Chandragupta Maurya was the first king to establish an empire in India. He died a monk.
Venues for different ceremonial functions, Rashtrapati Bhavan's iconic 'Durbar Hall' and 'Ashok Hall' were on Thursday renamed 'Ganatantra Mandap' and 'Ashok Mandap', respectively.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday demanded that all roads and monuments named after Mughal emperors be re-christened, claiming that the country should not drag on with "signs of slavery".
The melange of history, culture and nature make for a memorable trip, says Lakshmi Sharath.
Gandhi accused Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik of being remote-controlled by Modi
Mir Baki was not the commander who had led the invasion on Ayodhya, Mishra said leading the bench to ask him as to what he was trying to prove by referring to these historical books.
Representatives of the Shia community on Wednesday flatly rejected Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief Ashok Singhal's offer to hold talks on the Ayodhya issue.Singhal had said that since the Allahabad high court had dismissed the Sunni Waqf Board's suit staking claim to the disputed Ramjanma bhoomi- Babri Masjid land in Ayodhya, the VHP would now hold talks with Shia organisations. "The VHP is now trying to incite a confrontation between Shias and Sunnis," said a Shia cleric.
The idea that Hindus are peace-loving and reticent is modern, says Aakar Patel.
Vibhishan was a seeker of justice who risked it all to be on the side of truth, says Sudhir Bisht.
'The burden of proof is on Muslim parties to show that this finding, that the mosque was built on land held sacred by Hindus, is wrong'
Here's looking back the Bollywood's judges over the years.
SC was requested to judicially scrutinise whether Babur dedicated the disputed structure in Ayodhya to 'Allah'
Dilip Kumar remained in demand all through his career because he kept reinventing himself in keeping with the changing times in Indian cinema, argues Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
Some senior Congress leaders including Kapil Sibal have called for introspection after the party's dismal performance in the recently held Bihar assembly polls, after which the ruling National Democratic Alliance returned to power in the state despite the main member of the grand opposition alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal, putting up a strong show and emerging as the single largest party.
The TMC expects to emerge victorious by way of a majority of minority votes and a minority of majority votes, notes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
The following is the chronology of events related to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in which, after the Supreme Court verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday conducted the 'Bhoomi Pujan' or ground breaking ceremony and laid the foundation stone for the temple's construction.
The Ayodhya verdict heralds not the beginning of theocracy or Hindu rashtra (that never existed in 5,000 years), but marks the end of a divisive phase of our history.
The judgment in the matter is to be pronounced by November 17, the day the CJI will retire.
The submission was vehemently opposed by senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, representing deity 'Ram Lalla', who said: "This is totally unwarranted".
They also termed as 'unwarranted' and 'unfortunate', the submission of Muslim parties that the archaeological report be trashed.
'Akahara' apprised a 5-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, of its stand following a direction whether it opposes the plea of the deity in view of the fact that its right as 'shebait' (devotee) over the property can only stand if the lawsuit of 'Ram Lalla Virajman' is allowed.
Two Americans are among the five people from the United States who have been selected for India's prestigious Padma awards this year for their contributions in different fields.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing the Muslim parties in the case, tore up a pictorial map.
Glimpses of Republic Day celebrations across the country.
'How can the monument where the prime minister unfurls the flag on Independence Day, in a ceremony broadcast and telecast nationally, be maintained by a private entity?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
The apex court said the faith of Hindus that Lord Ram was born at the site was undisputed, and he is symbolically the owner of the land.
The bench, which was hearing the politically sensitive case on 34th day, asked Parasaran as to whether 'it has been held that any Hindu temple, including the land has been accorded the juristic personality'.
'If policy-makers hold the lives of animals to be more significant than the welfare of a human populace, I can't believe that they're likely to do anything progressive for India.'
What is required is boring leadership that ensures that the basics are right and not genius leadership that dreams of bullet trains, says Aakar Patel.
At the peak of his popularity and charisma, filmmakers considered him a bigger draw than the leading man and often remunerated him with a higher fee than the hero.
'After watching Elvis Presley, Shammi Kapoor decided to pick the rock and roll star's style itself.' 'Dada was the kind of producer who took a leap of faith and gave Shammi Kapoor the freedom to display himself as crazy, mad, rough -- all the charms of Elvis Presley -- in his films.'
'Muslims and Dalits must erase the way they remember their past, or carry out their their performances in private,' says Jyoti Punwani, as Maharashtra's Censor Board denies permission to a play Jai Bhim, Jai Bharat.
'We are passing through a very historical moment. The UP election next year and the Lok Sabha election of 2019 will decide the course of India.' 'Maybe the unlettered will save India again because they have inherited a different India and a different idea of India,' says eminent social scientist Achyut Yagnik.
Narendra Modi has a once in a lifetime chance to change and take the RSS-BJP-VHP to a new level. Varanasi is the right place to turn the page on saffron history. By surrendering to the spirit of mystical Varanasi, Modi and his party can change the trajectory of their political journey.
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