Party insiders concede statements of the Raja kind have the potential to hurt the DMK's electoral chances in closely-fought seats in 2024, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Devdutt Pattanaik, who has simplified the ancient Indian scriptures for millions of readers, highlights what our scriptures have to say about homosexuals and transgenders.
Plans to build resorts, a five-star hotel, international bus terminal and an airport.
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered mediation to settle the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute by a three-member panel comprising of Justice Kalifulla, advocate Sriram Panchu and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar. The panel has been given eight weeks by the Supreme Court to arrive at a conclusion and four weeks to give a status report. Here's all you need to know about the panel of mediators:
Indian Council of Historical Research Member-Secretary Gopinath Ravindran was heckled last week after he sought to differ from views expressed by David Frawley, an American who stressed on extensive Vedic studies in India at a lecture series in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed happiness that the city has been recognised as a World Heritage Site.
The priest informed that seven rooms of the CM's residence were 'purified'.
Voicing concern over violent non-state actors controlling large territories across the world and unleashing "barbaric violence", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that ideologies should give way to dialogue to resolve conflicts.
'There is enough proof of science-driven research in the India of early centuries,' argues Kumar Abhishek.
The bench questioned as to how the belief of Hindu worshippers can be challenged with regard to existence of 'janmasthan' and said the "sanctity of belief" that Lord Ram took birth there and whether it was genuine or "frivolous" can only be tested under Hinduism.
Rarely have we seen such intoxication over power, which ignores the cries of those dying, notes Jyoti Punwani.
Over a thousand widows broke the 400-year-old tradition and celebrated the festival within the precincts of the ancient Gopinath temple.
'If policy-makers hold the lives of animals to be more significant than the welfare of a human populace, I can't believe that they're likely to do anything progressive for India.'
'The Mughals became completely Indian in every sense and united the vast Indian subcontinent, not only territorially, but also the hearts and minds of people with multiple religio-cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversities' 'The Mughals, arguably, made India an enviable superpower in the then world.' 'Are the Hindutva rulers of today scared of acknowledging Mughal accomplishments?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
Madrasas which do not teach primary subjects such as English, Maths and Science would be considered as "non-schools".
Bearing in mind how full India's pitcher is with ethnic and communal complexities, only the greatest circumspection can hold this country together in a willing union.
Hyperbole by our ministers and a few saffronised scientists not only defames Newton and Einstein, but also mocks ancient India's achievements in mathematics, medicine and natural science, says Utkarsh Mishra.
Governor E S L Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 46-year-old leader, whose party emerged victorious in 151 seats in the 175-member strong state assembly.
'She exists alongside Sita, the archetype of the ideal woman,' notes Arundhuti Dasgupta.
Pandit Ravi Shankar was George Harrison's link into the Vedic world.
You'd wonder what madness seized Rahul that he has decided to play to the BJP's strengths, says Shekhar Gupta.
'Hindus are proud of what the Dharmashastras symbolise, but they don't want to do any work to preserve it!,' Sanskrit scholar Donald Davis tells Kanika Dutta.
In Vrindavan, work is on to build the world's tallest religious structure, a new temple for Krishna by ISKCON-Bangalore
All those of us who care about books should welcome the appointment, as head of the Indian Council of Historical Research, of Yellapragada Sudarshan Rao. This is not because Rao has so far distinguished himself as a writer about "history and tourism management", which is the department of Kakatiya University in Warangal he headed before retiring to head an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed project to "write history from a nationalist perspective and popularise Sanskrit", two aims which naturally go together for the RSS.
At a time when the Kashmir valley has been shut down, it is perhaps appropriate that we remember Lal Ded, Kashmir's best known spiritual and literary figure, someone remembered with divine adoration both by Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir. A fascinating excerpt from Sandhya Mulchandani's For The Love Of God: Women Poet Saints Of The Bhakti Movement.
'We often assume that Ayodhya is Ram's property and Hastinapur is Yudhishthira's property when, in fact, it is their responsibility.' 'A king exists, as per Hindu philosophy, only to ensure that other people's property is safe,' explains Devdutt Pattanaik.
"Many people in America see animals, particularly cows, as meat...animals have a soul, personality, they interact," says Sankar Sastri, who runs the Lakshmi Cow Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, USA.
VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi on Tuesday kicked up another controversy with her remarks that those who are opposed to Yoga should go to Pakistan.
'Our priority is how to reduce the waiting time for people for darshan.'
The facts remain cloaked in mystery, but the legend goes that Talpade had created a flying machine powered by mercury and solar energy, and based on ideas outlined in Vedic texts.
The sentiments of the ignorant are what politicians unfortunately fan to inflame passions for political gain, says Murad Ali Baig
Thanks to the indefatigable perseverance of Congressman Joe Crowley, New York Democrat and a long-time and time-tested friend of India and the Indian American community, the United States Congress will celebrate it's first-ever Congressional Diwali celebration on October 29 at 6 pm at the Rayburn House Building foyer on the first floor.
Ambassador Venu Rajamony, who served as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee during his tenure, salutes the statesman and political legend, who passed into the ages on Monday.
'For a vision to manifest in action one should know the path. Modi knows the path. That is why he repeatedly exhorted that he wanted the support of every political party, the industrialists, the Indians abroad, the youth, women, parents... practically his agenda involved every Indian. He wants to make every Indian a stake-holder in India's progress and he thinks that it is possible,' says Ram Madhav.
'The new generation voter is hyper-nationalistic, but it isn't essentially illiberal.' 'They will find the rants of Adityanath as laughable as Irfan Habib's. They will also find the BJP's polarising approach to vote-gathering unacceptable if it fails to deliver jobs and growth,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The Hindu right-wing body in its mouthpiece taunts "liberals" protesting the Dadri lynching incident, asking what exactly is their idea of India.
Modi's real problem is not his silence on Hindutva excesses growing in the country. He needs to transform India without the minute-by-minute tweets.
As education minister Smriti Irani should be worried about the state of education nationwide rather than fuelling a German-versus-Sanskrit row, says Sunil Sethi
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and several Indian cricketers are expected to fly to Rajkot to attend the reception.
'For years American academia has used the concerns about Hindutva in India to almost completely trash the concept of Hinduism.' 'In the American debate, Wendy Doniger's point of views perpetuated Hinduphobia.' 'Americans were willing to change... Indian intellectuals let us down badly.'
