Hindu devotees pray to the bricks reading "Shree Ram" (Lord Ram), which are expected to be used in constructing Ram temple, demanded by millions of Hindus for over 100 years, in Ayodhya, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, February 3, 2022. It's one of several frenetic constructions underway in Ayodhya, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking reelection by touting Hindu-first politics coupled with economic prosperity. Over 150 million people are expected to vote in the state across seven phases starting Thursday before results are declared in March. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)





An artist makes the final touches to an idol of the Hindu goddess Saraswati during preparations for Basant Panchami or Vasant Panchami, a Hindu festival that celebrates the coming of spring in Kolkata, India on February 3, 2022. (Photo by Avishek Das/Sopa Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





The mortal remains of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar cremated at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, India, 06 February 2022. Lata Mangeshkar passed away aged 92 in Mumbai after she was treated for COVID-19 and pneumonia symptoms nearly for a month. (Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA/EFE)





Women and children throw flower petals as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath meets residents of a Sikh locality during a campaign for the upcoming state assembly elections in Gorakhpur, India, Saturday, February 5, 2022. Weeks-long ballots will take place in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state with a population of more than 200 million, as well as states such as Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. Coronavirus is still spreading rapidly through India, prompting anxiety as elections will attract millions to polling booths. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)





Indian girl students who were barred from entering their classrooms for wearing hijab, a headscarf used by Muslim women, walk outside their college in Udupi, India, Monday, February 7, 2022. Muslim girls wearing hijab are being barred from attending classes at some schools in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, triggering weeks of protests by students. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)





A girl peeps at a gate as primary school students enter to attend an open air class near their school building as part of an initiative from the government following restrictions imposed to control the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, in Kolkata on February 7, 2022. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)





An Indian laborer hangs dyed yarn for drying under the sun at a textile mill in Mangalagiri near Vijayawada, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, India, 08 February 2022. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/EPA/EFE)





A Muslim student holds a placard during a protest by Muslim Students Federation (MSF) against the recent hijab ban in few of Karnataka's colleges, in New Delhi, India, February 8, 2022. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)





A hand rickshaw puller waits for customer in front of theatre posters pasted on wall in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, February 9, 2022. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)





A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in Vrindavan on February 10, 2022 during the first phase of Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections. (Photo by Money Sharma/AFP Photo)





An Indian Muslim woman holds a placard during a protest against banning Muslim girls wearing hijab from attending classes at some schools in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, in Kolkata, India, Thursday, February 10, 2022. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)





A young Purple Foundation Centre for Peace and Progress member during a protest march against hijab (headscarf) restrictions in Kolkata, Eastern India, 10 February 2022. Six students at the Government Women First Grade College in Udupi district, Karnataka, have been barred from attending classes for wearing a hijab and Hindu students began wearing saffron shawls as a sign of protest. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA/EFE)





Students wearing facemasks and face-shields attend a class after the reopening of schools closed as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, at a government girls primary school in Hyderabad on February 11, 2022. (Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP Photo)





A boy looks at Shakti, a Bengal Tiger strolling inside its enclosure at Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo after the facility was reopened for visitors as part of easing of restrictions imposed earlier to curb the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in Mumbai on February 10, 2022. (Photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP Photo)





A florist prepares flower bouquets in Bangalore on February 12, 2022, ahead of Valentines Day celebrations. (Photo by Manjunath Kiran/AFP Photo)





People wait for a bus along a road on the backdrop of a wall mural in New Delhi on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)





A boy shields his face from the sun with roses, as he waits for customers on Valentine's Day at a promenade in Mumbai, India, February 14, 2022. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)





Villagers pass through a mustard field in Jhusi area, in Allahabad on February 15, 2022. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)





Cattle cross polluted waters of the river Sabarmati on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India on February 16, 2022. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)





Birds fly in a formation behind as an Indian farmer works in a paddy field on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Wednesday, February 16, 2022. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)