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.
Vijay is counting on what was once proclaimed as his last filmi outing, Jana Nayagan, or 'People's Hero', to do the trick for him, when it releases on January 9, 2026, only months before the assembly poll, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
'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.'
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.
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 has the potential to sow seeds of furthering discord when the direction of the discourse is aimed at propagating the perceived supremacy of 'cultural nationalism' from a distant past over the prevailing dominance of 'Constitutional nationalism',' argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Kejriwal tries to project that his party is not Hindu virodhi.'
Evils like caste discrimination and untouchability have to be done away within society, he said.
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.
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.
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.
The BJP's surprise announcement of a caste census in the next census has sparked political debate, particularly in Bihar where the issue of backward empowerment holds significant electoral weight. The move is seen as a strategic maneuver by the ruling party to counter opposition efforts to mobilize support among disadvantaged sections of society. The decision is also viewed as a recognition of the growing influence of OBC politics in India.
"The Congress ideology...the ideology it follows has been existing in India for thousands of years. Just like the RSS has its icons, the Congress has its own icons... they are different icons. But, we have them, it is about bringing this ideological ocean and allowing our people to swim in it," he said.
The SC has kept in abeyance the disqualification proceedings before the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly till July 12
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.
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat is hoping to make a clean sweep in the Dalit and tribal-dominated Sabarkantha district comprising four Assembly constituencies even as unemployment has become a major issue that the ruling party hopes to negate with Hindutva and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma.
'As socialism and secularism were the pivot of politics between 1952-80 and 1980-2010 respectively, Hindutva has now come to acquire the same dominance'
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.
EPS' acceptance of Amit Shah's proposal for an electoral alliance with the BJP is being interpreted to mean how the AIADMK has signed up the NDA national leader as a junior partner. Not many have appreciated EPS for this strategic move that has now forced the BJP to play second fiddle to the AIADMK. This has meant that the BJP has buried its ambitions of capturing power in Tamil Nadu now, and is willing to wait until after the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Religion has divided our country like it never had done.' 'I can't remember a time of such focused hatred.'
'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.'
Conference organisers, who are requesting anonymity, claim the three-day event starting September 10 is cosponsored by more than 45 centres or departments at over 40 universities, most of whom are from the United States.
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.
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.
'Gyanendra back on the throne would be bad news for the Nepali people. He may not have learnt from his experience, but we have.'
The notice further highlights that the Congress party is a secular-based party, which respects every religion and society in India equally.
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.
'The day the power shifts, they will run across to the other side.'
All mosques have taken permission for the use of loudspeakers, Raut said.
Successive elections have demonstrated that the BJP campaign switches towards polarisation when it is faced with palpable discontent among the electorate, notes Utkarsh Mishra.
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.
'We have been hardcore Hindutvawadi, are so today and will be so tomorrow too'
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.
'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.
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.
'Be it tourist guides, hotels, rickshaw drivers, all have a livelihood thanks to Shah Jahan.'
Our ancestors did jihad against Britishers, but yours penned 'love letters', Owaisi said in a jibe to Fadnavis.
She was catapulted to the centre stage in 2015 after she was chosen to take on Kejriwal in the Delhi assembly polls.
The outfit suggested that the government amend the Information Technology Act to classify all such content as pornography, which people should only be able to access by punching in their Aadhaar details or their fingerprints. Archis Mohan reports
