'The RSS, that advocated military strength, remained in the ideological doghouse for over half a century. Many of the RSS' responses even today carry the burden of this past,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
All eyes are now on November 25, when all the specs, varians and pricing will be made known.
'At a time when there was little awareness of world music, playing western tunes on eastern instruments like the flute and the dholak, blending vocal polyphony with Indian folk and contemporary styles, Salilkaku created a new musical genre in Bengal called Gana Sangeet.'
Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, who was the chief priest during the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple at Digha on April 30, on Friday joined the voices demanding withdrawal of the 'Jagannath Dham' phrase attached to the new temple in West Bengal.
India on Tuesday called on Bangladesh to reconsider its decision to demolish the ancestral property of noted filmmaker Satyajit Ray and offered help to preserve the iconic building as it symbolises Bangla cultural 'renaissance'.
A TMC legislator in West Bengal has allegedly threatened to pour acid in the throat of anyone criticizing migrant workers from the state, sparking controversy and condemnation from opposition parties.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
The West Bengal Urdu Academy has postponed a 'mushaira' featuring Javed Akhtar following protests by some Muslim groups who claim his comments hurt religious sentiments. Left student organizations condemn the postponement.
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
'We kept importing educational models from outside that had no connection to our cultural and intellectual strengths.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticizes Delhi Police for referring to Bengali as 'Bangladeshi national language,' sparking political controversy.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
The CPI-M leader was the chief minister of the state from 2000 to 2011.
Addressing a massive Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata, Banerjee gave a clarion call to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2026 assembly elections and eventually oust it from power at the Centre, declaring, "If this linguistic profiling doesn't stop, our resistance movement will reach New Delhi."
Much of the credit for bringing the BJP, which had lost ground in UP, back to the top goes to Sunil Bansal.
Hindi Diwas was observed across India with leaders emphasizing Hindi's role as a unifying factor and the need to enrich all Indian languages. Events were held in India and abroad to promote the language.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
A total of 24 teams will vie for the top honours in the 134th edition of the Durand Cup, Asia's oldest football tournament, to be played across five states from July 23 till August 23.
'Will any coach think of keeping out Rohit and Kohli from the ODI team? That means there is something going on within the team against the two players.' Manoj Tiwary, who played 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India, said iconic players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli deserve greater respect.
The Supreme Court has questioned the central government about the possibility of constructing a border wall to prevent illegal immigration, drawing parallels with the US border policy. The court also addressed concerns about the detention and deportation of Bengali-speaking migrant workers.
'The Bengali middle class, who never fully embraced Mamata Banerjee's policies, are now expressing their deep-seated frustration by spilling out on to the streets.'
The Odisha government is working to secure copyright for the rituals of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri to protect its traditional cultural expressions, following concerns over untimely celebrations by ISKCON and the declaration of a temple in Digha as 'Jagannath Dham'.
A year after the RG Kar rape-murder Swarupa Dutt/Rediff look at the city where it happened, Kolkata -- its study in dichotomy, at once the self-proclaimed cultural capital of India as also a petri dish for a peculiar rage that breeds crimes against women.
The message from Sunday's event will undoubtedly reverberate globally. It's a landmark occasion that will be remembered for generations and will inspire many other states to introduce the story of Rajendra Chola into school curricula, says Tarun Vijay.
The protesting doctors said they would not work in the Outpatient Department but would partially work in emergency and essential services.
'If I had the chance now, I would have continued acting.' 'The cultures of Maharashtra and Bengal are different and I felt I had to give my best to be a good daughter-in-law and an ideal wife.' 'I never thought I could balance both.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on an official visit to the United Kingdom, took a refreshing jog in London's Hyde Park, wearing a white saree and her signature white slippers. Banerjee also attended a high tea reception at India House, hosted by Vikram K Doraiswami, the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, bringing together business, cultural, and political leaders to strengthen ties between Bengal and Britain. The discussions centered around fostering economic partnerships and deepening people-to-people connections.
Workers from the BJP and Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march organized by the BJP against the use of abusive language towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother. The protest turned violent, with stone pelting and vandalism reported. Police intervened to control the situation, and an investigation is underway.
Dr Vece Paes, a member of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games bronze-winning Indian men's hockey team and father of legendary tennis player Leander Paes, died in Kolkata on Thursday morning.
BJP chief J P Nadda on Thursday launched 'Lokkho Sonar Bangla' (target to build golden Bengal) manifesto crowdsourcing campaign to seek suggestions from more than two crore people in West Bengal ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
'As we read and assess what is going on around us in the India of 2025, it is instructive to do this through the lens of 75 years ago and the events that led to the formation of the BJP as we know it,' recalls Aakar Patel.
While the Prime Minister did not spell out the details of the three instances, his remarks are being widely interpreted as a reference to the 2016 surgical strikes following the Uri terror attack, the 2019 Balakot air strikes after the Pulwama bombing, and the recent cross-border strikes as part of 'Operation Sindoor'.
Three of the junior doctors who were observing 'fast unto death' in Kolkata and Siliguri city in the northern part of the state have so far been hospitalised after their condition deteriorated.
Bihar is now among the top 10 states in terms of investor base, surging past better-off states like Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab.
The RSS which catapulted Jagdeep Dhankar to national prominence after 21 years of hibernation could not come to his rescue when BJP higher ups decided to seek his resignation, points out Prakash Bhandari.
One of Debashish Bhattacharya's most remarkable contributions is that he has taken the scope and foundation of the slide guitar, improvised it again and again, thereby designing and creating four entirely new guitars.
The second round of talks between junior doctors and officials of the West Bengal government failed to break the medics' strike over the RG Kar issue, following the state's refusal to give written minutes of the meeting, the doctors alleged.
The e-mail, detailing the points which were discussed and agreed upon between the two sides and also those which weren't, was sent as per the state's requirement based on which the government is expected to issue directives, the doctors said.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Agitating junior doctors, whose nine representatives are on a fast-unto-death demonstration, termed talks with senior officials of the West Bengal government as 'the most disappointing meeting so far'.
