Tharoor later told reporters in the national capital that he heard about the award on Tuesday and that he was not going for the ceremony.
"I owe it to Veer Savarkar, to his spirit, to his legacy and to his untold story so that I tell it well and it reaches people, and people absorb it and feel what he went through and all the sacrifices that he made, which have been brushed under the carpet."
With the kind of money and talent that has gone into making this movie, a really good biopic of a personality like Savarkar could be made. But this film is lost in polemics, as is the case with almost every biopic and period drama today, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
Shashi Tharoor categorically stated that he would not accept an award named after VD Savarkar, nor attend a related event, even as a senior party colleague wanted the Congress MP to not accept any honour named after the ideologue whom he claimed "bowed before the British."
The Sports Authority of Gujarat hosted the drawing of lots for the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Men's Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad. The tournament is scheduled for June 20-28 at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, featuring 12 teams divided into two pools.
Film folk like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, Karan Johar, Vicky Kaushal and Pritam attend RSS' centenary celebrations in Mumbai.
Film folk turned up in large numbers to celebrate Producer and real estate developer Anand Pandit's 62nd birthday in Mumbai over the weekend.
'One hopes the younger generation sees Savarkar him for what he was and does not view him through a distorted prism.' 'This is the least one could do for someone who devoted his whole life to Indian freedom struggle, elimination of caste, succour to Dalits, and instilling of strategic culture in India,' says Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A Commonwealth Sport delegation is visiting Gujarat to review preparations for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Ahmedabad. The delegation will inspect key venues and meet with state officials.
Two senior Indian volleyball players have quit the national camp in Ahmedabad, citing concerns over incompetent coaches, poor facilities, and politics within the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to the memory of freedom fighter V D Savarkar in Marseille, France, where Savarkar had attempted a daring escape from British custody in 1910. Modi also inaugurated a new Indian Consulate in the city, marking a significant step in strengthening India-France ties. The prime minister's visit includes a series of engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron, including a visit to the Mazargues War Cemetery to honor Indian soldiers who died in the World Wars. They will also tour the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project.
Neither films were rejected by the audience, something that has happened with so many recent, mid-budget films.
Commonwealth Sport president Donald Rukare expressed satisfaction with India's preparations for the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, following a multi-city review of venues and infrastructure.
A post by the oil ministry featuring V.D. Savarkar alongside Mahatma Gandhi and other freedom fighters has drawn criticism from the Congress party, accusing the BJP of distorting history.
Mandaviya was accompanied by officials from the Swimming Federation of India (SFI).
'The Opposition thinks since the ruling party is following Savarkar's Hindutva philosophy, they want to regain their lost political mileage (by attacking Savarkar).' 'By doing so, they think they will get their power back.'
Raut said the statement might result in a rift in the MVA, which comprises the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, apart from the Uddhav-Sena.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde wondered whether Indira Gandhi was also anti-Constitution as she had praised Savarkar as a "remarkable son of India".
Ahmedabad proposed as host city for 2031 World Athletics C''ships and 2028 World U20 C''ships
In her first engagement in Port Blair, the President laid a wreath at the Martyrs Column and visited the Cellular Jail complex and museum. She also witnessed the light and sound show at the Cellular Jail.
A local Shiv Sena (UBT) leader has threatened to blacken Rahul Gandhi's face for his remarks about freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, sparking a strong reaction from Congress leaders in Maharashtra. The threat, made by Bala Darade, a deputy city unit chief of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party in Nashik, could put the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) under strain. The Congress leadership has condemned the threat, stating that their party believes in non-violence but is capable of responding to such threats.
Among other dignitaries who paid tributes toSavarkar were Sushma Swaraj, S S Ahluwalia, V K Malhotra, Shri Santosh Kumar Gangawar, Maya Singh, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, members of Parliament and many former members of Parliament. Lok Sabha Secretary-General P D T Achary and Rajya Sabha Secretary-General V K Agnihotri, also paid floral tributes at the portrait of Savarkar.
India claimed four bronze medals on the final day to wrap up their most successful Asian Aquatics Championships with 13 medals even as China asserted their dominance by winning a staggering 49 medals, including 38 gold, in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has demanded the Bharat Ratna for Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray, calling for the highest civilian honor to be bestowed upon the late leader on the occasion of his 99th birth anniversary. Party leader Sanjay Raut criticized the BJP-led government for awarding the Bharat Ratna to individuals he deemed undeserving and argued that Thackeray, who he described as the "sower of Hindutva seeds," deserves the honor. Raut also emphasized the significance of Thackeray's upcoming birth centenary, asserting that awarding him the Bharat Ratna before the centenary would also be an honor for Veer Savarkar.
As Hrithik Roshan announces his plans to turn direct films, one looks forward to an altogether different grammar coming into action.
The Hindi booklet, distributed at a camp of Congress-affiliated Seva Dal in Madhya Pradesh, had also claimed that Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse were in a physical relationship. The book alleged that Savarkar received money from the British after he was released from Andaman's Cellular Jail.
Reacting to the comments, Raut on Monday said the Shiv Sena has "never kept quiet on the issues relating to Savarkar and it will never do so". Without naming the BJP, Raut said the party should browse through history to know the Shiv Sena's stand on issues involving Savarkar.
The party, however, acknowledged that Savarkar had made a contribution to the freedom movement.
"It was Veer Savarkar who first mooted the idea of a two-nation theory which was later adopted by Muhammad Ali Jinnah," Singh told reporters.
The decision was taken at the executive council meeting of the university, sources said.
Members of a Buddhist outfit allegedly vandalised road signboards named after Mughal and Delhi Sultanate rulers in Lutyens' Delhi on Friday. The Bharatiya Baudh Sangh members covered the signboards that come under the jurisdiction of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) with black spray paint. Veer Savarkar Marg was pasted over the signboard of Shahjahan Road, Ahilya Bai Marg was pasted over Tughlaq Lane, Maharishi Valmiki Marg was pasted over Akbar Road and Balasaheb Thackeray Marg over Humayun Road. The incident follows the March 20 defacement of Akbar Road's signboard by unidentified individuals protesting the alleged vandalism of Maharana Pratap's statue at Kashmiri Gate ISBT.
India's Mehak Sharma won a silver medal in women's +86kg category while Lovepreet Singh settled for a bronze in men's +110kg on the concluding day of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships
Ace Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj dazzled on the opening day of the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships, clinching the 200m freestyle silver medal in the elite continental competition in over 16 years, in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Rajnath said that it was on Mahatma Gandhi's request that Savarkar wrote mercy petitions to the British.
Rahul Gandhi can never be Savarkar even by a long shot because the freedom fighter neither travelled abroad for six months of the year nor sought help from foreigners against his country, Thakur said.
Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ashish Shelar attacked the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi ahead of his upcoming visit to Maharashtra and sought an apology for his remarks on 'reservation ' and 'Veer Savarkar'.
"He was an icon of the Indian history and will remain so. There can be a difference of opinion about him, but to look down on him as inferior is not appropriate and justifiable. He was a freedom fighter and a staunch nationalist, but people who follow the Marxist and Leninist ideology are the ones who accuse Savarkar of being a fascist...," Singh said, adding that the hatred towards Savarkar is illogical and unplaced.
"We have always rejected Savarkar's ideology and political philosophy....his was a divisive ideology. We are consistent and firm in its rejection. We don't need to revise our opinion," Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said.
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