India’s Muslim president and Sikh prime minister were today helping to open one of the biggest Hindu temples of modern times.

The Indian federal government has ordered a state-run company building a tourist complex near the Taj Mahal to stop work because the project violates laws protecting the 17th century monument, reports said today.

The leaders of India and Pakistan held ‘‘frank and constructive’’ talks about nuclear safeguards, the fighting in Kashmir and freer trade during their first formal talks in two years today.

Millions of Hindu pilgrims have plunged into the icy waters of the Ganges, hoping to wash away their sins during a religious festival that occurs only once every 12 years.