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Opposition says prime minister targeting Muslim minority with ‘hate speech’ and violating election rulesIndia’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been accused of hate speech during a campaign rally where he called Muslims “infiltrators” who had “many children” and claimed they would take people’s hard-earned money.The opposition accused Modi of “blatantly targeting” India’s 200 million Muslim minority with comments made while addressing voters at a...

Citizenship amendment act grants Indian nationality to refugees who are Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Jain or Buddhist, but not MuslimThe Indian government has enacted a divisive citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, just weeks before prime minister Narendra Modi heads into a general election.The law, known as the citizenship amendment act (CAA), was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation proposed by...

Controversy in West Bengal centres around Akbar and Sita, named for a Hindu deity, being placed in the same enclosureAn Indian Hindu nationalist organisation has launched a court petition to stop two lions named after a Hindu deity and a 16th-century Muslim emperor from sharing a zoo enclosure.Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a prominent rightwing Hindu organisation, went to court in the state of West...

Fears decision on Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi could increase religious tensions and inspire more claimsAn Indian court has ruled that Hindus can worship inside a contested mosque, a verdict that it is feared will increase religious tensions and galvanise further claims against other Muslim places of worship.Gyanvapi mosque, in the holy city of Varanasi, was built in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor...

Narendra Modi hails controversial opening as fulfilment of ‘dream that many have cherished for years’More than three decades after a mob of militant Hindu radicals razed a mosque to the ground in the Indian town of Ayodhya, the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has inaugurated the new Hindu temple that will stand in its place.For some, the inauguration marks a hugely significant religious moment....

Annapoorani: the Goddess of Food criticised for depiction of deity and member of vegetarian caste cooking and eating meatNetflix is embroiled in a backlash in India from rightwing Hindu groups over a film accused of offending religious sentiments for its depiction of a deity and a member of a traditionally vegetarian caste cooking and eating meat.Annapoorani: the Goddess of Food, a film made in...