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🔴 RELIGIOUS CRIMES, BIG STORIES, ROWS
🔷 TEMPLE DESTROYED Historic Shiva temple razed for building Young India School in Telangana
🔷 DALIT TEMPLE ROW Outrage in Gujarat village after Dalits denied entry to temple feast
Sales were told to bring their own plates and eat after everyone else!
🔷 PLATES APART, GODS APART Plates Apart, Gods Apart: Junagadh Temple Feast Exposes Gujarat’s Caste Fault Lines
🔷 KERALA ELEPHANT RAMPAGE Elephant goes on rampage at Kerala temple; 1 killed, several injured
🔷 LIGHTNING STRIKE Lightning Strike Injures Devotees at Historic Temple Festival
“Eleven people, including ten devotees and a police officer, were injured by a lightning strike at the Mangala Devi temple during the annual Chitra Pournami festival.”
🔷 ASARAM BAIL Gujarat High Court Extends Asaram’s Temporary Bail In Rape Case Till June 15
Asaram is a spiritual leader with 400 ashram, 40 schools & convicted of rape.
🔷 SHIVLING UNEARTHED Shivling unearthed during excavation for Ujjain Mahakaleshwar temple expansion
🔷 VHP HIMACHAL PRADESH VHP urges Himachal Govt to free temples, act on religious conversions and cow smuggling
🔷 PILGRIM TRAGEDY Delhi-Mumbai Expressway tragedy: 5 devotees burnt alive as moving car catches fire near Alwar
Devotees were on return trip from Vaishno Devi.
🔷 KALMA THREAT – Seers condemn Muslim cleric’s controversial remark against Hindus
🔷 MAMATA JAGANNATH ROW Digha Jagannath Temple Row May Hurt Mamata, Says Bengal BJP Chief
He’s referring to her building a Jagannath Temple in Bengal and calling it a Dham. The Jagannath Temple in Puri only allows in, Indians. The Jagannath Temple in Bengal allows all races inside to see God.
🔷 ISKCON OBJECTIONS Odia groups in UK object to Iskcon’s early celebrations of Snan Yatra and Rath Yatra
The Jagannath Temple in Puri also objects to ISKCON doing Ratha Yatra on a different date than Puri. They’ve discussed suing.
🔷 DROWNED AT DHAM Four Dead After Family Rescue Attempt Goes Wrong At Gujarat’s Aji Dam
🔷 GUN IN TEMPLE TDP MLA’s gunman enters temple with weapon in Nagalapuram
“ (TTD) lodged a formal complaint with the district police over a security lapse involving the gunman of TDP legislator Koneti Adimoolam at the Sri Veda Narayana Swamy temple in Nagalapuram, 64 km from Tirupati.”
🔷 DALIT HATE CRIMES Ritual Bans to Targeted Killings: Rising anti-Dalit hate and crime across states
🔷 ANIMAL SACRIFICE – Hundreds of Chickens and Goats Spared from Sacrifice at Kaalika Devi Temple in Hosakote, Following PETA India Intervention
🔷 TEMPLE THIEVES – Four-member Maharashtra gang held for stealing temple valuables across A.P.
🔷 STOLEN SILVER FEET Kothuru Court in Srikakulam Sentences Man in Sathya Sai Baba Temple Theft Case
“Sub-inspector Venkatesh said Polumahanti Prasad Rao was convicted for stealing silver feet belonging to Sathya Sai Baba from a temple in Parapuram village on January 9, 2006.”
Why did this take 20 years?
🔷 TEMPLE LAND ROW Temple Land Row in Srinagar: J&K Peace Forum Flags ₹60 Crore Loan Controversy
“….financial dealings involving land belonging to the Durga Naag Temple Trust in Sonwar, Srinagar, calling for a high-level investigation into the matter….. prime temple-linked land parcels were drawn into a complex chain of mortgage, corporate restructuring, and insolvency proceedings, raising questions about the protection of religious properties.”
🔴 TEMPLE NEWS, NON-CRIMES
🔷 TIRUPATI BEATS AYODHYA Not Ayodhya but this is the most visited temple in India
🔷 MECHANICAL ELEPHANT Actor Shriya Saran and PETA India Gift Life-Size Mechanical Elephant to ISKCON Kanpur
🔷 TEMPLE TOURISM
Kondagattu temple features in NITI Aayog Divya Bharat
🔷 GANAPATI Maha Ganapati punar pratishtapana held in new sanctum at Padubidri temple
🔷 MANGALA DEVI Thousands offer prayers at 1,000-yr-old Mangala Devi temple on Tamil Nadu-Kerala border
🔷 ANCIENT TEMPLE ONLINE 10th century Triloknath temple in Himachal goes online
🔷 SIDDHIVINAYAK – Mumbai: Siddhivinayak Temple Announces Special Arrangements For Angarki Sankashti Chaturthi
🔷 1 CRORE RESTORATION216-Year-Old Vitthalnathji Temple in Mandvi to Be Restored at ₹1 Crore
🔷 KASHI MULTILINGUAL Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust to deploy multilingual staff for devotees
🔷 NEW RAM TEMPLE RRR lays foundation for Akiveedu Rama temple
🔷 92,000 HAD DARSHAN Over 92,000 pilgrims had darshan of Lord at Tirumala temple on Saturday
🔷 OPENED AFTER 15 YEARS After 15 Years, Bastin Bazaar Durga Temple Reopens In West Bengal; Devotees Celebrate Big Moment
🔴 FESTIVALS
🔷 Gangamma Jatara begins in Tirupati; ‘Pushpa’ film fuels return of cross-dressing ritual
“Nine-day folk festival begins at the seven Gangamma temples; cross-dressing tradition by male devotees on the penultimate day, popularised in recent years by the film ‘Pushpa: The Rule’, sees a rousing reception from the younger generation”
🔷 NARASIMHA JAYANTI HYDERABAD Sri Narasimha Jayanthi Celebrated With Devotion At Hare Krishna Golden Temple
🔷 BUDDHA PURNIMA – Joyous Celebrations Of Buddha Purnima Across India In Frames
🔷 HANUMAN JAYANTI Telugu Hanuman Jayanti 2026: Know Date, Rituals, Significance And Celebrations In South India
Hanuman Jayanti will be observed on May 12th for Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and other Telegu speaking areas.
🔷 KASHMIRI GANESH – Kashmiri Pandit Community celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi in Sogam
🔷 CHITHIRAI FESTIVAL – Lord Kallazhagar enters the Vaigai amid sea of humanity
🔷 KHEER BHAWANI MELA DC Ganderbal reviews arrangements for Kheer Bhawani Mela 2026
🔴 PILGRIMAGES
🔷 7 QUIETER PILGRIMAGES Tired of crowded pilgrimages? 7 hidden spiritual gems in India that offer a quieter experience
🔷 KEDARNATH Anand Mahindra shares rare photo of what Kedarnath looked like 144 years ago
🔷 HARSH WEATHER Kedarnath pilgrimage continues amid harsh weather; authorities ensure safety for devotees
🔷 BOMB SQUAD Bomb Disposal Squad Inspects Kedarnath Dham As Char Dham Yatra Sees Over 4 Lakh Pilgrims In 10 Days
🔴 CELEBS & POLITICIANS AT TEMPLES
🔷 NITA AMBANI Nita Ambani pays sacred visit to Sai Baba temple in Shirdi, Maharashtra
🔷 KAILASH KHER Kailash Kher Performs ‘Bam Lahiri’ at Kedarnath Temple
🔷 BIHAR CM Bihar CM Celebrates Buddha Purnima at Sacred Mahabodhi Temple
🔷 VARALAXMI SARATHKUMAR – Varalaxmi Sarathkumar visits Tirumala Temple with father Sarathkumar
🔷 VIETNAM PREZ Vietnam President to visit Bodh Gaya today
That’s where the Buddha attained enlightenment.
🔷 PRAYERS BEFORE POLLS Ahead of Assam poll results, Congress candidates Gaurav Gogoi and Santanu Bora offer prayers at Maa Bagala Temple
🔷 JAYA PRADA Jaya Prada prays at the Kamakhya Temple, wishes for happiness & prosperity
🔷 RITEISH DESHMUKH – Riteish Deshmukh on his visit to Dagadusheth: My father used to come here.
🔷 TRISHA KRISHNAN Trisha Krishnan visits Tirupati temple on her birthday
🔴 OVERSEAS HINDU NEWS
🔷 CANADIAN KHALISTAN – Canada declares Khalistan extremists as ‘national security threat’
🔴 MISC: RELIGIOUS
🔷 ASI DECODES SEAL Archaeological Survey of India decodes 1,500-year-old Sanskrit seal from Pakistan
🔷 KAMASUTRA CONSENTConsent is a Core Principle in the Kamasutra – What we Can Learn From it Today
🔷 ANIMAL SKIN Why animal skin is used in temples: A spiritual lesson on purity and purpose
🔷 RAVANA & UTTAR PRADESH – I visited Ravana’s birthplace in Uttar Pradesh and uncovered a mystery no one can explain
🔷 FORGOTTEN SHIVA TEMPLE Borghat’s forgotten Shiva Temple: A quiet legacy of faith, history and harmony
🔴 MISC: NON-RELIGIOUS
🔷 NEWLYWED SUICIDE Newlywed couple found dead in Hyderabad – suicide suspected
🔷 ILLEGAL SWORD FACTORY Illegal sword factory busted in Rajasthan as 9,032 weapons seized
🔷 STATE PROTECTED MONUMENTS Settlement mounds from 1,000 BC, Kushan era to colonial buildings: UP adds 39 sites to protected list
🔴 OTHER RELIGIONS
🔷 JAIN DRESS CODE – Jain Temple in UP Issues ‘Dress Code’ For Women Devotees, Urges them to Avoid ‘Western Outfits’ Like Jeans
What’s ironic is Digambar Jain sadhus literally walk around naked.
🔷 BUDDHA REPATRIATED – Centuries-Old Buddha Idol Stolen in 1980s Returned to Nepal Temple from New York
🔷 OPERATION BLACK THUNDER 40 years of Operation Black Thunder I in Golden Temple
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