Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress in Madurai. Baby, who was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998, has been a member of the Politburo since 2012. He succeeds Sitaram Yechury, who passed away last year.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed an uproar on Tuesday over an unparliamentary remark by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who apologized to the Chair while clarifying that it was meant for the government that was "trying to create a regional divide" in the country. The controversy stemmed from a statement by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who slammed the Tamil Nadu government for its stand on the three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP). Kharge's use of a Hindi expression, deemed unparliamentary, sparked outrage from the treasury benches. He subsequently apologized for the remark, stating it was directed at the government's policies and not the Chair.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin did not attend the traditional 'At Home' reception hosted by Governor R N Ravi on Republic Day. Stalin instead visited Madurai to participate in events celebrating the cancellation of the Centre's tungsten mining initiative. The Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues boycotted the event, following suit with the ruling DMK's allies, including the Congress party. Governor Ravi, who has been critical of the DMK regime, had targeted the Stalin-led government in his Republic Day Eve address, alleging that many state-run universities in Tamil Nadu were in a dire financial crisis. In Madurai, CM Stalin, recalling his assurance that tungsten mining would not be allowed while he remained in office, said the village elders visited him in Chennai and invited him for the felicitation function. He said rather than praising him, it is the people who should be greeted, thanked and felicitated. The union government recently announced its decision to annul the auctioning of the mining rights.
Lights, camera, ACTION, you'll find them in heaps on OTT this week. Sukanya Verma lists some interesting options.
There is no guarantee that if we speak in only Indian languages, all our faults will be washed away and India will shine. Why then do they bully and belittle the English-speaking? asks Shyam G Menon.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
The NTA denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres were some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks.
Acharya Jonas Masetti, a Vedanta scholar from Brazil, was awarded the Padma Shri for teaching the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, Sanskrit, Yoga, Meditation and Indian spiritualism abroad.
Actor-politician Vijay has urged Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi to take steps to ensure the safety of women in the state, amid outrage over the sexual assault of a woman student at a technical varsity. Vijay, the founder of the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), met with the Governor and submitted a memorandum, calling for "protecting" law and order and ensuring women's safety in all places. Vijay's move was lauded by BJP state chief K Annamalai, who called for justice for the victim and urged functionaries of all parties to come forward. The TVK also pressed for the release of Central funds towards Cyclone Fenjal relief.
The three-day Holi weekend saw many film folk take a quick travel break.
'The Dravidian movement was started for the Hindus who were rejected by the upper castes.'
Opposition parties in India's Rajya Sabha, including the Congress and the TMC, walked out of the chamber after their demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was disallowed. The Deputy Chairman, Harivansh, rejected the notices under Rule 267, citing non-compliance with previous rulings. While TMC and Congress MPs focused on the duplicate voter ID issue, Tamil parties expressed concerns about the impact of delimitation on southern states. Despite raising slogans and pressing for a discussion, the opposition staged a walkout after their notices were rejected and their statements deemed not part of the official record.
Vijay said the TVK respected all languages but would not give up its self respect for another language.
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.
'My friend scored higher than me in the 12th exam, but he could not clear NEET because his parents could not pay the fees for private coaching.'
Over the medium and long term, the BJP hopes to devour the AIADMK, they having identified the party as 'ideologically not as sound as the DMK', predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
BITS has produced 10 startup unicorn founders in the US.
An Anna University girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted and a 37-year old man, who sells biryani on the pavement, has been arrested for the crime, police said on Wednesday.
Given the possibilities that next year's assembly elections could throw up, Stalin told the state assembly that an interim report had to be submitted by January 2026. The outcomes may well find its way into the DMK's poll manifesto, thus seeking to keep the electoral focus still on the BJP-ruled Centre and Prime Minister Modi, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charged two men for allegedly conspiring to establish an Islamic caliphate in India, besides spreading terror in Tamil Nadu and neighboring states. The accused, Abdul Rehman and Mujibur Rehman, were allegedly involved in recruiting "Daris/students" to "secret classes" of the Hizb ut Tahrir (HuT) terror organization. They are accused of conspiring and preparing to undertake terrorist acts to promote the HuT ideology in Tamil Nadu and other places.
'I saw Bimal Roy's Devdas again a few years ago, almost 50 years after it had been made.' 'I found it very intelligently made; the scenes flowed so beautifully.' 'There is just one scene with both Suchitra Sen and me in the film, and it's beautiful.'
Tamil Nadu's latest budget offers path-breaking initiatives and major boost for social infrastructure, which other state governments are sure to follow in the coming years, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Witches, werewolves, pilots, engineers, the OTT scene is bursting with all kinds of extremes this week, and Sukanya Verma lists them out.
World's youngest chess champion D Gukesh was felicitated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and others at a function organised by the state government in Chennai on Tuesday.
'It would have made (Producer) Ramesh Taurani very happy if I taken two Bombay stars, but the reason why I kept mentally rejecting the regular sort of casting was to discover this excitement, you know, can I crack it?'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday assured the state assembly of appropriate legal action on the allegation of sexual harassment of women students at Kalakshetra Foundation, an institution under the Centre's ministry of culture.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, known for his hardline Hindutva views and 'bulldozer justice' approach, has spoken out about his policies toward Muslims, the Waqf board, and his vision for India. He asserts that Muslims will receive a fair share of development in Uttar Pradesh, but not special concessions. He also criticizes the Waqf board for its alleged appropriation of government properties and calls for its reform. Adityanath defends his 'bulldozer justice' policy, claiming it is necessary for infrastructure development and removal of encroachments. He also discusses his vision for India, emphasizing the importance of Hindi as a national language and the need for unity across different linguistic groups.
In the mood for romance but don't know which movies to watch? Tamil cinema has a lot to offer on OTT, and Arjun Menon lists his favourites.
'Unfortunately, most of our students use AI to replace knowledge when they should be using the AI tools to enhance their knowledge.' 'I am sorry to say, even those students who have opted to study AI have no idea what AI is.'
Students' of various colleges in Tamil Nadu continued their protests for the seventh day on Sunday over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
The minister's reaction came days after Rajinikanth praised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for "managing" senior DMK leaders in the party.
State school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi assured that action will be taken against the speaker for his controversial speech at a government school in Chennai.
When Kasturi Rajamurty won a gold medal in powerlifting at the WPPL World Cup in Russia, she sure had come a long way. From a life of penury to constantly being short of funds to fuel her passion, she had finally triumphed, and how.
Considering the competition, engineering aspirants should ideally consider taking a minimum of five to seven entrance exams to maximise their chances of success and broaden their options when it comes to college, says rediffGURU Nayagam PP.
'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
They just wanted their angst noticed, and as a symbol of recognition, Jallikattu, restored without the annual ritual of court cases and adjournments, explains N Sathya Moorthy.
Despite its minor flaws, lack of logic, and lecture-style moral narrative, Vettaiyan should be enjoyed in a theatre amid Rajini fans and their wolf whistles, endorses Divya Nair.
'The staff student ratio in Kerala medical colleges is already compromised as in the last few years, the Kerala government has taken a decision to admit maximum number of students in all the medical colleges.'
Sukanya Verma celebrates the icon and his imagery in 23 super special Aamir Khan frames etched in her head.
The breakfast scheme for government school students from class 1 to 5 was launched in Madurai on Thursday by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin who served and ate the food along with the children.
