What’s in an Indian lion’s name? A roaring dispute | Religion

What’s in an Indian lion’s name? A roaring dispute | Religion

The Calcutta High Court this week told the government of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal to consider renaming two lions in a zoo-cum-animal reserve after a Hindu nationalist organisation called Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) found their names rather catty. Starting on Tuesday, the court heard the plea requesting a…

How RSS textbooks are reshaping Indian history and science under Modi | Education News

How RSS textbooks are reshaping Indian history and science under Modi | Education News

Kolkata, India – At the three-storey building of Sarada Shishu Vidya Mandir, a school for grades five to 10 in Uluberia town in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, students gather every day at the prayer hall 15 minutes before their classes begin. The walls in the prayer hall…

Anti-Semitism and safety fears surge among US Jews, survey finds | Religion News

Anti-Semitism and safety fears surge among US Jews, survey finds | Religion News

Nearly two-thirds of American Jews feel less secure in the United States than they did a year ago, according to a new national survey. The American Jewish Committee (AJC), a prominent advocacy organisation, conducted the survey just as Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7. The number of American…

Malaysia’s top court rules some Islamic laws in Kelantan unconstitutional | Courts News

Malaysia’s top court rules some Islamic laws in Kelantan unconstitutional | Courts News

Majority ruling could have major legal implications in multiethnic country that operates a dual judicial system. Malaysia’s top court has ruled that 16 Islamic laws in the northeastern state of Kelantan are unconstitutional in a landmark decision that could have major implications for the country’s legal system. By an 8-1…

Why is Amnesty urging India to halt bulldozing of Muslim properties? | Religion News

Why is Amnesty urging India to halt bulldozing of Muslim properties? | Religion News

Amnesty International has called on Indian authorities to immediately halt the “unlawful” demolitions of Muslim properties, as it released two new reports describing the targeting of homes, businesses and places of worship across several states belonging to the minority community. Calling the demolitions a form of extra-judicial punishment, the rights…

In Modi’s constituency Varanasi, India’s next temple-mosque spat explodes | Religion News

In Modi’s constituency Varanasi, India’s next temple-mosque spat explodes | Religion News

Varanasi/Bengaluru, India – A festive atmosphere engulfed Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities situated on the banks of the river Ganga. It was the week Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the new temple to the Hindu deity Ram where the 16th century Babri Masjid once stood in the city of…

Hindu prayers begin inside India’s Mughal-era mosque after court order | Religion News

Hindu prayers begin inside India’s Mughal-era mosque after court order | Religion News

Right-wing Hindu groups have been claiming the 17th-century mosque adjacent to a famous temple in Varanasi city for decades. Hindu worshippers have begun praying inside a 17th-century mosque in the Indian city of Varanasi, hours after a court order gave them the go-ahead at the disputed site. The Gyanvapi Mosque…

India’s Ayodhya wakes up to harsh realities after Modi’s Ram temple event | Religion News

India’s Ayodhya wakes up to harsh realities after Modi’s Ram temple event | Religion News

Ayodhya, India – As half a million people converged on the gates of the new temple to the Hindu deity Ram, Brijesh Pathak looked on. It was the day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had consecrated the shrine amid a national frenzy that had turned the attention of a…