India’s supreme court has ruled that a Hindu temple can be built on the country’s most hotly contested religious site, ending a legal dispute that has run for decades between Hindus and Muslims.
The restoration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was a key pledge of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government. The ruling, which came just six months after his landslide election win, is another huge victory for India’s prime minister
Continue reading...Supreme court says site where mosque was torn down in 1992 should become Hindu temple
The Indian supreme court has ruled that India’s most hotly contested piece of religious land rightfully belongs to Hindus, and has granted permission for a temple to be built on the site in Ayodhya.
The five supreme court judges based their unanimous and historic judgment on Hindus’ claim that the site is the birthplace of the god Ram.
Continue reading...Supreme court due to decide fate of Ayodhya, where mosque was torn down by Hindu hardliners in 1992
India’s supreme court is expected to make a historic ruling on Saturday over the highly disputed religious site of Ayodhya, which is claimed by Hindus and Muslims.
The site has been one of the country’s most controversial religious grounds since the Babri mosque, which had been standing since the 16th century, was reduced to rubble by Hindu fundamentalists during a 1992 riot in which more than 2,000 people died.
Continue reading...India claims it killed five militants trying to attack its forces in disputed region
Tens of thousands of tourists, pilgrims and workers have begun leaving the disputed region of Kashmir after local officials issued a security alert and India said it had killed at least five militants who were trying to attack its forces.
The Foreign Office on Saturday issued new advice to avoid all travel to Jammu and Kashmir, adding: “There is a risk of unpredictable violence, including bombings, grenade attacks, shootings and kidnapping.”
Continue reading...Every year, Nepal becomes awash with vermillion powder as Hindus celebrate Sindoor Jatra to welcome the arrival of spring and Nepalese new year
Continue reading...Around 220 million people descended on sleepy Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) for the 50-day Hindu festival. The cleanup could take months
As the sun sets over the Ganges, Vikas Kumar drives his garbage truck through the streets of Prayagraj, a historic Indian city of 1.1 million that was until last year known as Allahabad. “All this stuff people have been eating, drinking and throwing away,” he says, gesturing at piles of food waste, discarded water bottles and mud-spattered flowers. “It will take three or four months to clear.”
Over a 50-day period this normally sleepy city has been visited by around 220 million people for the Kumbh Mela – a Hindu pilgrimage dubbed the world’s largest human gathering.
Continue reading...The Hindu festival of Holi is under way in India. The two-day celebration signifies the victory of good over evil and marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Its origins can be found in Hindu mythology, while the use of colour is tied to stories about Lord Krishna
Continue reading...Sanjoy Sachdev helped scores of Indian couples marry across cultural lines, and against family wishes – but police are asking if he was a fraud
It was a world-famous charity dedicated to rescuing star-crossed Indian lovers. For the past nine years, using a network of secret safe-houses across India, Love Commandos sheltered thousands of young people seeking to marry outside their caste, religion or clan – and who feared their families might kill them for it.
Sanjoy Sachdev, the organisation’s chairman, became one of India’s most celebrated activists. Bollywood star Aamir Khan interviewed him on television. International clothing brand Bjorn Borg raised money for his group. Filmmakers and journalists found the craggy, chain-smoking activist who could quote Robert Frost irresistible.
Continue reading...Monday was Mauni Amavasya, the new moon day and most significant bathing day, particularly if it falls on a Monday. At the Hindu festival pilgrims bathe in the confluence of three sacred rivers to cleanse them of sin and liberate them from the cycle of life, death and rebirth
Continue reading...Almost one-third in UK see rift, finds survey ahead of pope’s visit to Arabian peninsula
Large numbers of people in Christian-majority countries in the west see a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of their nation, according to a survey.
However, significantly fewer people in the Middle East and North Africa view Christianity in the same way.
Continue reading...Kanakadurga, 39, allegedly beaten and ousted from home for entering Sabarimala shrine
A woman who defied violent protests to worship at a centuries-old south Indian shrine that banned females of “menstruating age” has been spurned by her family, attacked by relatives and locked out of her home.
On New Year’s Day, Kanakadurga, 39, along with Bindu Ammini, became the first women to enter the inner sanctum of Kerala state’s Sabarimala temple, one of the holiest Hindu sites in the country.
Continue reading...As an estimated 15m Hindus gather at convergence of holy rivers in India, the huge lost-and-found centres go digital
Day and night, through crackling loudspeakers, the announcements ring out. “It is Babu speaking,” says a shrill voice. “I have lost my wallet and brother. Please come here the moment you hear this.”
“Lal Ram is here,” a woman says a few times. “Come and collect him from the yellow tower.”
Continue reading...Thought to be the world’s largest human gathering, more than 20 million Hindu pilgrims ritually bathed on the opening day of the festival
Continue reading...Two women have visited a Hindu temple in Kerala after India's supreme court lifted a centuries-old ban. They had tried to enter last month but were stopped by protesters
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