Firhad Hakim, a senior minister in West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), has defended his remarks on the Muslim population in the state and India, saying he is a diehard secular and patriotic Indian. Hakim's comments, made at a minority students' event, have sparked controversy with the BJP, Congress, and Hindu monks accusing him of promoting communalism and advocating for a Muslim majority. Hakim, however, clarified that his remarks were taken out of context and that he was merely advocating for the empowerment of the Muslim community. He also highlighted the need for greater representation of Muslims in the judiciary.
November brings Diwali with it, and the box office may finally get some good news with the release of the festival films, Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
Shahrukh Khan is one of India's most loved "human brands", and while the drug controversy may have paused his endorsement engagements, it has not dented the superstar's popularity among corporate, as per industry experts. Right after the controversy around his son's arrest in an alleged drug case broke out, many companies halted ads featuring King Khan. Many of them are now back on screens.
Ahead of YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's planned visit to Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala Hills, the district police on Friday issued notice to several leaders and cadre of the party not to defy Section 30 of the Police Act which is in force.
Images from the 2024 Paralympics Opening Ceremony in Paris on Wednesday.
The national award-winning actor had organised a mass Vishu kaineettam campaign earlier this week in Thrissur, where he unsuccessfully contested in the last assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
At a time when none in Kerala's Left politics questioned the chief minister's authority, MLA P V Anvar hurled a series of accusations against Pinarayi Vijayan's government, notes Shyam G Menon.
'How better can we depict the Mughal heritage?'
Ending four days of uncertainty, Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran was given the conditional nod on Saturday to participate in the Thrissur pooram after the animal cleared the fitness test.
After the Gujarat and Himachal elections and the municipal polls in Mumbai and Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh will elect new assemblies next year leading up to the Lok Sabha election in April-May 2024, points out Virendra Kapoor.
The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.
Controversial Indian author Arundhati Roy has joined fellow writers in calling for a boycott of a literary festival in Sri Lanka to protest alleged rights abuses and suppression of dissent in the country. Roy signed up a petition initiated by the Paris-based Reporters without Borders, urging world class authors to stay away from the Galle Literary Festival, which is due to open on January 26.
Last month, Santosh Bangar said he would hang himself if Narendra Modi did not return as Prime Minister after the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
If you have an appetite for crowds and the visual spectacle of many focused on one task or activity, a pooram will engage you, notes Shyam G Menon.
A 'curfew-like' situation prevailed on the campus with heavy police security being deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
Sahitya Akademi winner Vikram Sampath has stepped down as the director of Bangalore Lit Festival in the wake of three Kannada writers deciding to boycott the event.
Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband on Wednesday demanded that "controversial authors" be kept away from the Jaipur Literature Festival in the PinkCity.
A senior official attached with the Tambaram police commissionerate has been transferred and put under compulsory wait, days after the AR Rahman concert row that among others witnessed traffic snarls which even affected the movement of the Chief Minister's convoy.
Suhasini said widespread protests against Kushboo's remarks on pre-marital sex was a shame on the Tamil community.
In the clip, Prasad and Sahni were seen enjoying fish and roti, with Prasad explaining that he eats quickly during election campaigns.
They all seem to forget that the Music Academy is as much an independent institution as T M Krishna is an individual musician. In drawing those red lines for the Academy management, they do not even seem to recognise that they too have crossed a red line themselves, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
There will remain those, though, who will remain in opposition to this massive endeavour for world peace with an aim not to improve, but to scuttle the project. But for the rest of us, a cultural and spiritual event of this significance and scale is a feast for the mind and soul, say Sankrant Sanu.
People in large numbers participated in the India Day Parade held in New York, United States.
What should be made out of the Madras high court order involving non-Hindus' entry into Hindu temples, when many non-Hindus are among the hundreds of thousands that have been worshipping at these temples for generations, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Several leaders of the TMC slammed the rural development minister for his comments on the chief minister attending the Kolkata International Film Festival.
Marking an end to his tenure as St Stephen's principal, the college will on Sunday bid farewell to Valson Thampu who referred to himself as "controversy's child".
Two months after being forced to skip the Jaipur Literary Festival, controversial author Salman Rushdie on Saturday hit out the Congress, suggesting that his presence there was blocked because of "useless electoral calculations". Participating in the India Today Conclave, he said India "deserves to be led by better leaders".
Seen as one-of-its-kind event, the festival offers a platform for spiritual and religious leaders, politicians, business leaders, peacemakers and artists to spread the message of global peace and harmony in diversity.
Mystery, horror, biopics, documentaries, fantasy, romance, comedy, coming-of-age, pick the genre you like from the wide variety on OTT this week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged the use of artificial intelligence for creating deepfakes saying this can lead to a big crisis, as he urged the media to spread awareness about its misuse and impact to educate people.
A controversy erupted in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday over a district collector allegedly asking his subordinate to carry his shoes, an allegation which the official rejected outright.
Alok Kumar said that all the required medical facilities and other arrangements will be provided to Advani during his visit to the Pran Pratistha ceremony in Ayodhya.
"The nakli Shiv Sena wants to bury me alive. They abuse me in such a way that it will be liked by their favourite vote bank," Modi said.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Soon after the ad was put up, several people tweeted with the hashtag "HinduphobicSwiggy", urging people to boycott the food and grocery delivery service provider.
In an interview with PTI, Roy praised the Union government for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules, stating that it would benefit the refugee population, including the Matua community, who had fled neighbouring countries to escape religious persecution.
The Congress has not released a poll manifesto but a declaration of appeasement.
