Congress MLA and former India Hockey Captain Pargat Singh has criticised the change in the Indian hockey team's national jersey colour from blue to saffron, alleging it reflects the BJP's mindset of 'giving everything a particular colour' and urging a focus on sports development instead.
Kerala University vice-chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal on Saturday said those who do not say Vande Mataram do not know who their mother is.
Dharmendra Pradhan's political career faced an unexpected jolt as he resigned as Education Minister following nationwide protests over the NEET paper leak, marking a significant departure from the government's initial dismissive response to the agitation.
Students at Jamia Millia Islamia University protested an event marking 100 years of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), citing concerns over the 'saffronisation' of the campus and unequal treatment by the university administration.
"We at the Arya Samaj appeal to all not to use the terms `saffronisation' or `desaffronisation' when referring to the\n\nchanges in the NCERT textbooks, as the colour is symbolic of sanyas," Agnivesh told reporters
'The education system had been revamped and modernised by incorporating human values, the duties of the citizens towards the nation, awareness about ecology,' the former HRD minister said.
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has removed all references to the Mughals and Delhi Sultanate from its class 7 textbooks. The new textbooks, released this week, have been designed in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP) and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023, which emphasize incorporating Indian traditions, philosophies, knowledge systems, and local context into school education. The textbooks now include new chapters on ancient Indian dynasties, sacred geography, and government initiatives like Make in India and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. The revamp has been met with criticism from opposition parties who equate it with "saffronisation."
Taking a jibe at critics alleging saffronisation of education, Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Monday said the country's inherent strength in education, ancient concept and values is hailed and applauded abroad but is described as "saffron" back in the country.
He hinted that the same hue and cry is not made about 1984 riots not being in textbooks.
Amid a row over change in stand over voting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday asserted it is a secular regional outfit and maintains equal distance from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance bloc led by the Congress.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday requested the Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate for Delhi and former Indian Police Service officer Kiran Bedi to not saffronise freedom fighters, after Bedi put her party's scarf around the statue of Lala Lajpat Rai in Krishna Nagar.
G Sreedathan interviews Dinanath Batra, president of Siksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas and national convener of Siksha Bacho Andolan, who shot to fame after he was instrumental in getting American scholar Wendy Doniger's book on Hinduism pulped.
India would have won the cricket World Cup if the final match was played in Kolkata or Mumbai, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed on Thursday.
'All these incidents go to show that the day of the anodyne, apolitical corporation is running out fast,' says Kanika Datta.
'Is there any harm in studying the history of India? This is not a regressive stand. The Vedas and Upanishads should be included in our textbooks,' says Dinanath Batra.
The Bharatiya Shiksha Niti Aayog will study the present education system and suggest corrective steps to make it Bharat-centric. G Sreedathan reports
Training his guns directly at the Kerala Chief Minister and the Left wing Students Federation of India, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday claimed that his car was 'attacked' by Students' Federation of India (SFI) activists at the behest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Modi's inability to make peace with a renewed Opposition will only embolden his coalition partners and it is just a matter of time before they begin asking probing questions besides politely disagreeing with his tactics, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
anerjee, who reached Bolpur in the second half of the day, visited Sen at his residence and dubbed the accusations made against him as "baseless".
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday lashed out at Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for calling a group of protesting Students' Federation of India (SFI) members 'criminals' and said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government has 'let loose such a deranged man'.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Friday said the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is "not a communal party" and praised the key partner of the opposition United Democratic Front for not agreeing with the Congress on the issue of the alleged move by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who according to the ruling front, was trying to "saffronise" the universities in Kerala.
Twenty odd important political figures and civil society leaders from Assam's conflicts-ridden Bodo heartland have joined Bharatiya Janata Party that has started its 'Mission Bodoland' with bang announcing its intention to provide an alternative to Bodoland people who are fed up with misrule of Bodoland People's Front where has been in power in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Council over ten years on the trot.
While Raj Bhavan issued the statement, dramatic scenes were witnessed at Calicut University where the Governor lashed out at the police for not removing the offending banner.
'We should not underestimate the power of Hindutva.'
The Left leader said the NCERT, which was set up on the basis of the 2005 National Curriculum Framework, has been demolishing the very goals of the NCF through the removal of such passages from textbooks.
They have also raised a host of questions regarding the incident questioning the management's action and reaction in a letter signed by all of them.
The Congress in its poll manifesto had promised to undo the changes made to school textbooks when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power, and had also promised to scrap National Education Policy.
The paper on Mahatma Gandhi will now be taught in semester VII, they said, adding this would mean students opting for a three-year graduation course instead of a four-year programme will not study Gandhi.
The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the revision of Kannada and Social Science textbooks of Classes 6 to 10 in the state for this academic year by removing the chapters on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder K B Hedgewar and Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar among others.
The SERT, an autonomous body of the general education department, is considering a decision by its curriculum steering committee to include these deleted portions in the state syllabus.
Hansraj College's decision to discontinue serving non-vegetarian food at its canteen and hostel after it reopened following the pandemic in February last year has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters.
'Revanth Reddy mounted a spirited campaign in Telangana which turned around the fortunes of the Congress in six months.'
'A democracy cannot mean the rule of just two people,' said one audience member, who recalled that he too had chanted 'Modi, Modi' when the PM had visited the USA. Many of those gathered admitted to having been Modi supporters. What had changed them was the growing concentration of power. Jyoti Punwani reports from New York.
Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran claimed that Raja Raja Cholan was depicted as a Hindu king and already attempts were made to take away Tamil saint poet Tiruvalluvar's identity as well.
Stating that the issue has been closed after the syndicate meeting at Mangalore University, he asked students to focus on education instead of getting into such issues.
The nine VCs include that of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, according to a tweet by Kerala Raj Bhavan on behalf of the Governor.
The BJP and the AIADMK are unable to sort out ideological differences, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Oppn MPs had raised the issue of lotus being printed on new passports. MEA said it's our 'national flower' and part of enhanced security measures, adding that other national symbols will also be used.
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
