🔴 RELIGIOUS CRIMES, BIG STORIES, ROWS
🔷 ’20–30 bullets fired’: Iskcon temple targeted in US; India urges action
🔷 Business owner’s names must be displayed on shops along Kanwar Yatra route – UP
“Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have begun inspecting eateries, shops, and dhabas along route… They are inquiring about the names and religious affiliations of the owners, pasting images of Varaha (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu), and hoisting saffron flags outside compliant establishments.”
🔷 Sambhal temple-mosque row: Court to hear plea for ban on namaz at disputed site on July 21
The Shahi Jama Masjid is in Sambhal, UP. Some Hindus claim the masjid was built in the ruins of a HariHara temple. The matter is in court.
🔷 Gyanvapi Case: Allahabad High Court Defers Hearing on ASI Survey of Wuzukhana Area to August 6
Some Hindus say the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi was built on ruins of Shiva temple. A Shiva lingam was found in the ablution pond. Muslims say it’s not a lingam.
🔷 Krishna Janmabhoomi case – Court declined to say mosque is a disputed structure
Hindus say the Shahi Eidgah mosque in Uttar Pradesh was built over a Krishna temple. It’s believed to be the spot where Krishna was born.
Ajith Kumar worked at the Bhadrakali Amman Temple in Siva Ganga, TN
Cops allegedly forced Ajith Kumar to smell ganja, burned him with cigarettes. He was beaten, tortured and stabbed in the stomach. When he cried for water, they gave him water mixed with chili powder! Another article
🔷 Ganga’s rising waters submerging ghats & flooding temples in Varanasi!
🔷 Kolkata monk, Kartik Maharaj accused of rape & forceful abortion
🔷 1 dead, 7, injured after tent collapse at Hanuman temple, Bageshwar Dham in MP
Raja Raghuvanshi was the newlywed man who was murdered by his new wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi. She said she wanted to visit Kamakhya temple first before consumating the marriage aka having sex. After the Kamakhya temple visit, Raja was murdered. His sister, Shrasti Raghuvanshi was being interviewed on TV. The news anchor said the Kamakhya temple is known for human sacrifices. The sister agreed. Now Assam cops are summoning both the TV reporter & the sister. Another Article
🔷 Puri Stampede: The urgent call for smarter crowd management
🔷 HC directs BKTC to oversee Chandi Devi Temple management
🔷 15-foot Shiva statue submerged as heavy rain causes flood in Uttarakhand
🔷 TN temple guard beaten to death in police custody
🔷 Fire breaks out near Tirupati’s Govindaraja temple
🔷 Groom dumps bride after 18 hours over her family lying about caste for big dowry! UP
🔷 Photography Prohibited Within 50 Metres Of Badrinath Dham In Uttarakhand
🔷 CIDCO fails to demolish 30 illegal temples on 2 landslide prone hills
🔷 Vishwa Hindu Raksha Parishad Arranges ‘Ghar Wapsi’ Of 15 People Who Convert To Hinduism In Lucknow
🔷 From liberation to erasure: Bangladesh’s silent genocide of Hindus
🔷 Pujari Has No Ownership Rights Over Temple Property, Merely a Manager: Chhattisgarh High Court
🔷 ‘Tagging Digha shrine as Jagannath Dham unconstitutional’: VHP moves HC
🔷 Action taken against 8 Tulja Bhawani Temple priests for tobacco consumption, spitting
🔷 BJD Slams Rath Yatra 2025 Mismanagement in Memo to Odisha Governor
“revisits the chilling 2002 attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, where terrorists killed innocent devotees before being neutralized by the National Security Guard (NSG)”
🔷 Post-Mortem Confirms Brutal Torture of Temple Guard Kumar | 44 Injuries Found
Temple guard, Ajith Kumar tortured by cops before death
🔷 Andhra Pradesh High Court Grants Bail to Accused in Tirupati Ghee Adulteration Case
Bail to 3 people accused of supplying adulterated ghee with beef fat to Tirupati temple. The ghee was used to make laddoos offered to Lord Venkateshwara.
🔷 Naala Temple Dispute: HC asks K’taka govt to submit records of committee appointments
Petitioners say temple management appointments are in violation of HRCEA
Mujahid Balussery has also insulted the Hindu preacher, “Amma” saying, “Yesterday was Mata Amritanandamayi’s fifty-eighth birthday. Whose mother, I don’t know, whose mother she is. I don’t know. You can only become a mother if you become a wife.”
🔷 Mobile phone of cop’s wife stolen from Jagannath Temple sanctum!
🔷 Notices issued to encroachers of temple land to allow access for Scheduled Castes
🔴 TEMPLE NEWS, NON-CRIMES
🔷 This Indian Temple Has Eternal Flames Burning For Centuries, Even Emperor Akbar Failed To Stop It
Jwala Devi temple in Madhya Pradesh.
🔷 Ayodhya Temple Gets Rs 12-Crore Twin Gold Swings For Ram Lalla’s Shravana Rituals
🔷 Sita Birthplace: Hope Rises In Sitamarhi, But Faithkeeper Doubtful
Sita is thought to have been born in Nepal where there’s already a temple for her. Some Hindus maintain she was born in Bihar.
🔷 Ramayana Yatra to Begin on July 25, Pilgrims to Visit Sacred Sites of Lord Ram
🔷 Locals start restoration of 5000-yr-old Sharda Mata Temple in Kupwara’s Gugloosa
🔷 Maharashtra: Gani Sayyad’s (Muslim) offering of Rs 1 lakh silver crown at temple wins hearts
🔷 Century-old ‘Kharchi Puja’, worship of 14 deities, to begin in Tripura
🔷 PM Modi pays tributes to Vivekananda on death anniversary
🔷 Chief Minister inaugurates new accommodation facility at Tiruchendur temple
🔷 7 Temples Where It’s Said Lord Vishnu Still Rests
🔷 Step back in time at this ancient temple in Goa’s Keri
🔷 Beautification and restoration works at Shri Mallikarjun Temple, Khotigao
🔷 No politics, no DJ parties in Kerala temple festivals: Devaswom Board issues strict guidelines
🔷 Ongallur Tali Mahadev Temple: A step towards national heritage recognition
🔴 FESTIVALS
🔷 Preparations begin for Lord Jagannath’s ‘Bahuda Yatra’ – Return Car Festival
🔷 Bengal govt to keep air ambulance in Digha during Rath Yatra on July 5
🔷 All You Need to Know About the Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan
🔷 Mamata performs ‘aarati’ at ISKCON’s Rath Yatra festival
🔷 Poda Pitha offered to Lord Jagannath at Mausi Maa temple during Bahuda Yatra: Know details here
It’s a baked cake made with flour, sugar, almonds, cardamom, cloves, and desi ghee.
🔷 Bonalu Festival 2025: Date, Rituals, History and Significance of Telangana’s Devotional Celebration
“The origin of Bonalu dates back to the 19th century, during a deadly plague in Hyderabad. According to legend, a military battalion stationed in Ujjain prayed to Goddess Mahakali, promising to bring her idol to Hyderabad if the epidemic ended. When the plague subsided, the soldiers kept their promise and established her worship in Hyderabad. Thus, Bonalu is a thanksgiving festival dedicated to the Goddess for her protection and blessings”
🔷 Over 15 million devotees expected in Mathura’s Govardhan for 469-year-old Mudiya Poono fair
“More than 15 million (1.5 crore) devotees are expected to converge on the Govardhan hill from July 4 to 11 for the Mudiya Poono fair, a centuries-old religious gathering marked by the sacred 21-km ‘parikrama’ (circumambulation) of the hill”
🔷 Kerala’s Aranmula gets ready for annual Valla Sadya festival: How to book?
🔷 Kerala – Kottiyoor Vaishaka Mahotsavam Concludes with Mutherri Vaal’s Return
This festival is 28 days long. It commemorates Daksha’s yagna where Lord Shiva’s first wife, Sati immolated herself.
🔴 PILGRIMAGES
🔷 Amarnath Yatra 2025: First batch of pilgrims left from Jammu amid chants of ‘Har-Har Mahadev’
🔷 Amarnath ji pilgrims accorded rousing reception at Udhampur
🔷 First Aarti Of Baba Barfani From The Holy Amarnath Cave
🔷 Kedarnath yatra temporarily suspended after landslide
🔷 Direct Bus Service from Kahalgaon to Basukinath to Begin in Sawan for Pilgrims
🔷 Yaduveer inspects facilities atop Chamundi Hills ahead of Aashada Friday
“….the second Friday in the Hindu month of Aashada, during which over 1.5 lakh devotees are expected to throng the Chamundi Hills to have darshan of Goddess Chamundeshwari at Sri Chamundeshwari Temple,”
🔴 CELEBS & POLITICIANS AT TEMPLES
🔷 TV actress, Devoleena Bhattacharjee embraces motherhood and devotion at Kamakhya temple
🔷 Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang offers prayers at Pahadi Mata Mandir in Haryana
🔷 “Some things don’t need words…”: Alia Bhatt reacts to Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana first look
🔴 LISTS
🔷 8 Breathtaking Indian Temples That Are Surrounded By Water
🔷 Lost heritage: 5 historic Indian monuments destroyed by invaders
🔴 OVERSEAS HINDU NEWS
🔴 MISC – RELIGIOUS
🔷 How Veerashaivas wiped out Jains from Karnataka in the 12th century
🔴 MISC: NON-RELIGIOUS
🔷 Custodial Torture in Tamil Nadu: A Continuing Legacy of Colonial Violence and Systemic Impunity
🔴 OTHER RELIGIONS
🔷 Opinion | No, Bangladesh’s Islamist Descent Is Not Yunus’ Doing Alone
🔷 At 90, the Dalai Lama braces for final showdown with Beijing: his reincarnation
🔷 Kick off July with Sufi tunes, films, workshops and more in Ahmedabad
🔷 Writers, thinkers, criticise govt. order against Muharram
“The Karnataka government’s decision to ban Muharram related events in some villages in a few districts owing to possible law and order disturbances, has come under fire from intellectuals”
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