Holi was celebrated with pomp and splendor across India on Friday, with people soaking in the festivities by smearing 'gulaal' on each other and exchanging greetings and sweets. Homes and streets wore a colourful look as the revellers splashed colours and feasted on traditional delicacies. Public transport did not ply in the morning in most major cities while metro services started functioning from noon. As Holi coincided with the second Friday prayers during the holy Islamic month of Ramzan, security -- including increased patrolling and picketing -- was beefed up in several states. In Delhi, more than 25,000 security personnel were deployed. Police closely monitored about 300 sensitive areas with CCTV cameras and drones.
'Be it tourist guides, hotels, rickshaw drivers, all have a livelihood thanks to Shah Jahan.'
Five MLAs -- four from the BJP and one independent -- were also sworn in as ministers. However, former home minister and six-term MLA from Ambala Cantt, Anil Vij, has not found a place in the new cabinet.
On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar took charge in New Delhi.
Karun Nair has smashed 664 runs with five centuries in eight matches at an astonishing average of 664 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Terrorists opened fire at a popular tourist spot near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly holidayers from other states, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
The Indian National Lok Dal will contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, senior party leader Abhay Singh Chautala said on Thursday.
Bhavani Rajput picked up 11 points in a superb performance as UP Yoddhas beat table toppers Haryana Steelers 31-24 to keep their play-off hopes alive in the Pro Kabaddi League in Pune on Tuesday.
'No words can heal the wounds of a mother who lost her child, or a friend who lost their companion. But we must speak, we must feel, and we must remember.'
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has criticized the Centre over the landing of US planes carrying illegal Indian immigrants at Amritsar airport, calling it a "deport centre." He stated that the holy city is known for its religious sites and should not be used for deportations. Mann has also questioned the choice of Amritsar as the landing site, suggesting that other airports in the country could have been used instead. The second US flight carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants is slated to land in Amritsar on Saturday night. The Punjab government has made arrangements to take the residents of Punjab from among the second batch of deportees to their hometowns.
Out of the 10 gold on offer on the opening day of athletics competitions, Maharashtra and Services picked up two each, while Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu claimed one each.
Her grandfather Philip Spratt was accused by the British Raj in the Meerut Conspiracy Case in the late 1920s. Meet the lady in Aamir Khan's life.
The Congress's second AICC session in Gujarat post-Independence is being held on the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's party presidency and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
The Haryana police in Ambala district Thursday said they will be seeking cancellation of passports and visas of those found indulging in acts of vandalism during the ongoing farmers' agitation.
'It was inspired by the Hamas attack and was like their attack -- well planned and well executed.'
Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, while they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation in Chandigarh. The police also began evicting protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, which have been closed for over a year. The action comes amid concerns from industrialists in Punjab over the prolonged closure of the border points, which they say has resulted in heavy losses. The meeting between the farmer leaders and the central delegation, led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was inconclusive, but the next meeting is scheduled for May 4.
The Sports Ministry on Tuesday lifted its suspension on the Wrestling Federation of India, paving the way for the organisation of domestic tournaments.
A US military aircraft carrying 112 Indian deportees landed at the Amritsar airport late on Sunday night, marking the third such flight in recent weeks. The deportees, who hail from various states across India, will be allowed to return home after completing necessary immigration procedures. The deportations are part of a crackdown by the Donald Trump administration against illegal immigrants.
Maharashtra Finance Minister Ajit Pawar presented the state budget, announcing the construction of numerous memorials dedicated to historical figures like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and others. These memorials aim to preserve and celebrate the legacy of these prominent figures, contributing to the state's cultural and historical landscape.
Javelin thrower Sachin Yadav of Uttar Pradesh, 18-year-old high jumper Pooja Singh of Haryana and long distance runner Sawan Barwal of Himachal Pradesh rewrote National Games records and won gold medals on the concluding day of athletics competition. Yadav sent his spear to a Games-record distance of 84.39m in his fifth attempt, while Pooja cleared 1.84m to defend the women's high jump gold. Barwal won the men's 5000m in a time of 13 minutes and 45.93 seconds, bettering the earlier Games record.
This second tranche of citizenship certificates were issued on Wednesday, days before the final phase of voting for Lok Sabha polls on June 1.
Police on Friday used tear gas to disperse Haryana farmers heading towards Khanauri on Punjab's border with the state where farmers, mostly from Punjab, have been camping since last week after their 'Delhi Chalo' march was halted by security forces.
Rekha, a resident of Koh village, was alone at home watching TV when the incident occurred. Her children, aged seven and five, were at school and her husband Sanju, a farm labourer, was away at work, Farah police station in-charge Sanjay Kumar Pandey said.
Ahead of the crucial floor test of the newly elected Nayan Singh Saini-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Haryana, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has issued a whip to its MLAs to remain 'absent' from the state assembly at the time of voting on Wednesday.
Olympic medal winning boxer Vijender Singh's father Mahipal Singh passed away on Thursday. He was not keeping well for the past few weeks.
The birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, whose political influence has surged with the passage of time, on Monday was marked by bitter trading of charges between the ruling BJP and opposition parties as they fought for his legacy.
Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala Cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. Kumar, who was previously an Election Commissioner, will serve until January 26, 2029. His appointment comes amidst controversy as the Congress party demanded the government defer its decision until the Supreme Court concludes its hearing on a petition challenging the composition of the selection panel. Kumar's tenure will see him oversee several state assembly elections, including Bihar, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
Writers and creators are telling more authentic stories based in states and cities that we may not have seen much of in mainstream media, such as Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Or ones that we have some mistaken notions about like Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, highlights Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Nishant Dev, a 2023 World Championship bronze medalist, believes his stint in professional boxing will help achieve his Olympic dream at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
'There will be no change of seats for Delhi, Assam and Maharashtra.' 'Andhra, J&K, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana will lose seats while there will be an increase for MP, UP, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.' 'It is a big mistake if you make it a north-south issue.'
Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has ended his hunger strike which he began on November 26, 2022, to press for various demands of agitating farmers including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The announcement came after appeals from Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu. Dallewal said he would continue to fight for the MSP guarantee and other demands.
'They want to keep the pot boiling all the time.' 'The BJP wants to set a political narrative that the Gandhis are doing wrong things.'
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
'The flight did not land in Gujarat because the 'Gujarat model' would then get exposed.'
Authorities in Punjab have raised an objection over the use of a drone by Haryana to air-drop tear gas shells on agitating farmers in their territory at the Shambhu border, a senior official said on Wednesday.
'It is evident that the BJP govt in Haryana no longer commands a majority,' former Deputy Chief Minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala said in his letter to the governor on Wednesday.
Harshal Patel bowled a game-changing spell with the old ball as Haryana beat Rajasthan by 30 runs in a well-contested final to lift the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Rajkot on Saturday.
The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Shubman Gill flops as Karnataka bundle out Punjab for 55 to gain command on Day 1
Debutant legislator Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister along with six ministers on Thursday in a grand show of strength full of colour and spectacle to mark the Bharatiya Janata Party's return to power in the city after more than 26 years.
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