Tensions between Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and the Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have drawn national attention in recent months.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati protests a notice from the Magh Mela administration regarding his use of the 'Shankaracharya' title, alleging discrimination and questioning the presence of multiple Shankaracharyas from Puri at the event.
In this special series, Dinesh Raheja explores prominent music duos, and the dynamics that went into the making, and the unmaking.
Kamini Kaushal, who began her career with the 1946 classic Neecha Nagar and went on to act in a host of films right till 2022, passed away in her Mumbai home on Thursday night.
'I don't regret anything I've done in my life.'
Self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati, accused of molesting 17 women students, has been remanded to judicial custody. Police have added a charge related to threatening a witness.
Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit hailed a special court's order acquitting them in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. Thakur said the acquittal was a win for "bhagwa" (saffron) and that God will punish those who tried to insult it. Purohit said he was implicated and will continue to serve the nation.
Shor was a masterpiece and the song Ek Pyaar Ka Nagma Hai, Maujon Ki Ravaani Hai, Zindagi Aur Kuch Bhi Nahin, Teri Meri Kahaani Hai plays in my mind every time I think of my sweet wife, who passed away nine years ago. A Ganesh Nadar applauds the fabulous songs in Manoj Kumar movies.
A special court acquitted seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, citing a lack of cogent and reliable evidence. The court emphasized that mere suspicion cannot replace real proof and highlighted loopholes in the prosecution's case.
Because of Mukesh's much-hailed association with Raj Kapoor, it is often overlooked that the singer has also scored hits with almost all major heroes. On Mukesh's 102nd birth anniversary on July 22, Dinesh Raheja recalls some of his classic songs.
Members of the film industry trouped in to say their last goodbyes to Manoj Kumar at a prayer meet held on Sunday evening.
Roshmila Bhattacharya shows us just why India has lost her Mr Bharat.
The Amrit snan was originally scheduled in the early hours of the day but was postponed following the stampede.
The veteran actor passed into the ages in the early hours of Friday, April 4, 2025. Sukanya Verma looks back at his most memorable performances.
The Maha Kumbh witnessed its third grand 'Amrit Snan' on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami, drawing hundreds of thousands of devotees from across the globe, all seeking spiritual liberation through the sacred dip, which was going on smoothly, officials said.
The 'Amrit Snan' by saints and seers of all 13 akharas on Mauni Amavasya, which was deferred after a stampede at the Maha Kumbh, concluded at the Sangam on Wednesday evening, officials said.
Swami Shivanand Saraswati, known as the world's 'oldest saint', claims to be 129 years old and has been attending the Kumbh Mela for 100 years.
The Akhil Bharatiya Kinnar Akhara is the 14th akhara at the Maha Kumbh.
The director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, V Kamakoti, has sparked controversy after making a remark about the "medicinal value" of cow urine, or "gomutra." Kamakoti, while speaking at an event celebrating Maatu Pongal (a festival dedicated to cows and bulls), cited an anecdote about a sanyasi who was cured of a fever by consuming gomutra. He also claimed that gomutra has "anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and digestive properties." The remark has been widely condemned by rationalist organizations, political leaders, and medical professionals who have criticized Kamakoti's statements as "pseudoscience" and "regressive." The controversy highlights the ongoing debate in India around traditional beliefs and scientific evidence.
A state government that came to power after swearing to protect all people without discrimination refused to help a non-Christian organisation till the high court rapped it on its knuckles, observes former BJP MP Tarun Vijay, former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
"We at the Arya Samaj appeal to all not to use the terms `saffronisation' or `desaffronisation' when referring to the\n\nchanges in the NCERT textbooks, as the colour is symbolic of sanyas," Agnivesh told reporters
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, alleging that the latter purposely keeps mum on the tragic death of his mother and sister in an attack by Razakars in order to avoid losing Muslim votes. Adityanath claimed that Kharge's village, Varawatti, was burned down by Razakars and that his mother, aunt, and sister died in the attacks. He accused Kharge of suppressing this painful personal memory for political expediency and for fear of losing Muslim votes. Adityanath also alleged that Congress ignores historical atrocities for the sake of vote bank politics and conveniently forgets the history of the Razakars.
Stoking yet another controversy, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kerala on Friday described social reformer and Dalit icon Sree Narayana Guru, who belonged to the backward Ezhava caste, as the greatest "Hindu sanyasi" the state has ever seen.
At least 30 people were killed and 60 others injured in a pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh early on Wednesday as crores of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of one of the most auspicious days of Mauni Amavasya, officials said.
The prime minister's remarks come ten days after Congress parliamentarian from Amethi Rahul Gandhi created a stir by his statement that had anyone of Gandhi family been active in politics, the Babri Masjid would not have fallen.
The actor's gesture had kicked up an online storm, especially in Tamil Nadu, as many asked if it was okay for the 72-year-old actor to touch the feet of the much younger UP CM.
'They want to wind up Osho's Pune operation, take the money and move out of India.'
As we celebrate singer Mukesh's birth centenary on July 22, it is a nice time to recall his closeness to Lata Mangeshkar, who would call him 'Mukesh bhaiyya'.
Advising parents against educating their children in missionary institutions, Thakur said, "by doing it you will open the doors of old age homes for yourselves."
The 13 month-old Karnataka coalition government of JD-S and Congress slumped into crisis following the resignation of their 11 MLAs from the membership of the state assembly on Saturday.
'I just took the Almighty's name and plunged into it.'
The 'Tamil Thai Vaazhthu', an invocation, is only a prayer song and not a National Anthem and hence, there is no need for every one to remain in standing posture when it is rendered, the Madras High Court bench here has ruled.
With Bharatiya Janata Party facing 'dynasty politics' criticism, following the appointment of veteran leader B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra as its Karnataka unit president, party's senior leader C T Ravi on Saturday tried to dodge related questions, and in a cryptic remark said he too is being haunted by certain 'questions'.
'Towards the late '60s and early '70s, it was a given that if it was Shankar-Jaikishan, it had to be Sharda for Shankar.'
Ramesh said he would file a case against Thakur in the apex court as the police in Karnataka would not act against the BJP MP.
As we mark the 34th death anniversary of Shankar -- of the legendary Shankar-Jaikishan duo -- Subhash K Jha selects five evergreen songs from their greatest hits.
"But I am not talking about any competition -- about more than them, less than them," the RSS chief added quickly.
The gau rakshak stated that the famine-stricken people were suffering because of their past karma and nothing could be done for them. The reply apparently infuriated Vivekananda, who told the gau rakshak bluntly that he had no sympathy to spare for societies which would not lift a finger to help human beings but wasted piles of food on birds and beasts. A fascinating excerpt from Govind Krishnan V's book, Vivekananda The Philosopher of Freedom.
Long before she won royalty rights for playback singers, there was an undisclosed incident in Lataji's life where she not only put a male colleague in place, but also refused to sing with him thereafter.
Adityanath's office hit back at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for commenting his saffron clothes, saying the CM wore saffron robes for 'public service after sacrificing everything'.
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