Generations of Indians don't quite grasp that there would barely be an India had it not been for the Sardar whose steadfastness and guile stitched together that which had been united only in philosophy and spirituality and sometimes not even then -- for thousands of years. A fascinating excerpt from Hindol Sengupta's The Man Who Saved India, Sardar Patel and His Idea of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged bureaucrats to make national interest the sole basis of their every decision, saying the country has put its faith in them and they must uphold that trust.
'As a police officer, I had gone on deputation to the prison department; on both occasions (the hanging of Ajmal Kasab and Yakub Memon), the government said that I should remain present.' 'I was not mentally prepared for these sensitive operations and had to work on myself to lead the teams.'
Behind this never-say-die attitude of the BJP is probably the calculation of the Roman emperors that if bread is scarce, give the people circus, observes Amulya Ganguli.
'The war of 1962 exposed the hollow intellectual foundations of Nehruvian foreign policy, especially vis-a-vis China and that is why it was such a shock.'
As the old Parliament building hosted a session one last time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday bid a poignant farewell recalling the country's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's iconic 'tryst with destiny' speech for continuing to inspire everyone and another predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 'governments may come and go' remark.
highlights of what Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi and senior leader L K Advani said at the Statue of Unity launch event
This, Byju, was the time to apply the business lens, treat your company as a business, run your company as a business. Instead, you splurged, observes Suveen Sinha.
'The Statue of Unity is wasteful expenditure, but engineering-wise they have chosen the right place and correct spot. It is a simple statue and well executed.' 'Here, the government has chosen a wrong spot. They have chosen a wrong design.' 'The Shivaji Maharaj statue is holding a sword and the length of that sword is 48 metres, which is equivalent to a 16-storey building!'
The 182-metre statue of Vallabhbhai Patel will be dedicated to the nation on his birth anniversary in Narmada District of Gujarat.
Addressing Bharatiya Janata Party MPs at an event to mark the 53rd death anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyay, a party ideologue who had founded its progenitor Jana Sangh, Modi said the saffron party always puts "rashtraneeti" above "rajneeti" and gives respect to even its political rivals.
As Bharatiya Janata Party formed its first government in Maharashtra, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said, had their alliance with Shiv Sena ended at least a fortnight before it did, then his party might have won clear majority in the assembly polls.
Decreasing the height of Shivaji's statue to make Sardar Patel's statue look taller is 'narrow and distorted mindset', the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.
With RRR adding to the line-up, Joginder Tuteja takes a look at how well films on revolutionaries have done at the box office.
'Top actors like Ben Kingsley, who played Gandhiji, had already raised the bar.' 'I hoped that Rajkumar Santoshi would be satisfied with my acting.'
'Now I will see how you escape...'
Addressing civil servants on the 15th Civil Services Day at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, he said every decision should be evaluated on the basis of its capacity to strengthen the country's unity and integrity.
Just six years after his father's Rath Yatra, the BJP came to power in New Delhi in 1996, points out Jayant Advani.
The Omicron variant was first detected in India in Bengaluru with two people testing positive for it comprising a South African national of Indian origin and a doctor.
Gandhi said he did not need anybody's certificate about his religion.
Though Sena is part of the ruling BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra and at th centre, it has been critical of its ally on a number of issues.
The Statue of Unity, touted as the world's tallest statue, will be nearly twice as tall as New York's famed Statue of Liberty. Check out all that you need to know about India's tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Saturday hit back at Rahul Gandhi for his remarks that Mahatma Gandhi was killed because of its ideology, saying Congress should not give sermons to others as it itself is pursuing a thinking that is opposite to that of the Father of the Nation and Sardar Patel.
'The DM is the ultimate authority in such situations.' 'The CM could not have directed anybody to cordon off the family and restrict them from meeting the family.'
'He was provided sustenance by the British.' 'Many times he wrote to the British that he needed an increase in pension.'
Check out the stars who came to cheer the players
India's struggle for freedom is one of the most unique and compelling stories of the 20th century.
'Those who have followed politics even when there was no Twitter know what the word 'jumlebaaz' means,' says Utkarsh Mishra.
The prime minister also suggested a single voters' list for Lok Sabha, assembly and panchayat polls, saying separate lists are a waste of resources.
Taking a jibe over bickering in Bharatiya Janata Party on Narendra Modi's nomination as prime ministerial candidate, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday claimed that the party would not gain from the decision and empathised with L K Advani saying the "Iron man" has been left to "rust".
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
He also asked them to stay away from limelight and go beyond their routine jobs to establish their identity. "The turn at which the country stands today... the role of bureaucrats like you is of minimum government and maximum governance. You have to ensure that your interference in common people's lives is reduced and that they get empowered," he said.
Last week, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju held a series of video conferences to take the athletes' view on the matter.
'During the Congress rule, the solicitor general had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court, stating that the government would side with the sentiments of the Hindu community if an evidence was found of a razed temple, where the mosque was built'
Nearly 3,400 labourers and 250 engineers are working round-the-clock at the site of the statue at Sadhu Bet island on Narmada river. The 182-metre tall statue will be unveiled by the PM on birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, the first home minister of the country.
I challenge Rahul Baba that let me know if there is even a single line in the act regarding the withdrawal of anyone's citizenship, said Shah.
The CWC meeting is being held in Gujarat after a gap of 58 years. It was last held in the state at Bhavnagar in 1961.
Also, with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not in the running for the party president's post, a non-Gandhi would be at the helm after over 24 years following the polling on Monday and counting on Wednesday.
'Nehru once told JRD, "I hate the mention of the very word profit".' '"Jawaharlal, I am talking about the need of the public sector making a profit!" JRD replied.' 'Nehru reiterated, "Never talk to me about the word profit, it is a dirty word".' A fascinating excerpt from Shashank Shah's The Tata Group: From Torchbearers To Trailblazers.
The petition has been filed by Mohammad AKbar Lone and Justice (rtd) Hasnain Masoodi, both Lok Sabha members belonging to the NC.
