UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued his New Year's message for 2026 in Hindi, among other languages, urging world leaders to prioritize development over destruction. He highlighted the staggering scale of human suffering and the disproportionate global military spending.
By appearing to privilege ideological affinity over strategic balance, India risks eroding the trust painstakingly built across West Asia. Once the perception takes hold that India's friendship is conditional and transactional, rebuilding credibility will be difficult, warns Amberish K Diwanji.
Hindi Diwas was observed across India with leaders emphasizing Hindi's role as a unifying factor and the need to enrich all Indian languages. Events were held in India and abroad to promote the language.
Sarla Maheshwari brought families together for that half hour -- delivering the news with remarkable poise, a firm command over language, without drama or noise. She was a classic.
The trailer of the film, produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and directed by Kamakhya Narain Singh, released on Tuesday and landed straight into controversy. It tracks the stories of three Hindu women from three different states going against their families to marry Muslim men and then being forced to convert.
The upcoming Hindi film 'The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond' is embroiled in controversy, similar to its predecessor, with accusations of hate propaganda and defenses of legitimate concern over religious conversion.
'This story has been always there since my childhood because of missing people.' 'I remember a family member who disappeared and I kept wondering what happened to him.'
In a post on X, Thackeray also claimed that those who attended Bhagwat's programme in Mumbai on February 7-8 to mark the RSS centenary did not come out of love for him but due to the fear of Narendra Modi's government.
A R Rahman: 'I feel blessed to be Indian, which enables me to create a space which always allows freedom of expression and celebrates multicultural voices.'
When we took the aaram se test, we found that it did offer huge head and leg room and a wee bit more space than what the prevailing autorickshaws offer.
'Once when he was on a flight, the plane hit an air-pocket.' 'The turbulence outside caused it to see-saw violently which caused a lot of panic inside. While his co-passengers were crying and praying for their lives, Salil kaku was writing a song in his head.'
'Audiences are loyal to good content.'
'At times when the pressure, glitz and glam felt horribly garish, there he was with no pretences or guile. A sweet reminder that life is about the real things not the fluff.'
...a time when his legacy ledger was still positive and before the debacle against China. With every subsequent election, our leaders tend to become weaker. India should consider passing a law that no person should hold the highest office in our country for more than two terms, points out Harishchandra.
'I felt I didn't understand the film industry at all.'
'We are not opposed to any Indian language. We are against Hindi imposition.'
Buildings were decorated with colourful lights and earthen lamps dotted houses as people across the country thronged temples and celebrated Diwali with pomp on Monday.
As it gains commercial viability, the food will likely become a powerful political currency.
'I wanted to go for the heart, and at the same time, open the audience's mind.'
'Look after your own mother before looking after your neighbour's mother.' 'I don't believe in starving my own mother and feeding sweets to the neighbours.'
Opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy appeals to MPs to vote with conscience in the upcoming vice presidential polls, urging them to prioritize the spirit of India and parliamentary traditions over party loyalty.
This isn't just a home for the elderly. It's a place where life stories, generations, and cultures weave themselves into something quietly extraordinary, discovers Nitin Sathe.
'When India opened its doors to the world, moving away from an agrarian to a market economy, everything, whether life or love, was commodified.'
Today's Hindi film mothers are younger, trendier, more mischievous. But, truth be told, says Dinesh Raheja, I still do miss sometimes the comforting presence of the trad mother.
There is no guarantee that if we speak in only Indian languages, all our faults will be washed away and India will shine. Why then do they bully and belittle the English-speaking? asks Shyam G Menon.
Sholay's Basanti is the face of women's empowerment and gender equality. That's why, half a century after the movie first released, we're still talking about her.
'Your family doesn't want you to come to this field because there's no direction, no formula.' 'It's not as if your career is settled and you will get work consistently.'
Bill Aitken came to India nearly 60 years ago. He never returned. An Indian citizen since 1972, he tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how India changed his life forever.
'I don't have to 'kill' my best friend (on a reality show) and not even apologise.'
'Do films today even have the courage to question the establishment?'
'If delimitation is not handled well by the Centre, the southern states are certainly going to challenge it.'
'You can say it was a moment that can be described as unimaginable or unbelievable.'
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday said she felt like the protagonist of the Hindi movie Nayak after being selected for the post and asserted that it was not a 'lottery' but an honour for all daughters of the country.
If the DMK is able to sustain the momentum until the assembly polls, the AIADMK especially and the PMK and possibly the infant TVK too would find it hard to sign up with the BJP, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The DMK protested in the Lok Sabha after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticized the Tamil Nadu government for refusing to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) and accused them of "politics." Pradhan alleged that the state had initially agreed to the PM SHRI scheme but later backed out. The DMK, however, asserted that they have issues with the NEP and the three-language formula, and cannot accept it in full. The protests disrupted House proceedings, leading to an adjournment. The DMK members were angered by Pradhan's accusations, demanding the release of funds allocated for education in the state.
Being a 'fauji' kid, Sofiya Qureshi grew up listening to tales of valour and sacrifice of the army shared by her grandfather, who was a soldier.
Lillian Carter, a trained nurse and a Peace Corps worker, spent two years of her life, when she was in her late 60s, serving the poor in India, in the 1960s. She was posted as a volunteer to Vikhroli, then a village 30 km outside of Mumbai and a Godrej township, and was there from 1966 to 1968.
Rajbaris are a link to Bengal's rich past, of grand mansions, classical fine dining, and allow guests to be pretend zamindars for those few hours or days that they stay.
'My trajectory right now is five steps forward, two steps backwards.'
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