The ‘milk miracle’ that brought India to a standstill

In the mid-1990s, millions of Hindus around the world were gripped by reports in New Delhi of sacred statues "drinking" milk.

In the early morning of 21 September 1995, rumours of the elephant-headed deity Ganesha sipping milk from a spoon spread across the country. Offering food and drink like milk to the gods is an integral part of Hindu rituals.

Huge crowds of people queued at temples to try to catch a glimpse of what many believed was a miracle. Around the world, news quickly spread to other Hindu communities where the same phenomenon was witnessed.

Radha Krishna Bharadwaj was a Hindu priest at the Shree Durga Vishno temple in New Delhi when the rumours first emerged.

He spoke to Witness about the day news of the "miracle" brought India to a standstill.

Witness: The stories of our times told by the people who were there.