For the second straight day, HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday made a strong defence of the government's actions with regard to the Jawaharlal Nehru University issue and suicide of Dalit student in Hyderabad University in the face of intense attack by the opposition which alleged that attempts were being made to suppress dissent.
Even as thousands of people are reeling under drought in Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is organising an Ayutha Maha Chandi Yagam on a scale that is unprecedented.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 48 hours.
Rediff readers went pandal hopping and shared these pictures.
When the deadly earthquake battered Nepal last week, major temples in Kathmandu' Darbar Square were razed to the ground, but the home of a nine-year-old girl worshipped as a living goddess remained almost unscathed.
If anybody targets doctors, nurses and all those rendering their service during this crisis, then it will cost them dearly, Modi said, adding people in white like doctors and nurses are like gods.
Amid a raging debate over 'love jihad', a Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party MLA has asked organisers of forthcoming Navratri festival to disallow entry of non-Hindu youths in pandals where 'garba' or devotional dance is performed in the praise of goddess Durga.
No religion or God says that you have to visit pandals and temples and mosques to pray, Vardhan underlined.
Where we bring you the best of celebrity foodgasm moments.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
In a sign of the growing political prominence of Hindus in America, the Trump and Biden campaigns are wooing this religious minority community like never before. Hinduism is the fourth largest faith in the US, representing approximately one per cent of the US population in 2016.
We knew from the moment the pandemic took hold that this would be a long haul -- at least 12 to 18 months. Nothing should have changed that assessment, says Mihir S Sharma.
There is a deep-seated sense of rejection that the new generation Tamil youth have felt for a decade and more now, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The remark by Agrawal was expunged by the chair even as it came for a strong condemnation from the BJP.
Mayank Agarwal has impressed at the top of the order in the few Tests he has played so far, but former India captain Sourav Ganguly says he will wait and watch before calling him a first-choice opener.
Will appeasement, rising unemployment and her dictatorial style become major obstacles in her path? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
Sukanya Verma looks at the colourful portrayal of this festival on the Bollywood screen.
2020 has dimmed the animated bulbs that create magical images and transform Kolkata into a mesmerising fairyland during Durga Puja.
'If the government has not listened to scientists, it must.' 'It's obvious that this is a science-driven campaign (fight), a science-driven situation.' 'We cannot afford to ignore the science.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday drew flak for his remark praising his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina for her resolve against terror "despite being a woman".
Chief Minister Stalin seems to have drawn a line between his personal beliefs and those of others in the family, beginning with wife Durga Stalin, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
He also alleged that for the Bharatiya Janata Party dispensation and its allies being a Hindu is no different from the team identity loyalty of the 'British football hooligan'.
Carrying their baggage, thousands of people are leaving the port town of Paradip to escape the wrath of the severe cyclonic storm 'Phailin' which is expected to make landfall in Odisha in less than 24 hours.
From Hurricane Dorian to Hong Kong protests to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega event in Houston, Texas, United States -- these are the big moments that shaped the month of September.
President Pranab Mukherjee has yet again come out with an appeal for practicing tolerance and to accept differences while respecting dissent, in remarks that come in the midst of growing intolerance in the country.
Controversial godwoman Radhe Maa has often been slammed for her ostentatious lifestyle. Yet her ardent devotees have chosen to ignore critics and immerse themselves in her 'aura'. But recent developments may have left them shocked... and contemplating!
Sharma walked out a free man from Tihar Jail on Friday night after serving close to 23 years for killing his wife Naina Sahni and then trying to dispose of her body in a tandoor in 1995 at the roof of erstwhile 4-star hotel Ashok Yatri Niwas, now Royal Plaza, at Ashok Road in the heart of the capital.
'How many people have died in India so far due to Covid?' 'Multiply that by at least four, and that many people in intense grief are there in the country.'
The BJP took a dig at Gandhi, saying the Congress vice president was visiting temples as his party has failed to win elections in the state for long time.
Did you know that the nine colours signify the nine distinct characteristics of Goddess Durga?
A home ministry official said while 9,000 Tablighi Jamaat members and their primary contacts have been quarantined till now across the country due to "massive efforts" to check the outbreak, the Centre has written to all states and union territories that "the lockdown measures should be implemented in letter and spirit".
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
Giant effigies of 10-headed demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhakaran went up in flames marking the triumph of good over evil as fervour marked Dussehra festivities across the country on Thursday.
As Melania Trump arrives in Ahmedabad, Sheela Bhatt offers the First Lady Of The United States a primer on one of India's oldest, and historic, cities.
As you spruce up for Dussehra puja this year, we have a suggestion for you! How about looking at your finances in a whole new way?
'... as long as he doesn't stop me from mingling with my Muslim friends.' 'Tolerance isn't about making a show of your respect for another man's religion. Tolerance is about not interfering in other people's affairs as long as it doesn't infringe your own rights as an individual.'
'This country is not of one culture. We must live together and we must respect each other.'
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 13 images.
Awful religious practices need to be abolished. But through social and political reformers, not by courts, argues Shekhar Gupta.
With relief yet to reach them after 13 days since the devastating earthquake, villagers of Pikhel claim the government is unconcerned about their well-being since they belong to the Dalit community. Anusha Subramanian reports
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