Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has called for Aligarh to be renamed 'Harigarh', drawing parallels with the renaming of Ayodhya and Prayagraj. He also paid tribute to former CM Kalyan Singh and criticized the Samajwadi Party.
The Social and Educational Survey, popularly known as the 'caste census' in Karnataka, commenced on Monday, with enumerators going door-to-door to collect data.
Let there be no doubt that Modi in these 24 years so far has reshaped politics and governance considerably, if not completely, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
'I wanted to go for the heart, and at the same time, open the audience's mind.'
From a modest start with baithaks of a handful of swayamsevaks in a small town in Nagpur, the RSS, which completes 100 years of its foundation on Thursday, has come a long way to become the world's biggest voluntary organisation with a pan-India presence, shaping the country's political and social discourse.
'But I know why he did it.' 'He was being heckled by BJP members who were mocking the Congress.' 'In that context, he quoted the song to tell them: "We know your anthem, we know your ideology, we know how divisive you are".' 'It was not an endorsement.'
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Rammu Guru, the head priest of the temple, said, "Sai Baba was being worshiped without proper knowledge, which is forbidden according to scriptures."
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said that in his personal opinion, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh should be banned as most law and order problems in the country are arising because of the Bharatiya Janata Party-RSS.
The Rajya Sabha MP said the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test has prevented access to medical education for so many children and the strength to change that rule of exam could emerge only from education.
"I do not think the idea of turning India into a 'Hindu Rashtra' is appropriate," Sen, 90, said.
The Telangana government has issued a circular allowing Muslim employees to leave offices an hour early during the holy month of Ramzan. The move has been criticized by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which termed it "appeasement politics". The BJP questioned why similar measures are not extended during Hindu festivals. The ruling Congress party defended the decision, stating that such facilities are provided during various festivals and are not unique to Ramzan.
'Bollywood now pushing propaganda with #TheTajStory a film twisting history by showing the Taj Mahal as a temple. A country boasting of being the 4th largest economy is drowning in fantasy & communal myths. When propaganda feels ashamed, you know it's India 2025'
For Malegaon's Muslims, Rahul Gandhi's remarks were simply one more indication that the party they once supported no longer cares for them, notes Jyoti Punwani.
The incident has brought back into focus the controversy that erupted last year when BJP-led governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directed food outlets along the Kanwar route to display the names of their owners and staff.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested Friday by a police party in Leh, two days after violent protests by supporters of the movement for statehood and extension of Sixth Schedule of Constitution left four persons dead and 90 others injured, officials said.
Newly-elected BJP MLA Mohan Bisht has proposed changing the name of the Mustafabad constituency in northeast Delhi to 'Shiv Vihar' or 'Shiv Puri', citing the Hindu population being higher in the constituency. He justified his proposal by stating that the Hindu population is higher in the constituency. AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan questioned the BJP's motive behind the proposal, urging them to focus on positive work instead of negativity. Bisht, a six-time MLA, is seen as a potential candidate for the post of Delhi Chief Minister.
A female student of primary school was killed in Kaliganj in West Bengal's Nadia district on Monday after bombs were allegedly hurled from a Trinamool Congress victory celebration rally taken out even before the results of the assembly bypoll were officially announced.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
George stated that a girl should be married off by the time she is 22 or 23 and that such decency should be maintained.
BJP leader Nitesh Rane criticizes MNS after alleged assault on a man for not speaking Marathi, sparking political controversy.
In doing so, it further cemented the community's determination to support the opposition. But at the same time, it consolidated its Hindu vote bank like never before.
Kolkata Police stopped the trailer launch of 'The Bengal Files', a film based on the 1946 Calcutta Riots, its director Vivek Agnihotri claimed, sparking controversy and allegations of censorship.
The State Investigation Agency (SIA) conducted raids in central Kashmir as part of its investigation into the 35-year-old murder of Sarla Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit woman. The raids targeted individuals formerly associated with the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
'This is just the beginning. You have to wait and watch to see things getting better.'
In a separate incident in the Mant area of the district, the recovery of a burnt cow carcass on the Yamuna Expressway service road on Saturday also led to protests by Hindu activists.
In an embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, one of its MLAs has been accused of hurting Hindu sentiments by allegedly berating Goddess Lakshmi and Saraswati and Lord Hanuman.
As Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeks another shot at power in his first ever assembly election from Gorakhpur Urban, also underway is a silent re-branding of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a radical outfit he established in 2002 when he was a parliamentarian, Sai Manish reports.
'As we read and assess what is going on around us in the India of 2025, it is instructive to do this through the lens of 75 years ago and the events that led to the formation of the BJP as we know it,' recalls Aakar Patel.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Parvesh Verma on Wednesday said he will file a Rs 50 crore defamation suit each against AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for levelling "false allegations against" and claiming he called Punjabis a "threat" to the country.
The BJP's Murshidabad unit in West Bengal announced plans to construct a Ram temple in Berhampore, days after TMC MLA Humayun Kabir proposed to set up a mosque modeled after the Babri Masjid in Beldanga. The temple construction, estimated to cost Rs 10 crore, is expected to begin on January 22, 2025, one year after the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Kabir's announcement sparked political controversy, with opposition parties accusing him of attempting to polarise communities for political gain. The BJP's counterproposal is seen as a strategic move to strengthen its presence among the Hindu community in Murshidabad.
Hyderabad police have imposed restrictions on Holi celebrations, prohibiting group vehicle movement and throwing colors on unwilling individuals. BJP MLA Raja Singh criticized the notification, calling it a "Tughlaq farman " and accusing the Congress government of favoring a particular community. He questioned the lack of similar restrictions during Ramzan and alleged that the Congress government is anti-Hindu.
The Republican Party of India-Athawale leader said that removing Aurangzeb's tomb would not solve anything.
Gond also claimed that the Dargah premises was the meditation site of Maharaja Suheldev's guru, Rishi Balark.
BJP MLAs Bharat Y Shetty and Vedavyas Kamath had taken up the issue and demanded stringent action against the teacher or else face protests.
Here's the list of the seven accused who faced trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
A loud sound was heard at around 1 am outside Kalia's residence near Shastri Market in Jalandhar, police said, adding that no one was hurt in the incident.
This is important because he is to be seen as a sure winner before criss-crossing the state to campaign for candidates of the party or an alliance, highlights N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP may be in the Opposition in many states, but nowhere is it as divided as it is in Karnataka, points out Aditi Phadnis.
