare's movement against corruption in Delhi last year.
Without naming the BJP, Joshi added, "We are not begging for it. We are expressing our emotions. The country wants 'Ram rajya'."
VHP has cancelled its 18-day 'Chaturved Swahakar Yajna' that was scheduled to start from Monday.
The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.
Political parties have slammed Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto especially over inclusion of Ram temple and other 'Hindutva' issues, saying it was only aimed at hoodwinking voters.
The school also said they have discontinued the practice of reciting verses from different religions, including Sikhism, Hinduism and Islam, in the assembly, and now only the National Anthem will be sung.
Bharti had been in the forefront of the 'Hindu andolan' especially during the Ayyodhya movement, he said.
Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas was formed by the members of the VHP on December 18, 1985, with the aim of constructing a grand temple at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Saturday dismissed a petition against the Uttar Pradesh government's ban on Vishwa Hindu Parisha's proposed Yatra from Ayodhya.
Stepping up pressure for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre cannot afford to fail its electors on the "core issue" and must deliver on it.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia were on Friday released along with 957 fellow cadres, a day after nearly 2,500 activists were arrested in a massive crackdown by Uttar Pradesh authorities to foil its yatra which also led to protests by its workers.
Accusing Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav of buckling under pressure of his party colleague Azam Khan in banning its proposed yatra, the VHP said it will go ahead with its plan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have come under pressure from Sangh Parivar on the choice of Narendra Modi as its next prime ministerial candidate, with Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanding announcement of the Gujarat chief minister's name.
Veteran Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal has been replaced as the international president of the organisation while its general secretary Pravin Togadia was given a greater responsibility.
As the 240-seater prime minister attempts to moderate his image of hardline hero, he has made room for others to elbow in and that is what is happening. And that it what will continue to happen from inside the BJP, notes Aakar Patel.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee was involved in the Ram Janma Bhoomi movement which led to the Babri Mosque demolition in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, VHP chief Ashok Singhal said on Friday.
As the temple is inaugurated, unfortunately for Advani but unsurprisingly for the rest of us, the architect of the party's rise will not lead the ceremony and claim credit for his achievement, notes Aakar Patel.
A Bajrang Dal leader said that a church was being built without obtaining prior permission and the local administration did nothing to stop its construction.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday questioned the Centre's assertion before the Supreme Court that Lord Ram himself had destroyed the Ram Setu (Adam's bridge) and said it was a distortion of history."Nowhere in the Kamba Ramayan is it mentioned that Lord Ram destroyed the bridge. It is to appease Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, whose party is a partner in UPA, that Centre is doing such things," VHP president Ashok Singhal said.
He accused so called 'secular forces' of harming the country. He said 'such forces are also in the Union Cabinet' and they should be removed from there.
The Rajasthan government had on April 8 banned distribution, possession and carrying of tridents in the state except at religious places.
The crisis over the start date of the Amarnath Yatra deepened with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad showing no signs of relenting and a top VHP leader on Tuesday stating that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti will lead a contingent of devotees to the cave shrine on June 3. The board has left sadhus all across India angry by disobeying him, he added.
A day after Supreme Court deferred the ruling of the Allahabad High Court on the title of the disputed shrine in Ayodhya, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday said it would not allow construction of any new mosque in Ayodhya. The decision was taken at a meeting of 45 religious leaders, who are part of the Sant Uchadhikar Samiti (SUS), in Delhi on Friday.
The Allahabad high court on Thursday directed recording of evidence on a day-to-day basis by the Rae Bareli trial court in the Babri Masjid demolition case, rejecting a plea by a Vishwa Hindu Party leader.
After clamping down on its yatra on the Ayodhya issue, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday banned Vishwa Hindu Parishad's proposed 'Sankalp Diwas' stir on October 18 to press for a parliamentary legislation on building Ram temple, fearing a communal flare-up.
With the verdict on Ayodhya title suit expected shortly, leaders of RSS and VHP on Thursday discussed the strategy in the aftermath of the judgment if it goes against the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site.
A day after the Nirmohi Akhara voiced its readiness to cooperate with the Ram Lala Virajman for building a temple in Ayodhya following talks with a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, the man who represented the deity in the court said he did not authorise anyone to negotiate on his behalf.
The family members of the deceased had named five men linked to the Bajrang Dal in their complaint to the police.
Condemning the brutal beheading of two Sikh traders in Pakistan, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia, said the issue calls for a war against Pakistan.
