India is the biggest roadblock for China to promote its Belt and Road project through Buddhism that can also help curb terrorism and separatism, Chinese scholars have said.


India biggest hurdle for China in promoting Buddhism


IANS Automatic

"Bring it. Who is stopping you and your government?" This is how MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday reacted to RSS Mohan Bahgwat's demand for a law to build a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya.


Who's stopping you from building temple, Owaisi tells Bhagwat


Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday visit the temple town of Shirdi to attend the closing ceremonies of the year-long festival marking the centenary of samadhi of the Shirdi Saibaba, officials said on Thursday.


PM to attend Saibaba centenary closing ceremonies


Women of the ages hitherto barred from entering the famed Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala stayed away for a second day on Thursday following uneasy calm in Kerala amid a dawn-to-dusk shutdown called by outfits owing loyalty to Hindu groups and the BJP.


No woman devotee at Sabarimala temple for second day (Roundup)


Durga Punja and Vijayadashmi are days when we should share our happiness with the less fortunate, the lonely and those in pain, President Ram Nath Kovind said in a message on Thursday.


Share happiness with less fortunate, President


Karnataka's cultural capital Mysuru on Thursday invoked gods to worship armoury, horses and the golden royal throne in the Amba Vilas Palace, marking the ninth day of its world famous Dussehra festival.


Armoury worship marks 9th day of Mysuru Dussehra


In a first-of-its-kind, a Durga Puja marquee here was decorated with 4,000 kg of turmeric or 'haldi'.


Durga Puja marquee decorated with 4,000 kg turmeric


Raking up the pet saffron agenda ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday pitched for a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya "at the earliest" through law and accused "fundamentalist forces" of obstructing the process.


Bring law to build Ram temple at Ayodhya: Bhagwat (Roundup)


A pilgrim headed to the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine was killed and three others injured on Thursday in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, police said.


Pilgrim killed in J&K accident


Upping the ante ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday pitched for building a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya "at the earliest" with an "appropriate and requisite law" and slammed "fundamentalist forces" for obstructing the process.


Bring law to build Ram temple at Ayodhya: Bhagwat


Tension prevailed on Thursday a day after the opening of the short five-day pilgrimage season as the state observed a shutdown against the alleged police attack on protesters even as a senior member of the Sabarimala priest's family urged women of the hitherto barred age group to respect tradition and not visit the Lord Ayyappa temple.


Kerala remains tense on 2nd day of Sabarimala season


A Keralite expat in Saudi Arabia has been sacked from his job for allegedly posting offensive remarks on women amid the Sabarimala temple row, the media reported.


Indian sacked in Saudi for 'offensive remarks' on Sabarimala row


RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday criticised the Supreme Court's decision allowing entry of women of all ages to the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, saying it was flawed as it did not consider all aspects and hence would not be  easily adopted.


Bhagwat criticises SC's Sabarimala decision


Devotees from all walks of life, dressed in their best attire, headed towards the puja marquees on Thursday as the city celebrated Mahanavami -- the fourth day of Durga Puja.


Bengal celebrates Mahanavami


Highlighting the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as a matter of national interest, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday pitched for building it at the earliest through "appropriate and requisite law" and slammed certain "fundamentalist forces" for obstructing the process.


Bhagwat pitches for legally constructing Ram temple


The state-wide shutdown called by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi on Thursday saw huge response with near total effect while just a few private vehicles moving on road.


Kerala shutdown over Sabarimala near total


Protesters opposed to the entry of women in the 10-50 age group to the Sabarimala temple clashed with police and heckled women journalists as the pilgrimage season opened on Wednesday, with no woman in that group making it to the hill shrine despite police assurances.


Protesters clash with police near Sabarimala, women turned back (Round-up)


Thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad gathered at Belur Math, the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, to witness the ritual of the worship of a pre-pubescent girl as a goddess, with the Durga Puja fervour reaching a peak on Mahashtami in West Bengal on Wednesday.


Thousands throng Bengal's Belur Math as Durga Puja spirit peaks



Protesters clash with police near Sabarimala, women turned back


Despite the removal of the Haj subsidy from the 2018 pilgrimage season, there was no financial burden on the pilgrims as middlemen were eliminated and a transparent, fully online system was put in place, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here on Wednesday.


Despite ending Haj subsidy, no financial burden on pilgrims: Naqvi


A former Buddhist monk on Wednesday was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the rape and abduction of an underage girl, officials said.

Page 65 -