Vijay said the TVK respected all languages but would not give up its self respect for another language.
State school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi assured that action will be taken against the speaker for his controversial speech at a government school in Chennai.
Three out of five test-takers believe that removing their Indian accents while speaking English will positively impact test scores.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that maternity leave is a fundamental right and cannot be denied to a woman based on the number of children she has from previous relationships. The court overturned a Madras High Court decision that had denied maternity leave to a Tamil Nadu government school teacher who had two children from a previous marriage. The Supreme Court emphasized the importance of reproductive rights, including maternity benefits, as part of international human rights law. The court also highlighted the right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which includes the right to health, dignity, and reproductive choice. The decision has significant implications for women's rights and reproductive healthcare in India.
For kids in the United States, the tariff imposed by the Donald Trump administration on countries like China may no longer be a child's play, as toy prices are predicted to touch record highs this Christmas season. However, for India's toy export industry, which was ready to take giant strides in the sector by bagging heavy orders from the US retail giants like Walmart, Amazon, and Target Corporation, gaining from the China-Plus-One policy, the US tariffs came as a heavy jolt.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin announced that his party will file a case in the Supreme Court against the Waqf Bill passed in the Lok Sabha. The opposition AIADMK expressed solidarity with the DMK's stance, while the BJP members staged a walkout from the Assembly in protest. The CM argued that the amendment was passed at the behest of a few allies despite opposition from majority parties and that it is an attack on the Constitution and religious harmony. The DMK claims the bill threatens the autonomy of the Waqf Board and the Muslim minority population.
Medical seats for under-graduates and post-graduates remaining vacant in the NEET era, together with the Centre 'freezing' the number of medical colleges and seats in (Dravidian) Tamil Nadu and the launch of the PM's 'Vishwakarma Scheme' for the nation's craftsmen, are all seen as a bid to further reverse the state's progressive socio-economic agenda of and its achievements of the past hundred-plus years, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
'It must become faceless, just as the entire direct tax assessment system has already become fully online, without any human intervention in the normal course,' recommends A K Bhattacharya.
Recently-retired Indian table tennis great A Sharath Kamal has given himself 11 years to produce the country's first Olympic medallist in the racket sport and German football club Borussia Dortmund could end up being his unlikely ally in pursuit of this path-breaking dream.
The Maharashtra government has reversed its decision to make Hindi a mandatory third language in schools after facing widespread opposition. The move comes after the state's language consultation committee urged the Chief Minister to revoke the decision. The government will now issue a revised order making Hindi learning voluntary. The decision had been met with criticism from various quarters, including opposition parties and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, which had called for a protest against the move.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
'There is responsibility to make great games that are played by audiences, that fill the gap from an entertainment perspective.'
'The Dravidian movement was started for the Hindus who were rejected by the upper castes.'
The inaugural Sangamam turned out to be a political Hindutva function than a gathering on the Hindu religion, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The survey states that while around 71.6 per cent of women believe that social media offers adequate information about menstruation, only 11.5 per cent rely on it as their primary source during menstrual emergencies.
The girl had not attended school from January 3, following which an inquiry was done by the school in person visiting her home.
'We already understand Hindi -- through Bollywood, TV, pop culture.' 'But we never forced it on ourselves.' 'When something is imposed, the joy and organic nature of learning disappears.'
Karnataka has the highest number of medical seats in the country at 11,745, of which 3,750 seats were in government institutions and 7,995 seats were in private colleges.
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
This was a soaring evening that sent hearts aflutter and for a few brief moments we tasted the breath of pure freedom that has been missing in this country for the past several years.
'So my question was, 'What is it that you are proud of? What have you achieved? What is your contribution?' 'He had no answer.'
The first national flag in Independent India was hoisted at Fort St George in Madras, not at Delhi's Red Fort.
An Anna University girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted and a 37-year old man, who sells biryani on the pavement, has been arrested for the crime, police said on Wednesday.
'They are trying to destroy the culture and trying to impose Manu Dharma through Hindi'
'You changed me, you told me what to do, you have brought me into politics.' 'I will work tirelessly for you. It is in your fingers to support me.' 'My career peak I have left to be with you.' Superstar Vijay is the latest actor to enter politics, and his speech at his new party's first public meet on Sunday offers a glimpse into his worldview.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it. Fadnavis was speaking in the state assembly after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said the government should clarify its stand on senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments that a person coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.
On Thursday, the SC had voiced "serious concern" over Governor Ravi's refusal to reinduct Ponmudi as a minister in the state cabinet even after the SC had suspended his conviction in a corruption case.
Stalin's comments came two days after Naidu said there was a need to manage the population in Andhra Pradesh given there will be an increase in the aging population.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday once again passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to exempt the state from National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and allow it to admit students to medical courses based on Plus Two exam marks.
'The time has come to have a relook at the Constitution as every document has a shelf life.'
'What is going on is the under counting of the migration population in urban areas.' 'It has been going on in the last few censuses.'
M R Srinivasan focused on the peaceful use of nuclear power at a time when the popular view among the 'hawks' was that India should build a nuclear arsenal as a deterrent.
From royalty to a tea vendor-turned-politician's wife and from a first lady to a Bengali actress, the 18 Muslim women who treaded the hallowed corridors of power in the Lok Sabha are an eclectic mix, with each of them having an interesting backstory, but one common thread -- their path to power was always strewn with struggle and hurdles.
Shakti Dubey has topped the civil services examination 2024, with Harshita Goyal and Dongre Archit Parag getting the second and third ranks, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced on Tuesday. The top five successful candidates comprise three women and two men. The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- by the UPSC to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others. A total of 1,009 candidates -- 725 men and 284 women -- have been recommended by the UPSC for appointment to various services.
Given the possibilities that next year's assembly elections could throw up, Stalin told the state assembly that an interim report had to be submitted by January 2026. The outcomes may well find its way into the DMK's poll manifesto, thus seeking to keep the electoral focus still on the BJP-ruled Centre and Prime Minister Modi, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress in Madurai. Baby, who was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998, has been a member of the Politburo since 2012. He succeeds Sitaram Yechury, who passed away last year.
'I always cook from my heart,' says New York Chef Vijaya Kumar who won his third Michelin Star recently.
Cyclone Fengal expected to make landfall near Puducherry.
It will be interesting to see what shifts have been recorded in the last decade-and-a-half -- from the effects of demonetisation and Covid's second wave to the drop in fertility and increase in farm workers -- but we will only know this if and when the Census is conducted, points out Aakar Patel.
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