West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee makes momos at a local stall in Darjeeling.
'On the one hand it will appeal to pan-Hindu sentiment and on the other opposition to it could well strengthen support for the BJP among Hindu voters.'
Mahadevan said after he got the invitation to attend the RSS event as the chief guest, he received congratulatory calls from many people, a gesture which he found deeply touching.
'What was said about Muslims was the most important part of the three-day RSS 'seminar'.'
'A person of the stature of the RSS Sarsanghachalak would like to stick to changing social mores and social traditions and uniting society, which is much more important than politics.'
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday. He will be given a state funeral with full state honors at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. Singh served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 and was known for his role in India's economic reforms. Leaders from across the political spectrum paid their respects to the departed leader, highlighting his contributions to the nation.
Those who continue to think that the 2024 election will see the BJP pursuing a more militant line are being alarmist, argues Rajeev Mantri. The BJP, Mantri believes, is not about to shoot itself in the foot. If anything, he says, the BJP may be more inclined to push a harder secularism.
A revealing excerpt from Rahul Shivshankar and Siddhartha Talya's book, Modi & India: 2024 and the Battle for Bharat.
Amidst the fanfare over Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's plans to celebrate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary in Kolkata on January 23, his daughter Anita Bose-Pfaff has said that the organisation's ideology and the nationalist leader's ideas of secularism and inclusiveness are 'poles apart and do not coincide'.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, Mohan Bhargwat launched Dr Swamy's book, Hindutva and National Renaissance, in the capital on Monday. The launch comes in the backdrop of Congress's allegations that the RSS has links to Hindu terror network.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Tuesday said the organisation believes that there is no need to turn India into a 'Hindu Rashtra' or Hindu nation because the country has always been one.
Making it clear that Malegaon blast accused Colonel Srikant Purohit has no links with it, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to set up an independent commission to probe an alleged plot to assassinate its chief Mohan Bhagwat by the former military intelligence officer and efforts to 'malign' the image of the Sangh.
Bhagwat further emphasised that no Muslim will face any loss due to the citizenship law.
When Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's name was floated as Venkaiah Naidu's successor as vice president, the RSS instead suggested Jagdeep Dhankar, indicating that he was also Mohan Bhagwat's choice, states Prakash Bhandari.
'It is obvious that the RSS's desire to gatecrash into the gated establishment which has generally been seen as the redoubt of the liberal intelligentsia is putting it at odds with the BJP which is less tolerant of the mentor's freshly-minted open-mindedness,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
On August 5, Das shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The Sangh chief said, "Even Veer Savarkar had said if the Hindu community gets united and organised, it will speak about the Bhagwad Gita and not about finishing or harming anyone."
'No one is propagating RSS ideology as a government officer.'
What some of our leaders were up to on Thursday and Thursday.
The 93-year-old leader was admitted to the hospital on June 11.
What some of our leaders were up to over the weekend.
'What does Bhagwat think his militia will do once it is at the border?' 'What does Bhagwat imagine his Sangh followers will do that will protect Mother India?' asks Aakar Patel.
The Nagpur Anti Terrorism Squad unit has arrested a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist from Jammu and Kashmir who had allegedly conducted a recce of Dr Hedgewar Smriti Bhawan of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur, Maharashtra, last year, an official said on Wednesday.
"If any wrong words have been spoken about him, I apologise to God Shri Ram for it," Nishad told reporters in Fatehpur. "Lord Shri Ram has done a lot for our community and our community has played an important role in the construction of the Shri Ram temple," he said.
'The Parivar's ideology and politics was and remains the very opposite of what Dr Ambedkar stood for.'
In his nearly 80-minute long speech on the first day of the three-day conclave, Bhagwat also asserted that RSS is "most democratic" and not dictatorial, insisting that it neither imposes its ideology nor remote-controls its various affiliates, apparently rejecting criticism that the Bharatiya Janata Party is controlled by it.
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
The Sena has repeatedly said that its choice for the the highest office is the RSS chief.
Narendra Modi, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Pratibha Patil, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle took blessings of him.
Modi's presence at the evnt would open wounds, the Hyderabad MP said.
Terror groups are keeping security agencies on their toes in the run-up to Independence Day.
A day after the Union cabinet withdrew a controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers it had earlier cleared, yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Thursday termed the decision as "strangulation of democracy" as it was effected after condemnation by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP ignored the principle of the Cabinet's joint responsibility and the adage of the buck stopping at the top, observes Amulya Ganguli.
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
If Jaitley is finalised for the First Citizen's post, Modi will have scored two strategic goals, reports Rajeev Sharma.
"In India, we derive our strength from tolerance, and respect our pluralism. We celebrate our diversity," he said.
'Bhagwat, aware of the advantages of keeping the BJP in power, is wary about the RSS taking steps that would undermine the popular standing of either the PM or the party.'
'The RSS ideology has been borrowed from fascism and is not borne out of Hinduism.' 'They want India to have one historical identity whereas India is a land full of divergence which goes in every direction.'
'For the last 10 years the Congress made the RSS an idea of intolerance, anti-minority, especially anti-Muslim, and an idea of fascism.' 'That has been demolished now by Pranab Mukherjee.'
People queued up to pay their final respects to former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
One reason for the surge in cases is the spread of infection at large weddings. Weddings turned out to be super spreaders.