With Piravi, Shaji N Karun joined the select group of great masters of film. Malayalam once upon a time used to produce such films. Today, it is only mindless violence, politics and grotesque humour. The films have no soul, although they are technically quite good. With Shaji's passing, and earlier with his mentor G Aravindan's untimely death, an era is coming to an end. Rajeev Srinivasan salutes the master, who passed into the ages on April 28.
The Calcutta high court on Friday observed that mob violence at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital was an absolute failure of state machinery in West Bengal.
Empuraan, with its gimmicky violence and vigilante posturing, is not out to widen your perspective or open up history. All it wants to do is pick your pockets, observes Sreehari Nair.
Protests against the citizenship act on Sunday turned into violent clashes.
Frustration continues to mount over the prolonged mobile internet suspension with a Senapati district-based Naga students body imposing highway blockade over the issue since October 5.
'The kind of situation we are seeing...we don't believe that this can happen in a settled democracy like India'
Over 93 per cent of these children have been admitted to the nearest school, Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking at the University of Oxford, stressed the importance of inclusive development and stated that division in society is counterproductive. She emphasized that her governance model prioritizes the welfare of all sections of society and does not allow discrimination, highlighting the state's diverse population and the need for a human-centric approach.
The CBI has arrested from Pune a 22-year-old man suspected to be the mastermind behind the case of two missing Manipuri students who were believed to have been killed, officials said.
In a bid to restrain the circulation of videos and images depicting violence and damage to properties in the state, the Manipur government in an order said such dissemination will be dealt with severely and booked as per law.
The agency filed the charge sheets in the interconnected cases before a designated special court in Kamrup, giving a sequence of events before they went missing.
'There is no reason to anticipate a drastic change in Canada's attitude towards Indian students.'
Manipur experienced a year of intense turmoil in 2024, marked by escalating violence, displacement, and deepening divisions between the Meitei community in the valley and the Kuki tribes in the hills. The conflict, rooted in historical grievances and fueled by political tensions, resulted in numerous casualties, mob attacks, and drone strikes on civilian areas. The situation has led to widespread displacement, fear, and a sense of insecurity among the affected communities, with no signs of peace in sight.
The Centre has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.
Can a culture survive as a way of life, even as the language and writing at its core, alter with time? Can we be rational and Malayalee or do we have to necessarily be religious and proudly cultural to be Malayalee? asks Shyam G Menon.
"Yunus has no experience in running a government," the deposed prime minister said adding, "We need to put an end to this lawlessness."
Mahmudabad, head of the political science department at the private university, was arrested on Sunday after two FIRs were lodged on stringent charges, including endangering sovereignty and integrity, for his social media posts related to Operation Sindoor, police and his lawyer said.
The students have been charged with rioting and causing damage to pubic property. Earlier, 1,200 unidentified people, including students, teachers and non-teaching staff of AMU, were booked for alleged violation of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC.
Markets are now open in the violence-affected areas and people are visiting them.
In an apparent case of hate crime, a 17-year-old Sikh high school student was assaulted at a bus stop after an altercation with another teenager in Canada's British Columbia province, according to a media report on Thursday.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
Indian police arrested seven students in the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) region under anti-terror laws for allegedly celebrating Australia's victory over India in the men's Cricket World Cup final earlier this month, police said on Tuesday.
Violence erupted after some students, protesting against the alleged eve-teasing incident, wanted to meet the vice chancellor at his residence, according to police and university sources.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the Pahalgam terrorist attack and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
The solution to Manipur's problems lies in the government giving concessions to Meitis in jobs and education and to accept autonomy for the tribal dominated areas inhibited by the Kukis, suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Rajeev Chandrasekhar outlined his ideas to turn Thiruvananthapuram not only into a hub for higher education, but also a knowledge city, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have lodged a police complaint against a professor and a guest speaker for allegedly speaking in support of Palestinian militants during a virtual lecture, an official said on Friday.
Sharjeel Usmani, the son of Assistant Professor Tariq Usmani of the AMU's Department of Geography, was picked by the Uttar Pradesh's anti-terrorist squad (ATS) sleuths from his uncle's house in Azamgarh on Wednesday and was subsequently produced in a court in Aligarh which remanded him in judicial custody, they said.
Khalid is currently in judicial custody in connection with a larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 North East Delhi violence.
The student was taken to Westmead Hospital with major injuries to his head, leg, and arm.
'It was the hostility of the Yunus regime that made India careful and wary of dealing with them.' 'They gradually backed off and lowered the noise, but the damage was done.' 'Their true colours had been exposed.'
Government spokesperson and Information and Public Relations Minister Sapam Rajan said that the government is making efforts towards this end.
...the BJP's template of operation was different or if the Centre and the state were ruled by dissimilar parties? asks Shyam G Menon.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu shelled out Rs 60,000 from his own pocket for the evacuation of five local students stuck in violence-hit Manipur, an official spokesperson of the government said on Monday.
Police said they began lathicharging and tear gassing after the agitators managed to breach the barricades at some locations and attacked the security personnel.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned on Sunday, following months of ethnic violence in the state. BJP leaders have begun closed-door meetings to decide the next course of action. The opposition welcomed Singh's resignation, while the BJP hopes the move will help restore peace in the region.
The attack occurred hours after Home Affairs Adviser, retired Lieutenant General M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, in a pre-dawn press conference reiterated the government's commitment to maintaining law and order.
The Manipur police dismissed the claims of Lt Gen PC Nair, a retired DG of Assam Rifles, in a recent media interview that no drones or rockets have been used in the attacks.
A student of IIT-Benares Hindu University, Varanasi, was allegedly molested and stripped by three motorcycle-borne men, who also recorded a video of the act, near her hostel, the police said on Thursday.
