Though officially abolished decades ago, the caste system still profoundly influences life in India. Those born into high castes enjoy greater privileges, while low-caste individuals, like the Doms, ...

According to a tradition that reaches back to the foundations of Hinduism, a ritual dip in the Ganges during Kumbh Mela holds the promise of washing away one’s sins. People from all walks of life in ...

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state Yogi Adityanath feeds Siberian gulls at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, ...

ALLAHABAD, India (AP) -- Millions of Hindus plunged into the icy waters of the Ganges River before dawn today, hoping to wash away their sins on the first day of a religious festival that occurs once ...

Varanasi, India (CNN) — The sun glistens on the Ganges as Hindu devotees bathe in the holy river’s waters, and the Muslim call to prayer reverberates through the dusty air. Varanasi, an ancient city ...

VARANASI, India — On a recent Friday afternoon in this holy city in northern India, scooters, pedestrians and cycle rickshaws jostled for space on a street leading to the city's most famous Hindu ...

Hindu devotees pray before taking a dip at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers on the first day of the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, on ...

PRAYAGRAJ, India — The pilgrims come and go as strangers. They march like a sea of people, walking toward the spot where they take holy baths, drawn by the hope that the bathing would bring them ...

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state Yogi Adityanath feeds Siberian gulls at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, ...

PRAYAGRAJ, India — Millions of Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women from all across India flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj on Monday to kickstart the Maha Kumbh festival, which is ...