The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has moved back its office in New Delhi to its old address following the near completion of the rebuilding project spread across over 3.75 acre premises, housing three 13-storey towers and around 300 rooms and offices in total.
Yogi said Waqf boards have become a den of selfish interests as well as loot khasot (property grabbing), and have done little for the welfare of Muslims.
Speculations about a rapprochement between Uddhav Thackeray and his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray are gathering steam, but leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) acknowledge that personal ties and organisational synergy are significant hurdles that need to be overcome. While both parties have expressed a willingness to put aside "trivial issues" and unite, the prospect of a reunion is complex, involving family dynamics, ideological differences, and the potential for internal conflicts. The reunion buzz has come at a time when both parties are experiencing a political nadir, with the Sena (UBT) winning 20 seats and the MNS drawing a blank in the 2024 assembly polls. The prospect of the two cousins coming together has enthused supporters of both parties, but it might not be the case with a section of cadres and party leaders. Key concerns include seat-sharing agreements, potential conflicts in areas with strong bases for both parties, and ideological differences.
Can a culture survive as a way of life, even as the language and writing at its core, alter with time? Can we be rational and Malayalee or do we have to necessarily be religious and proudly cultural to be Malayalee? asks Shyam G Menon.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kapil Mishra, a former AAP member and a vocal critic of the BJP, RSS, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has undergone a complete political transformation, becoming a controversial figure often regarded as the "posterboy of Hindutva." He has now been inducted as a minister in the newly formed Delhi government, marking a significant shift in his political allegiance and raising questions about his role in shaping the city's future.
Thackeray said people should be aware of how religious issues are raked up to distract their attention from core issues.
Gandhi maintained when he submitted the complaint application against Bhide, the police said they would seek legal opinion before moving forward in the matter.
Dividing people in the name of religion, engineering riots and committing atrocities on Dalits is not Hindutva but to unite one human being with another is, he said in a veiled attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party while replying to a question at a summit organised by news channel Times Now.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
A special court in Pune on Friday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case related to his alleged objectionable remarks on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.
'Gyanendra back on the throne would be bad news for the Nepali people. He may not have learnt from his experience, but we have.'
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has voiced his opposition to the demand for demolition of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's grave in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, saying its removal will not serve any purpose. Athawale said that since Aurangzeb was buried there, his tomb should remain undisturbed. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar administration has barred Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote from entering the district from March 16 to April 5 amid calls from some outfits to remove Aurangzeb's grave. Security has been heightened around the site and visitors are being checked thoroughly.
The notice further highlights that the Congress party is a secular-based party, which respects every religion and society in India equally.
'If they harp on it again, they will begin to lose votes.' 'They have not lost this time, but they will lose next time.' 'Your committed votes will never be enough to guarantee victory for you.'
The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Unless Governor Ravi or the Union of India moves in appeal, seeking a hearing by a constitutional Bench, this is where it all will have to end, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
He, however, also said that his party was in an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party for long despite their differences, and it worked smoothly.
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."
'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'Be it tourist guides, hotels, rickshaw drivers, all have a livelihood thanks to Shah Jahan.'
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
A Muslim cleric, who had been booked by the Uttar Pradesh police for allegedly making inflammatory remarks, was placed under house arrest after he made a call to his supporters to march to Delhi seeking a ban on Hindutva organisations, a senior official said on Wednesday.
From start to finish, Dharmaveer 2 feels less like a biopic and more like propaganda crafted for Eknath Shinde's political gain, observes Prasanna D Zore.
'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, known for his hardline Hindutva views and 'bulldozer justice' approach, has spoken out about his policies toward Muslims, the Waqf board, and his vision for India. He asserts that Muslims will receive a fair share of development in Uttar Pradesh, but not special concessions. He also criticizes the Waqf board for its alleged appropriation of government properties and calls for its reform. Adityanath defends his 'bulldozer justice' policy, claiming it is necessary for infrastructure development and removal of encroachments. He also discusses his vision for India, emphasizing the importance of Hindi as a national language and the need for unity across different linguistic groups.
'For three months Raj Thackeray becomes a staunch Hindu and for the next three months he becomes anti-Hindu.'
Thackeray said the BJP had given loudspeakers to its A, B, and C teams and asked them to visit Aurangzeb's tomb and recite Hanuman Chalisa.
Tamil Nadu's Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has reacted to Andhra Pradesh counterpart Pawan Kalyan's out-of-turn taunts with a one-liner, 'Let's wait', and thereby hangs a tale, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
If the DMK is able to sustain the momentum until the assembly polls, the AIADMK especially and the PMK and possibly the infant TVK too would find it hard to sign up with the BJP, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Our ancestors did jihad against Britishers, but yours penned 'love letters', Owaisi said in a jibe to Fadnavis.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has praised the RSS for its dedicated cadre and urged his party to create a similar base committed to progressive ideas. He attributed the NCP's recent electoral setbacks to complacency and a failure to communicate its work for the OBC community. Pawar also emphasized the need for social engineering to address caste tensions and announced that 50% of the tickets for upcoming local body elections will be given to new faces.
Evils like caste discrimination and untouchability have to be done away within society, he said.
Whether AAP bounces back or fades into political oblivion will depend on its strategy in the coming months.
The newly-formed Delhi Cabinet in its first meeting approved the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme in the national capital. The cabinet also decided to present 14 pending CAG reports in the first session of the assembly. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the previous AAP government did not allow the health scheme in the city, preventing the people from availing its benefits.
Firing a fresh salvo at the Bharatiya Janata Party which had accused the Shiv Sena of paying only lip service to the cause of Hindutva, the latter's member of Parliament Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that the Sena was the first party in the country to contest an election on the Hindutva plank.
'It showed me that this man had courage. He makes his own decisions, but he also trusted me enough in that moment to walk with me into the crowd,' Modi tells Lex Fridman on his podcast.
'Even though we are very religious and God fearing, we do not subscribe to the kind of Hindutva they practise, a very hierarchical, Brahmanical, Hindutva.'
'Kejriwal tries to project that his party is not Hindu virodhi.'
'In Independent India's politics you will not find any leader of a political party who has not contested elections or not held a powerful post.' 'It was only Balasaheb who never contested elections or held a post.' On the occasion of Balasaheb Thackeray's 99th birth anniversary, close aide Subhash Desai recalls vignettes about the Shiv Sena founder.
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