Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Modi to fast before Ayodhya temple inauguration

Modi is presiding over the January 22 opening of the shrine

Modi to fast before Ayodhya temple inauguration

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi said Friday (12) he was beginning an 11-day religious fast ahead of a ceremony he will lead to inaugurate a controversial new Hindu temple.

Modi is presiding over the January 22 opening of the shrine, built on grounds where a centuries-old mosque once stood before it was torn down by zealots.


The ceremony is set to burnish the Hindu-nationalist leader's credentials as a defender of India's majority faith just months before national elections.

"I am fortunate that I will also be a witness to this auspicious occasion. The Lord has made me an instrument to represent all the people of India," Modi said in an audio message posted to social media.

"Keeping this in mind, I am starting a special ritual of 11 days from today. I seek blessings from all of you."

The purification rite Modi said he was embarking upon involves a series of prayer rituals and an almost complete abstinence from food for its duration.

Modi has incorporated his Hindu faith into the politics of his officially secular country in an unprecedented manner since coming to power a decade ago.

In 2019, he went to meditate in a Himalayan cave -- home to one of the religion's holiest shrines -- during India's last national election.

The temple Modi will help unveil later this month is dedicated to Ram, one of the most revered deities in the Hindu pantheon, and has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 20 billion ($240 million).

Devout Hindus believe Ram was born in the northern town of Ayodhya around 7,000 years ago but that the Babri Masjid mosque was built over his birthplace in the 16th century.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had campaigned for decades for a temple to be built on the site, culminating in the frenzied demolition of the mosque in 1992 by a Hindu mob.

Shockwaves from the incidents were felt around the country and triggered riots that killed 2,000 people, with most of the victims Muslim.

(AFP)

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less