It is time the current leaders who swear by 'cultural nationalism', that is religion neutral, assert that Bharatiyata is at the core of our nationalism and India was never a 'Hindu Rashtra', argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Jaya is a woman of steel in the truest sense of the word. Despite being the first lady of filmdom, she's as real and rooted to the ground as anyone can get, notes Subhash K Jha on the actor-politician's 74th birthday.
Chief Minister Stalin seems to have drawn a line between his personal beliefs and those of others in the family, beginning with wife Durga Stalin, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tarishi, according to the minister, was 19-years-old. She passed out from American School Dhaka. Presently, she was a student at Berkeley.
The AGP, an ally of the BJP, voted for the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha, after Amit Shah's assurance. However, the scale, intensity and, persistence of the anti-CAA protests since then have taken it by surprise.
'Between now and 2021, Bengal's politics could change irrevocably,' predicts Kanchan Gupta, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation.
'Not afraid to look Muslim, not shy of flaunting her nationalism.' 'With a willingness to fight carrying the Constitution, the Flag, the Anthem, Ambedkar, Gandhi and the chant of 'Hindustan Zindabad',' notes Shekhar Gupta.
In the letter dated July 23, the celebrities have said that "exemplary punishment" should be meted out "swiftly and surely" in such cases.
An insistence on only one language will inevitably be resented as a form of imperialism and resisted.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said all clauses of the Bodo Accord signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government last year will be implemented within two-and-a-half years.
'Look at the number of billionaires, the number of new billionaires in India.' 'Adani and Ambani are not the only ones.' 'What's wrong with people making money as long as it benefits us?'
'I don't think the state administration has shown the resolve to enter Muslim neighbourhoods and arrest offenders in the last decade.'
Laxman Chandra Seth, believed by the vast population of the area to have been the villain of the historic anti-farmland acquisition movement in 2007, said the two built their political careers by misleading the innocent people of Nandigram. Now their lies are back to haunt them.
After the publication of the final list of NRC, those people whose name will figure in it will be given usual Aadhaar number as applicable to legal residents in the country.
Renowned artist Tyeb Mehta's untitled canvas depicting a falling bull on Thursday got sold for a whopping Rs 15 crore at the second edition of Indian art auction held by the Christie's in Mumbai.
'People feel concerned about the future, whether it is the land or the jobs.' 'The BJP came to power in Assam with promises of maati, bheti (home, hearth and identity), land, jobs and culture.' 'Are these going to taken care of? I think those are real concerns.' 'The Assam chief minister (Sarbananda Sonowal) was one of the leaders of the All Assam Students Union which fought for and is one of the signatories to the Assam Accord.' 'Today, his comrade-in-arms (Samujjal Bhattacharya, chief advisor, AASU) is leading the opposition in the streets.'
From belonging to an endangered tribe, somewhere along the line I had turned into a dangerous species myself; a lying, scheming traitor, who had let the country down -- in short, an anti-national, says Durba Dhyani.
'On the drive to the airport, the streets are lined with men in battle camouflage carrying assault rifles and bearing familiar faces -- Tamilians, Bengalis, Punjabis, feared by the locals and in turn fearing them,' notes Aakar Patel during a visit to Srinagar.
'If there are provocations and people try to exploit and manipulate the situation along linguistic, religious lines, then Assam might relapse into its troubled past.'
'To treat a Hindu fleeing persecution and certain death in Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan on par with a Muslim voluntarily sneaking into India for economic reasons or otherwise is callously cruel, blatantly perverse and grossly unjust.' 'The concept of equality cannot be invoked to perpetuate a historical wrong that needs to be righted,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
'Politicians insist on focusing on the North even though the rest of India offers a better way of engaging with our Muslims namely, live and let live.'
The elections in two eastern Indian states were keenly observed in Bangladesh for two major contentious issues, writes Prakash Bhandari from Dhaka.
'Irrfan transcended celluloid and gave us a taste of his humility and humanity,' observes Sukanya Verma.
Aseem Chhabra lists the best non-Hindi language films he watched in 2020, with the hope that they will have a wider reach in the new year.
Students' organisations and political parties are participating in the bandh to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there.
'Patriotism is a sentiment, a feeling of belonging to a place.' 'Nationalism is an ideology, and like all ideologies, it is absolute and restrictive in nature,' Ashis Nandy, arguably India's leading social thinker, tells Geetanjali Krishna.
Trinamool leaders have claimed the NRC process and subsequent verification is vote bank politics. Other critics call it as modified ethnic cleansing. But putting poll rhetoric aside, the issue dates back to a time when many of these leaders had no political relevance.
Ansuya Dutt, who never stopped fighting for women's rights, can be an inspiration to us never to lose sight of our basic beliefs, never mind peer pressure.
'Everything about you and your precious relationships spoke to me, stirred me and I wish you could hear how deeply you touched me,' Sukanya Verma says in her letter to Piku.
Addressing a massive public rally to celebrate the signing of the accord on January 27 that is expected to bring lasting peace to the troubled state, Modi said now the time was to work together for peace and development of the North-East.
'The CM seems to have forgotten that she is dealing with the Gorkhas, people known for their valour and loyalty to India.' 'It is shameful that Mamata Banerjee and her administration treated them like insurgents, choosing to use live bullets instead of other ways and means to control crowds.'
Each train is likely to carry around 1,000-1,200 passengers, keeping in mind the social-distancing protocol.
Girish Karnad lived several lives not only on the stage but also as a scholar, theatre personality, an actor and director in a career spanning over five decades.
'My son used to pray five times a day from a young age. But we never imagined this. There was nothing at home, no books or anything to indicate he was leaning that way, So we had no inkling,' he said.
Not just Article 370 but all such special status articles must go, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan
Check out the impressive line-up at the International Film Festival of South Asia.
The actors are good and Sujoy Ghosh is tremendous at creating a textured Bengal setting, but this is a thriller which could have used more twists and smarts, says Raja Sen.
'... That they should emerge as role-models to be emulated by the fellow countrymen; and that the middle classes should not stick only to hate-filled and scornful criticism and condemnation against the state of affairs,' remembers Mohammad Sajjad.
'I would get a rejection everyday. I used to give five-six auditions sometimes and would get disheartened. After so many rejections, I have finally managed to do what I like.' Meet Ek Aastha Aisi Bhi's Tina Phillip.
A day after total shutdown in Assam to protest against the CAB, fresh protests erupted in the state and neighbouring Tripura and other parts of the nation.
