MUMBAI (RNS) — As COVID-19 infections rise, the local and national governments' decision to allow the Kumbh Mela is being scrutinized as a sign of the BJP-led government favoring Hindu beliefs over ...

Tens of thousands of people immersed themselves in freezing waters at the confluence of sacred rivers as the six-week Maha Kumbh Mela festival began in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

“Kumbh Mela is not only a religious pilgrimage, but also perhaps the largest mass gathering at one place,” said the federal government’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in late January, in an ...

Hindu devotees packed the streets of Haridwar, in northern India, on Monday for the largest religious pilgrimage on Earth, in scenes that defied social distancing rules just as Covid-19 infections ...