Authorities in the Indian-administered Kashmir barred Eid prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid and the Eidgah in the capital city of Srinagar, where Eid prayers are traditionally and historically offered. The mosque’s gates were locked, with chief preacher Mirwaiz Umar Farooq being kept under house arrest. Authorities informed the house of wo...
New Delhi, India – AFP A top Indian opposition politician appeared in court Friday to fight his arrest in a case supporters say is aimed at sidelining challengers to Prime Minister Narendra Modi before next month’s election. Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of the capital Delhi and a key leader in an opposition alliance formed to [&...
SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that Article 370, which granted the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region a special status in the Constitution, was like a wall that had blocked progress for decades and was dismantled for good by his party. “Because Article 370 is gone, I […]
Varanasi, India – AFP Hindu worshippers on Thursday began praying inside a mosque in the Indian city of Varanasi just hours after a court order gave them the go-ahead at the deeply sensitive site, media reported. The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi is one of several Islamic houses of worship that Hindu activists, backed by Prime […]
New Delhi, India – AFP Bulldozers have knocked down a centuries-old mosque in India’s capital, a member of the building’s managing committee said Thursday, during a demolition drive to remove “illegal” structures from a forest reserve. The demolition comes at a sensitive time in India with nationalist activists em...
NEW DELHI (AA) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the Ram temple built at the site of the demolished 16th-century Babri Mosque in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya. Modi arrived in Ayodhya to participate in the consecration ceremony called “Pran Pratishtha,” also attended by 8,000 guests, including senior offic...
Ayodhya, India – AFP Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ayodhya on Saturday to open fresh transport links catering to pilgrims for a new temple on ground where once stood centuries-old Babari Masjid. The shrine to Lord Ram will be formally unveiled next month. Hindu zealots tore down the Masjid in 1992 alleging it had […]
NEW DELHI (AA) – India’s top court on Monday upheld the legality of legislation passed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019 that stripped the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region of its standing as a state as well as its special status. “We hold the exercise of presidential power to issue constitutional ord...
ANKARA (AA) – Indian Muslims vowed to continue their fight for legal rights in the country on the 31st anniversary of the Babri Masjid’s demolition on Wednesday. The 16th-century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was demolished by Hindu hardliners in 1992, triggering violent clashes between Hindus and ...
New Delhi, India – AFP India was buzzing with speculation Tuesday over rumoured plans to scrap official usage of the country’s English name, after a state-issued invite sent to world leaders referred to it as “Bharat”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has worked to remove lingering symbols of British rule...
