70-plus years after Independence, 'Hindu India, metamorphosised as 'Hindutva India', is proving the British right -- and for all the wrong reasons. Mohan Bhagwat should have answers for the why of it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
As of now, there is nothing to suggest that the 'Michaelpatti episode' has the potential to polarise Dravidian Tamil Nadu on religious lines, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'This Ram Navami -- the birth anniversary of Lord Ram -- presents the majority community an opportunity to shed its minority complex and offer an olive branch and discrimination- free society to the minority,' suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Is it is necessary to play divisive politics to succeed in the next general elections? asks Dr Sudhir Bisht.
There is a deep-seated sense of rejection that the new generation Tamil youth have felt for a decade and more now, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
In FY24, the net income generated from Waqf properties fell to about Rs 1.26 crore from Rs 150 crore in FY20.
In a first, BJP crossed the 10 per cent vote share-mark in Tamil Nadu and has so far registered a share of 10.21 per cent, though it could not emerge in lead positions anywhere.
'Just because a subject is uncomfortable for some and doesn't suit their political ideology, should a film not be made?'
'They have not mentioned the word minorities. They say scholarships will be given to marginalised communities'
Apple iPhone maker Foxconn has informed the government that 25 per cent of its new hires are married women and its safety protocol, which requires all employees to avoid wearing metal irrespective of gender or religion, is not discriminatory, sources said. In an informal note shared with the government after reports suggested it is not hiring married women, Foxconn stated that such stipulations are not part of its policy and these claims may have been made by those individuals who were not hired, sources said.
The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
After days of deliberations, a point of conclusion was reached late Saturday night and Congress leader and Tamil Nadu in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters that the agreement was signed in "a spirit of cooperation" when the country was facing a 'threat' from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'In UP, the CM actually announced that his administration would 'take revenge' against rioters.' 'That must have been music to his police force's ears for it substantiated what the police always do: Take revenge on an entire community for the violence of a few,' points out Jyoti Punwani.
Where do Vijay and his TVK expect to get their votes from? Vijay has a huge fan following among women, but will they automatically become his voters like they had done for MGR's AIADMK, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
A cyclone shelter building at Kelambakkam, which was recently given a fresh coat of paint, is the current home of nearly 100 Rohingyas who belong to 18 families. The neighbourhood is on the way to Mamallapuram, about 25 km from Tiruvanmiyur in south Chennai. While some Rohingya men work as butchers, some are helpers in restaurants and others do odd jobs like delivering goods on their fish cart.
'The BJP will be the ruling party.'
'Sheikh Abdullah ruled the state with secular values. Post 1953, when he was sacked, corruption took over governance.'
It's intriguing that the prime minister now wants his American partner to help protect the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. That's conceding to the Americans a pre-eminence India has always contested, resented and feared, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has honoured Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain refugees by giving them citizenship through Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Union home minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday and maintained there is no provision of stripping of anyone's citizenship in the new law.
Tamil writer Nellai Kannan was arrested on Wednesday, days after an FIR was registered against him for his speech during an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest. Kannan landed in trouble after a video of his purported speech at the meeting against the Citizenship Amendment Act went viral on social media and the Bharatiya Janata Party lodged a police complaint seeking his arrest and prosecution.
Prasanna Vithanage's Paradise leaves the audience to read between the lines and draw their own conclusions about the frailty of human nature, and how easily violence seizes the most unexpected prey, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday vowed to thwart alleged attempts to rob Dalits and backward classes of reservations by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) which he accused of 'enslavement' and performing 'mujra' for Muslim vote bank.
Pon Radhakrishnan also stated that Naxals, Maoists and Muslim extremists may have intruded into some of the media houses too.
The Tamil Nadu government has told the Supreme Court it has not issued any order imposing a "shadow or implicit ban" on The Kerala Story, a multilingual film that has triggered a massive controversy over religious conversions.
At an online book release event, former vice president Hamid Ansari lays to rest the controversies surrounding his tenure.
If Saudi Arabia, with just two Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, can create a huge tourism-based ecosystem beyond oil, Ayodhya is sure to become the world's hottest religious tourism site in less than a decade, predicts R Jagannathan.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said that the government's fight was only against terrorism and that democracy will soon be restored in the embattled north of the country. Rajapaksa also said that the state was not against the Tamil people but against terrorists.
The Tamil Nadu government has banned the screening of Kamal Hassan's Vishwaroopam following strong protests from various Muslim organisations over alleged depiction of their community in a negative light.
Kamal Haasan defends his film Vishwaroopam in an official statement.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said he had no intention to hurt the sentiments of Muslims by his recent remarks equating 'jihad' to terrorism and said he was "happy to stand corrected."
A new entrant, whether a popular actor or not, has not been able to sweep the polls, as their fans had hoped for. Given a proven pattern, it should hold true for Vijay as well. Or, something drastically has to happen between now and 2026, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
'If we get 399 seats and you say we have not crossed 400, then it is your wisdom. But the '400 paar' slogan is based on calculation and considered opinion'
In his reply to the debate over the bill, the home minister rejected the charge that it is 'unconstitutional', 'divisive' or 'anti-Muslim'.
'It would be interesting to see how Yogi Adityanath is received in Tamil Nadu, where he is due to end his Ram Rajya Rath Yatra in Rameswaram on March 23.'
'We are telling them we have isolated them and their religion as not only unwanted,' says Aakar Patel.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
Jasna Salim, a 28-year old homemaker in Kerala's Kozhikode district, has drawn hundreds of paintings of Lord Krishna in the last six years but her faith has not permitted her to keep any one of them in her home.
Tripartite talks to break the deadlock over the release of Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam' began in Chennai following Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's offer to broker peace with the protesting Muslim groups and the actor.
The court observed it can't be denied that national security is always of paramount importance and any act linked to terrorism is liable to be restricted.
