Varanasi
Revitalization of India’s ancient sacred city of Varanasi leaves some longtime visitors cold
By Richa Karmarkar — December 22, 2023
VARANASI, India (RNS) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to revitalize the city's historic sacred sites have increased domestic religious tourism, but for some foreign spiritual seekers, the shiny new hotels, landmarks and tourist-centered rituals have made the experience of visiting a hollow one.
From India and Taiwan to Tibet, the living assist the dead in their passage
By Liz Wilson — October 31, 2023
(The Conversation) — Across cultures, death rituals give mourners a chance to grieve. But they also offer one last opportunity to help the deceased as they transition to the next stage of existence.
Indian court allows survey of a 17th-century mosque to see if it was built over a Hindu temple
By Biswajeet Banerjee — August 3, 2023
LUCKNOW, India (AP) —The dispute over land ownership had been one of India’s most heated issues between India’s 80% majority Hindu community and Muslim minority.
A ‘pilgrimage of love’ seeks Indian Hindu leaders willing to condemn Hindu nationalism
By Nikhil Mandalaparthy — April 24, 2023
(RNS) — Past religious leaders have spoken against hate originating from their own religious traditions.
Dispute over mosque becomes religious flashpoint in India
By Krutika Pathi and Sheikh Saaliq — May 26, 2022
NEW DELHI (AP) — A group of Hindus seeks access to pray inside the Gyanvapi mosque, arguing it was built on top of the ruins of a medieval-era temple that was razed by a Mughal emperor.
Ancient Indian temples are designated ‘iconic,’ worrying preservationists
By Priyadarshini Sen — February 4, 2022
(RNS) — Promises of ‘better connectivity, more jobs and more tourists’ sound more like threats to some locals and conservationists.
How India’s youth are taking to a path shown by a 15th century mystic
By Kalpana Jain — November 13, 2019
VARANASI, India (RNS) — As Indian millennials chart their own spiritual paths they are leading a revival of the teachings of a mystic who wrote couplets on the nature of the divine and criticized any form of orthodoxy.
Decades-old Hindu pilgrimage, aided by Modi government, takes a populist turn
By Kalpana Jain — September 23, 2019
VARANASI, India (RNS) — Religious fervor, supported and aided by India’s right-wing Modi government, is on the rise among some blocs of millennials in India.
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