Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma has triggered a row by saying that late president A P J Abdul Kalam was a great nationalist "despite" being a Muslim.
Terming the agitation for Ram temple the biggest since India's freedom movement, he said it was aimed at the outcome which the verdict has made possible.
There is much to learn from the life of Ravana says Anand Neelakantan, author of Asura, tale of the vanquished, the story of Ravana and his people.
'Even among scientists and technology mavens -- typically communities that tend to view the world through the lens of logos or reason and not mythos, there is a shiny-eyed enthusiasm for the mythical world,' says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
Since 2015, Odisha has been embroiled in a bitter battle over the origin of the delicacy with West Bengal, which had in 2017 secured the GI tag for 'Banglar Rasogolla'.
He also washed the feet of sanitation workers at the 'Swachh Kumbh, Swachh Aabhaar' programme in Prayagraj.
'In the 30 years since the Ayodhya movement began, the RSS has created a generation of Hindus who are the mirror image of those fanatic Muslims who take to the streets at the slightest, even imagined, 'insult to Islam,' argues Jyoti Punwani.
It further said that the epic Valmiki's Ramayana, whose composition dated back to the period Before Christ (BC), was the main source of knowledge of Lord Ram and his deeds.
'The administration was not ready for (my) release, but I have been released because of the prayers of people.'
Kapil Mishra had been invited because he was an "anti-corruption crusader", one 'IIT B for Bharat' organiser said. But in his half hour-long speech, Mishra didn't mention corruption. His entire focus was on the long "battle" Hindus had fought for their identity.
Five stories of rape and sexual assault from the epics are particularly useful in offering an insight into the way rape works in India, says Nilanjana S Roy
Count among The Light of Asia's many, many admirers over 132 years: Gandhi, Tagore, Vivekananda, Nehru and Ambedkar, Tolstoy and Kipling, Yeats and Eliot, Alfred Nobel, Dmitri Mendeleev and C V Raman. Jairam Ramesh reveals why he decided to write a book on Edwin Arnold, who wrote The Light of Asia.
Director Sanjay Gupta talks about his latest release.
On Sunday, a swayamvaram of the kind we have only heard of in ancient India took place at a college hall in Tamil Nadu. The participants choosing their own spouses were an unusual group of people. A Ganesh Nadar was present at the heart-warming occasion.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi greeted people on the occasion of Dussehra and Eid-ul-Zuha.
Leaders, including the President and Vice President, react to the bhoomi pujan of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
'It was one of the greatest learnings in my life to see someone like the great Amitabh Bachchan go through such a tough phase.' 'He had been there, done it all and really didn't need to prove himself.' 'Yet, he channelised it all and came out with one of his best performances,' Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra tells Savera R Someshwar/Rediff.com in a fascinating conversation about the films he has made and the actors he has worked with.
Adityanath spent hours reviewing the arrangements for the ceremony at the Ram Janmabhoomi, where the temple will be constructed following the go-ahead last year by the Supreme Court.
'What is proposed is that we tax payers pay Rs 1,000 per month to selected JanDhan accounts of poor families.' 'I am sure there are at least 10 crore Indians for whom Rs 1,000 is no big deal.'
In an embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party which has spearheaded the Ram Temple movement and Hindutva agenda, the party's Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani today termed Ram, the protagonist of Ramayana, as a 'bad husband'.
Mahendra Nath Pandeysaid that Gandhi has "no gotra", going by the traditional male lineage.
'The condition in Bengal is such that if you chant Jai Shri Ram, you would be put behind bars
'It is unfortunate that the Congress has always been apologetic when it came to respecting Hindu religion'
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Maneka Gandhi on Saturday took out a leaf from Ramayana to support Team Anna's entry into electoral politics, saying a confident Ravana had dismissed Lord Rama's army as "monkeys and bears" but ended up vanquished.
For the idea called Arvind Kejriwal to succeed, it is important that he has a Rahul Dravid approach to the game. A Yusuf Pathan like pinch-hitter innings won't do, says TS Sudhir
Sanjeev Nayyar offers a roster of things to do to see the India of our dreams.
At Ganesh Galli, one of Mumbai's oldest pandals, a team of more than 60 workers came together to create Ayodhya's Ram Mandir.
President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the nation on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day. Here's the text of what he said:
The government on Wednesday named nine out of 15 members of the 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teertha Kshetra' trust constituted for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as mandated by the Supreme Court. Here's all you need to know about the members of the trust who have been named so far.
Tiger Shroff has got the goods of a solid action hero but it's time to step out of the show reel space and shine under an actual script and a skilled hand, feels Sukanya Verma.
We bring you a presentation of some of the best photos from around the world in the month gone by.
Ravanayan, a graphic novel created by comic book writer Vijayendra Mohanty and artist Vivek Goel, attempts yet another re-telling of the timeless Ramayana, this time from Ravana's perspective, says Sanchari Bhattacharya.
A day after calling Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi an "Amul baby", Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Monday described Defence Minister A K Antony as Kumbakarna, saying he was caught napping when terrorists attacked Mumbai.
Inclusion has never been a straight road and stories from ancient cultures show it has always been a struggle to accord equal status to all genders and species, says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
'No COVID-19 positive person will be allowed when the bhoomi pujan happens on August 5 in Prime Minister Modi's presence.'
'Manthara wants Kaikeyi to make her son Bharat king of Ayodhya, instead of Rama.' 'She fuels hate and mistrust in her queen, much like what many modern-day viziers are doing, whipping up venom and frenzy among an entire nation,' notes Arundhuti Dasgupta.
"There have been many stamps on Lord Ram, but this is the first of its kind stamp, which depicts different aspects of his life. This has not been done in the past. I am happy that I have got the opportunity to do this from the holy soil of Manas," he said.
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