Despite a few shortcomings, Peter Heehs's book on Sri Aurobindo, which has landed him in trouble with the Pondicherry ashram as well as earned a notice to quit India, could open the eyes of many more Indians (and Westerners) on the master's vision and the true destiny of India. It would certainly be a good contribution, says Claude Arpi
Despite a few shortcomings, Peter Heehs's book on Sri Aurobindo, which has landed him in trouble with the Pondicherry ashram as well as earned a notice to quit India, could open the eyes of many more Indians (and Westerners) on the master's vision and the true destiny of India. It would certainly be a good contribution, says Claude Arpi
Cut off from the world in his solitary confinement in the Jodhpur jail, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has turned his attention to a group of usually unremarkable visitors -- ants. Perhaps, he is drawn to the sense of solidarity and team spirit they display, his wife and HIAL co-founder Gitanjali Angmo says.
November 7 2025, marked the 150th year of India's revered national song, Vande Mataram.
Jyotindranath Mukherjee, popularly known as Bagha Jatin, attained martyrdom while fighting the British in Balasore district on September 9, 1915. It is unfortunate that the supreme sacrifice made by Bagha Jatin and his associates is little known outside Bengal and Odisha.
The Centre and Orissa Government on Thursday informed the Orissa High Court that they would take immediate steps to ban publication and circulation of controversial book titled The Life of Sri Aurobindo written by US writer Peter Hasse.
One can only sincerely wish the Dalai Lama a very long life at the service of world peace. His presence is much required today on the planet, notes Claude Arpi, who has known His Holiness for more than half a century.
At a civic reception hosted in her honour by the Rairangpur Municipality, the President said she often thinks of her village, adding that her family members, neighbours and villagers are always in her heart.
The Uttar Pradesh government has said that over 65 crore people visited the sacred site in Prayagraj since the Maha Kumbh began on January 13.
The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 417, making it the worst in the country. On Friday, the AQI level was 396.
The administration has declared that devotees will not be permitted to bring external colours into the temple premises in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh.
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'People beat their chests when the Babri Masjid was brought down, not realising that it was just one event in a chain going back centuries; to look at the last link or two in isolation is absurd.'
Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was achieved during the Congress regimes and the BJP-led NDA, the PM said.
Fourteen priests, including 'sevaks' (assistants), were injured in a fire that broke out in the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on Monday during 'bhasma aarti', an official said.
The victim, identified as Nargis, was attacked by a 28-year-old Irfan when she was with him in a park near Delhi University's Sri Aurobindo College, police said, adding, the accused has been arrested.
In a reprieve for controversial United States historian Peter Heehs who faced deportation from India, the Union home ministry on Friday extended his visa by one more year with effect from April 15.
'Bharat is the core value that has to be lived by and if you deny it, then the people will discard you.'
rediff caught up with actress Kalki and chatted with her about her beauty tips, fashion sense and excercise regime. Take a look.
Hear their thoughts on India's Independence Day.
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On July 21, the former Jharkhand governor Murmu registered a historic win over her rival Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential election, becoming the first woman tribal candidate and the second woman in the country to occupy the highest office in the country.
"I am very happy about the decision. It is very good location. I am certainly glad that his statue would be put up at such a prominent place. What surprises me is it came all of a sudden now. One might have prepared a bit earlier, but better late than never, I must say. I hope that the controversy about the tableau can also be put to rest in a satisfactory manner," Bose-Pfaff told PTI over the telephone from Germany, where she lives.
The poet had been admitted to the hospital on Tuesday morning after he tested positive for the disease.
Banerjee also said that no reason was cited for the tableau's rejection, a decision, which she said had 'pained' people.
'May it be the guardian which calls for breaking down narrow walls of the mind.' 'May it continue to invite everyone to celebrate the possibilities of humanity's one-ness.' Claude Arpi salutes 50 years of Auroville, a Grand Experiment in Living.
In the wake of guidelines to check the spread of coronavirus, only a few family members of the victims are being allowed to attend their last rites. At such a difficult time, the sanitation workers are helping these families by performing the last rites of the deceased.
Amid a controversy over the rejection of West Bengal's tableau for the Republic Day parade themed on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army, his daughter Anita Bose Pfaff said on Monday the legendary freedom fighter's legacy has often been 'partly exploited' for political reasons.
In a veiled dig at the Congress for harping on the concept of "inclusive growth", Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said on Thursday this was not a new slogan for the country.
Major arterial roads in south and east Delhi are expected to witness severe traffic snarls for the next three days in view of the 'World Culture Festival', events hosted by the Radha Soami Satsang Beas, and more than 20,000 weddings scheduled in the city on Friday.
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In his letter, Singh hinted since the Central Public Works Department's tableau already featured Bose, West Bengal's float was not included for the parade, without saying it in so many words.
The smog reduced the visibility to merely 300 meters in the morning affecting traffic, an official of the India Meteorological Department said.
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'They are our go-to men, our trouble-shooters.' 'They draw their strength from remaining low-key and accessible only to our workers.'
Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
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