'Such kind of mythology-based talks do not in any way contribute to science'. 'My biggest concern is these things will (eventually) become part of school curriculum (in India), and that is completely unacceptable.' Ramprasad Gandhiraman, a scientist at NASA's Ames Research Centre in California, has launched a petition demanding that a lecture on Ancient Indian Aviation Technology to be delivered at the 102nd Indian Science Congress in Mumbai be scrapped. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports.
'The BRICS anthem has to necessarily be an anthem of Vedic times -- Walk together, Dream together, Achieve together.' 'And who knows it better than Modi?' says Tarun Vijay.
'Surely a higher standard is required when ministers speak in public to an audience that will assume they are factually correct, says Karan Thapar.
Baba Ramdev may be controversy's child, yet he has a fan following not just in India, but almost all over the world. Sanjeev Nayyar recounts why he is fida about Patanjali products.
Thousands of mourners jostled and some clambered on trees to capture the moment on their phones as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cortege left the Bharatiya Janata Party's headquarters for Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
The priest informed that seven rooms of the CM's residence were 'purified'.
BJP workers and mourners queued up in large numbers outside the party headquarters since morning to pay their last respects to the leader.
A top US university is "walking away" from the $3 million grants it received to establish endowed chairs in India studies after alleged that the donors had "extreme right-wing notions".
Leading historian Irfan Habib said the country's academic community is shocked at the manner in which the Modi government is "trampling upon" academic institutions.
'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.
VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi on Tuesday kicked up another controversy with her remarks that those who are opposed to Yoga should go to Pakistan.
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.
'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.
Over a thousand widows broke the 400-year-old tradition and celebrated the festival within the precincts of the ancient Gopinath temple.
'It promises to get much, much darker before the dawn.' 'But at least dawn has a fighting chance,' says Mitali Saran.
Kite flyers from India and abroad showed their skills of flying kites on the first day of kite festival which kicked off here on Tuesday.
Only 40 of the 160 projects under the Namami Gange Mission -- a Rs 20,000 crore project for cleaning the river -- have been completed.
Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar is the 27th King of the Wadiyar dynasty.
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.
'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.'
Designer Bibhu Mohapatra launches a new line of diamond jewellery inspired by his childhood memories.
'Poor home work, and a subsequent loss of nerve.' 'This sums up the Modi government's current travails, the stall in key sectors, fading momentum, irritability,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
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.
'And who sold this belief?' 'Public-spirited individuals' like Subramanian Swamy.' 'Independent public servants' like Vinod Rai. 'Anti-corruption activists' like Kiran Bedi. And 'outspoken television anchors' like Arnab Goswami,' says Mihir S Sharma.
He, obviously, later said that his remarks had been interpreted out of context.
Archis Mohan tells us how the event came to be celebrated on June 21
The 61-year-old former top cop from Mumbai changed professions after listening to his 'inner voice'.
Why Dalit leaders cross over to the BJP
Whether we flew aircraft or mastered plastic surgery is immaterial for modern India, what matters is if ancient Indians understood the science and art of settlement planning, architecture and governance of natural resources. This is the history we need to learn, says Sunita Narain
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.
The sentiments of the ignorant are what politicians unfortunately fan to inflame passions for political gain, says Murad Ali Baig
G Sreedathan interviews Dinanath Batra, president of Siksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas and national convener of Siksha Bacho Andolan, who shot to fame after he was instrumental in getting American scholar Wendy Doniger's book on Hinduism pulped.
They need justice - social and legal - because that's the only thing that will improve their lives, says Paloma Sharma.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and several Indian cricketers are expected to fly to Rajkot to attend the reception.
The Gujarat Lions team members and supporting staff came wearing orange turbans to the reception.
'Well begun is half done, today there are more hits than misses by the Modi government in its support towards science in India,' says Pallava Bagla.
The conviction of dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the murder of their 14-year-old daughter Aarushi and domestic servant Hemraj is based on "clinching wealth of circumstances" placed by the Central Bureau of Investigation which had earlier sought closure, citing lack of sufficient evidence.
You'd wonder what madness seized Rahul that he has decided to play to the BJP's strengths, says Shekhar Gupta.
It was almost 10 years ago that the idea of a Yoga Day was mooted by some NGOs, but it had no takers till Prime Minister Narendra Modi realised its potential, probably at the instance of Sri Sri Ravishankar, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'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.
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