Kolkata: The West Bengal government announced that 16,36,522 more houses would be allocated to beneficiaries under the ‘Banglar Bari’ housing scheme by the middle of January next year. Announcing this after a cabinet meeting on Monday, senior minister Chandrima Bhattacharya accused the central government of depriving the state of funding for the scheme. “To date,…
Universities are often described as temples of learning, places where knowledge is pursued without fear, bias, or ideological coercion. They are meant to be sanctuaries for curiosity and intellectual freedom, not battlegrounds for religious indoctrination. Yet, recent revelations surrounding Jamia Millia Islamia raise an unsettling and unavoidable question: what happens when a seat of learning…
Dhaka: Several eminent Bangladeshi civil society figures on Monday denounced the arrest of a ‘baul’ singer on charges of “hurting” the public’s sentiments and the subsequent Islamist attack on fellow mystic minstrels in the past few days. They claimed that religious strife had increased since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government. “In the period…
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEO) Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his “immediate intervention” into two recent issues. She mentioned in the letter about the state CEO’s direction to district election officers not to engage contractual data-entry operators and Bangla Sahayata Kendra staff for SIR or…
New York/Washington: India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Monday met with Congressman Jay Obernolte and highlighted opportunities for stronger bilateral cooperation in science, technology, AI, and innovation. “Enjoyed my conversation with Rep. @JayObernolte, Chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology Research and Technology Subcommittee. Highlighted opportunities for stronger US-India cooperation in…
Ayodhya (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ayodhya today to ceremonially hoist a saffron flag on the spire of the Ram temple, symbolising the completion of its construction. Ahead of the prime minister’s visit, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed the preparations here and issued necessary directions to the concerned officials. The right-angled triangular flag,…
In the passing of Dharmendra, Indian cinema has not just lost a star. It has lost its presence. A warmth. A man who represented a certain unvarnished integrity—both on screen and off it—that Bollywood has long forgotten. For over six decades, Dharmendra remained not merely an actor but a cultural memory etched into millions of…
Dharmendra: Farewell to an era, immortality of a hero Dharmendra’s passing is not just the loss of an actor, but the end of an era. Rising from rural soil to the heights of cinema, this artist won millions of hearts not with his acting but with his simplicity and humanity. From romance to action and…
Individual freedom, family dignity, and a profound social analysis of a tragedy “Freedom and tradition—both are right in their own right, but when they collide, the first thing to break is the ordinary family. The law does its work, society persists, and caught in the middle is the family that has neither rebelled nor committed…
In the bright desert air of Dubai, where technology and spectacle often converge, the Indian Air Force’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) took center stage—an embodiment of indigenous aviation prowess and the aspirations of a nation reaching for the sky. Yet, amidst the anticipation and pride, a shadow unfurled: a fatal crash punctuated by a…
