Navi Mumbai police have arrested two self-styled godmen from Nashik for allegedly cheating a woman of Rs 1.9 lakh under the pretext of performing black magic and other rituals.
Bihar MP Rajesh Ranjan, also known as Pappu Yadav, has faced criticism for his controversial remarks regarding women's reservation in Parliament, with his comments sparking outrage and prompting a notice from the Bihar Women's Commission.
The Congress Legislature Party leader in Maharashtra raises concerns about law and order due to missing girls and the impact of unseasonal rains on farmers, criticising the government's response.
We know in our heart that speaking the truth on this stupid Iran war will anger Trump and so we look the other way because if we look him in the eye the bully will straighten us out, asserts Aakar Patel.
In the midst of crime and cop shows all over, a family comedy comes as a relief, notes Deepa Gahlot.
Madhya Pradesh Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Inder Singh Parmar has sparked controversy by saying that social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a 'British agent' who started a 'vicious cycle of religious conversion', prompting the Trinamool Congress to call the remarks an insult to Bengal.
As scandals linked to spiritual fraudsters continued to surface in Kerala, the house of a pastor was searched by Income Tax (IT) officials in Kottayam. IT officials searched the home of one pastor Thanku in Kottayam following reports that he had allegedly amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income, police said.
Faced with increasing competition and dwindling returns, self-styled Godmen from the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are flocking to Nilambur in Kerala to learn magical tricks to attract more followers.
'Ashram made people realise that Bobby Deol can play different characters.' 'It was the most watched show till date.'
It complained that such vested interests were using the print and electronic media to lure the public by carrying out publicity blitzkrieg of their claims of magical and mystical cures.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has sought a ban on ashrams run by 'godmen' like Rampal, saying they have become centres of "terror" in the name of faith.
Women power, rebellious love, shady godmen, love triangles and more on OTT. Sukanya Verma lists everything coming up on OTT this week.
A 39-year-old engineer, who allegedly duped some ashrams in Tamil Nadu to the tune of a few lakhs of rupees has been arrested, said the police. R Prakash, hailing from Madurai, decided to con ashrams and self-styled godmen after he lost nearly Rs two lakh to a self-styled godman a few years ago, they said.
Veil of secrecy over the businesses and assets of four of our most high-profile godmen is lifted.
Singham Again is action heavy, so its appeal is limited to fans of the genre, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Maharaj's mediocre social drama lacks the spine and spunk to recreate the relevance of revolutionary decisions in the face of religious fanaticism, observes Sukanya Verma.
Rediff.com takes a look at some godmen who have attracted controversy in recent times.
Rajkumar Hirani has a mastery in bromance. In Dunki, Sukanya Verma doesn't feel that chemistry one bit, it's more like SRK babysitting a bunch of clueless kids running helter-skelter in a garden believing the grass is always greener on the other side.
Akshay Kumar looks cool in that trippy get-up and adds his charisma to the film that is otherwise a lot of verbiage, observes Deepa Gahlot.
'As long as there is misery, as long as people let themselves be exploited by rogues, this will continue.'
Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai makes the audience feel good that the battle for justice was not in vain, observes Deepa Gahlot.
'If you have read the Gita, Krishna never gives a guarantee, though that is what we, as humans, crave -- which is why we buy into the cults of occult godmen who assure us that we will surely get money, meaning, and power.' A fascinating excerpt from Dr Devdutt Pattanaik's The Stories We Tell: Mythology To Make Sense Of Modern Lives.
Religion matters. Aspirational India is still poor. India admires strong leaders. India values decency. Shreekant Sambrani highlights the reasons why the BJP pulled off improbable victories in the Hindi heartland.
If he wasn't an actor, Aamir Khan could have made an excellent life coach.
Akshay Kumar has been taking on social causes with a vengeance and turning it into cinema.
The notice was isued on a novelist's plea who accused the makers of the movie of plagiarising certain portions from his Hindi book Farishta.
From ordinary believers to the President of India, his clout spread far and wide but controversy also followed Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba all along.
What do you think of this latest stunt AK has pulled on us! Have your say!
The film has sparked protests in various parts of the country.
'My problem is that these people are calling themselves God. Godmen are becoming bigger than God.' Former Big Boss contestant Rahul Mahajan tell Syed Firdaus Ashraf why he made public photographs of Radhe Ma in a mini skirt.
'Not surprisingly, the call for lighting diyas, candles and other sources of illumination to demonstrate a nation's resolve to fight coronavirus has elicited astrological, numerological and even medical explanations,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
'Films like Arth don't happen again and again. They come once in a lifetime. I was lucky to make it, and I couldn't have done it without Smita and Shabana.'
Members of the right-wing outfit burn PK posters.
Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigative Team on black money, Justice Arijit Pasayat, said Rs 70,000 crore of black money has been unearthed so far and the sixth report on it will be submitted to the apex court in April.
'If the volume of ceaseless chatter causes surprise, so does the boorishness of many mobile users.' 'The richer an Indian, the more s/he rates phones over politeness. It screams status,' notes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'The norm will be even less public accountability, even less transparency, tweets instead of press conferences, TV lectures rather than parliamentary debate, and greater political authoritarianism,' predicts Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
'The only loser is the tax payer who doesn't have a clue as to how his money is being used.'
The list includes names like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Rampal, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai.
'Coronavirus has occasioned us to see how copious Modi's mojo bag is,' says Shreekant Sambrani.
