Jaipur: The decision of Mahant Gosvami Achutanand Maharaj, the high priest of the much-revered Baneshwar temple in Rajasthan’s tribal district of Dungarpur, to end his brahmacharya has sparked a row. The traditions of the over 200-year-old temple do not allow the heads to marry or lead a family life, although the founder of the Baneshwar dham Mavji Maharaj is said to have married four times.

Ranchi: After staging a novel protest for four years, a school teacher in Jharkhand has shaved his beard, cut his hair, and agreed to end his self-imposed celibacy. Shamim Barehar had vowed not to solemnise his marriage in 2003 demanding the construction of a road in his village. His protest bore fruit recently and construction of the Bade Thkurgaon road began last fortnight.