While main events throughout the country were organised on Sunday by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, several community members gathered at the iconic Times Square in New York to celebrate the historic event.
'The ICCR, which is the primary instrument of the Government of India for cultural diplomacy, has decided to organize an India festival in the US in recognition of the fact that Indo-US relationship has become a very vibrant one, which is extremely important for us. Cultural diplomacy must commensurate with the vibrancy of the evolving bilateral relationship,' Gupta said.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Kolkata on Sunday in the first leg of her three-day visit to the country. During her two-day stay in the city, she will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The two leaders are expected to discuss the Teesta water sharing treaty as well as the issue of FDI in retail.
After a stunning dance performance celebrating India, and highlighting the vibrant and colourful culture of the country, the athletes of the participating nations paraded around the stadium.
Speaking at the inauguration of his book, former Speaker and Parliamentarian Somnath Chatterjee called on youngsters to join politics and try change the system from within. Indrani Roy reports
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 was crucial in ending terrorism in Kashmir. He stated that the provision fostered separatism among Kashmiri youth and impeded the region's full integration into India. Shah also highlighted the development initiatives undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir post-Article 370, including a reduction in terrorism, successful local body elections, and an increase in tourism and film production. He emphasized the significance of writing India's history with facts and evidence, countering narratives that had obscured the country's rich heritage.
Singh claimed the ICCR chairmanship is not an office of profit and in the past, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and P V Narasimha Rao had occupied this post when they were external affairs ministers.
In its chargesheet, the CBI alleged that Kumar, during his tenure as Director General of ICCR, and Tyagi had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Singh and Sharma to facilitate trafficking of nine individuals to Germany. The modus operandi adopted by the accused was to send nine people to Berlin along with a dance troupe. On arrival, these people disappeared and later filed applications seeking political asylum under changed names.
Asked about the reason behind the appointments, Sinha said they will help meet the goal to develop NMML into a centre of research as envisioned by the present government.
An India Chair has been established in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department at Shenzen University in southern China.A Memorandum of Understanding on the Chair was signed between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and SZU by India's Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao and University President Professor Zhang Bigong in Shenzen.Under the MoU, Shenzen University would host a visiting Indian professor in the capacity of a Chair in Humanities and Social Sciences.
The focus of the festival is to raise the cultural profile of India in Europe in general.
'But I think we are mature enough to handle the situation without a major breakdown,' says Dr Karan Singh.
The nine musicians, who were to leave on the tour sponsored by Indian Council for Cultural Relations on Friday, had to cancel their visit after the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi denied them visas.
Mint Road, on December 21, 2023, flagged the role of self-regulatory organisations (SROs) in strengthening the compliance culture in regulated entities (REs) and providing a consultative platform for policymaking. It also decided to issue an omnibus framework for SROs.
Senior Congress leader Karan Singh has emerged as the frontrunner along with another party veteran S M Krishna for appointment as external affairs minister.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
Engagement with neighbours is a strategic imperative, and not an option, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Most of the pharma units are failing in documentation, and validation processes, and many don't have full-fledged quality control laboratories.
Modi and Deuba discussed ways to strengthen ongoing cooperation and develop new areas in the multifaceted bilateral partnership.
The Modi government has to embrace the history of Tamil conquests in South East Asia and stop obsessing about Babar/Humayun, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Muhammad Yunus proved that he was neither an armchair economist nor a slogan mongering political activist, but a doer destined to do what Mahatma Gandhi said -- to remove every tear from every eye, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
'Goodbye dearest Anil. An elegant mind, a stylish writer, and a loyal friend. You will be missed by all those whose lives you touched. RIP.'
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in New Delhi on a three-day state visit during which he will hold a bilateral meeting and co-chair the first leaders' meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Being with Russia means being on the wrong side of history and Kyiv wants closer and deeper relations with New Delhi, Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova said on Tuesday while suggesting that the Russian invasion has lessons for countries with 'difficult neighbours'.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
Boycotting the Champions Trophy will not tackle the issue we have with Pakistan, points out Aakar Patel.
Trump can afford to say that COVID-19 is a 'China virus', but we can't expect Modi to say that aloud while his actions may speak louder, says Rup Narayan Das.
'The virus of trust deficit seems to be taking a toll of the friendship built over the years by succeeding leaderships of the two countries,' notes Rup Narayan Das.
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India has been rejecting China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of the country and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.
A cultural preference for sons in India may be expressed as 'son preference' or 'daughter aversion', arising from patrilocality, patrilineality, the cost of dowry, and old-age support from sons.
'...but subjecting our heritage to rigorous evidence-based understanding.'
India and China on Friday signed a record 24 agreements in key sectors
Foreign policy is always a work in progress and ups and downs are built into foreign policy process. What is permanent is national interest. Hopefully, this year, which will also witness general elections in the country, will also clear clouds in the foreign policy horizon, observes Rup Narayan Das.
In democratic India, a citizen can be a patriot and at the same time be critical of the government, unlike China which promulgated a national security law in Hong Kong prescribing patriotism to contest elections, observes Rup Narayan Das.
Foreigners intending to work in NGOs, carry out research work on human rights and environment issues will have to face stricter scrutiny of their visa applications after detection of several incidents of alleged misuse of these provisions.
Canadian police have named two of the eight people, including four Indians, whose bodies were found in a marshland area along the United States-Canada border, amid an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths.
'The Railways decided to go for kavach three years back, but the progress has been very slow.'
