Mumbai: For kids, politics can wait. At a party training camp, Congress Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was chatting animatedly with Jalna district chief Kalyan Dale and his family. Just then, Dale’s 9-year old grandson Swaraj Nilesh Dale came into the picture – with a greeting card he had painstakingly made, specially for Rahul Gandhi. With some nervousness and oodles of excitement, Swaraj presented it to him, appearing unsure of the reaction. Rahul Gandhi, smiled, admired

Mumbai: Over 72 hours after the great Himalayan deluge along the Nepal-Tibet borders, the fate and whereabouts of Mumbai’s mountaineer and medico, Dr. Milind P. Chitaley, his wife Megha and their 61-plus team of pilgrims bound for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, in Tibet, remain unclear. Leading mountaineers from Mumbai, Pune and other places, along with Maharashtra and Indian government are working almost 24X7 to get information on the ‘missing’ group that went through Hills & Tra

Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi students during a candle prayer vigil in Chennai on Friday for the victims and survivors of the flash floods in Nepal. Pic: PTI Mumbai: Thousands of Tibetans and Nepalis settled in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra are worried stiff about their relatives, friends and other citizens in their native countries hit by the devastating avalanche and floods in the Himalayan region. An estimated 1000 Tibetans and more than four-lakhs Nepalis live in Maha

Nine former Maoist women walking the runway in traditional Kosa silk offer a striking glimpse of Bastar’s difficult transition from insurgency to civilian life. For decades, the dominant images emerging from Bastar has been that of Maoist terror and encounters with security forces. However, a picture that emerged earlier this month from Chhattisgarh shattered the stereotype of jungles and guns. Nine former Maoist women from Bastar recently walked a fashion runway in Raipur, d

As fertility falls below replacement level in several states, India faces a new demographic challenge: fewer workers, faster ageing and a growing economic cost of family formation. India’s fertility rate has fallen to around replacement level nationally, but that headline conceals a far more consequential regional divide. Tamil Nadu’s total fertility rate is 1.7, Maharashtra’s 1.8, while Sikkim remains at 1.1 in NFHS-5. India’s fertility transition is no longer a single natio

Mumbai: Governor of Maharashtra Jishnu Dev Varma visited the library of the historic Asiatic Society in Mumbai on Tuesday to have a look at its rich collection of books, rare documents, archaeological artefacts from Sopara, maps and rare coins. During the visit the Governor announced a donation of Rs 20 lakh to the Asiatic Society for the preservation and conservation of books. He said that culture does not comprise only music, dance and theatre; our historical literary herit

Many officials could not use fire extinguishers Mumbai: In a tragic incident a large fire broke out in the basement of Aaykar Bhavan, the Income Tax office located on Maharshi Karve Road at Churchgate in Mumbai on Monday. According to the sources, the fire broke out at 1:30 pm, but the Mumbai Fire Brigade received the initial call at 2:01 pm and officially declared it as Level-I fire around 2:15 pm. No casualties were reported in the incident and all the employees were rescue

There is something wonderfully Indian about reaching 80 and still arguing about whether we are celebrating 79 years or the 80th Independence Day. The answer is simple: India became independent on 15 August 1947, making this year’s celebration the 80th Independence Day, while 79 years have been completed. Numbers apart, 80 is a magnificent milestone. I have therefore tried a slightly unusual birthday exercise. Let us count 80 things India can proudly celebrate and 80 things it

Mumbai: Rattling Bollywood, the Maharashtra Food & Drugs Authority (FDA) has shot off notices to mega-star Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff for allegedly promoting a banned product through surrogate advertising in the name Vimal Elaichi. The notice has been issued by the FDA Assistant Commissioner (Food) N. T. Mujawar for Greate Mumbai Division and sought the stars’ written response along with supporting documents, either in person or through an authorised represen

Mumbai: At least seven people were killed and six others injured after a portion of a hillock collapsed on some homes beneath at Gausiya Chawl off Chiragnagar in Ghatkopar where they were sleeping, early on Wednesday following torrential downpour, officials said. Among the victims are three minor children aged 2-14 and one victim has yet to be identified as rescue operations are on in full swing to save a few more persons still feared buried under the debris. Locals eyewitnes

Three hurt at a school in Gadchiroli run by a Congress leader AI generated image Mumbai: In a horrifying tragedy at the dead of the night, three minor tribal girls were killed and at least three others seriously injured after a venomous snake slithered into their hostel and bit the sleeping students of an aided residential ashram school near Dhanora, officials said. The incident, which has sent shockwaves in tribal belts across the state, occurred around 2 am today at a sch

A consistent rights-based approach must condemn both state excesses and terrorist violence with equal clarity. In the days following the targeted killing of a police head constable in Anantnag, security forces launched a large-scale verification drive across the Kashmir Valley. Thousands of suspected Over Ground Workers (OGWs) were detained for questioning in Srinagar, Anantnag, Shopian, Baramulla and other districts. Houses linked to alleged militants were demolished. The Al

Nearly half a century separates today's journalism students from the midnight of June 25, 1975. For many of them, the Emergency belongs to textbooks, examination questions and occasional political debates. Yet, history acquires a different texture when narrated by someone who has spent decades in the newsroom, understands the anatomy of power and appreciates the indispensable role of a free press. That opportunity came alive at Jain (Deemed-to-be University), where the Depart

We often complain that today's youth are difficult to understand. Perhaps the real problem, however, is not Generation Z-it is our inability to communicate with them. Instead of learning how they think, speak, and engage with the world, we often expect them to fit into frameworks created by previous generations. Generation Z is among the most informed, courageous, and globally connected generations in history. Born into the age of the internet and social media, they have gr

Nations are often judged by the monuments they build, the highways they inaugurate or the skylines they proudly showcase. Yet history has a quieter benchmark. It asks a far simpler question: Could every citizen drink clean water without anxiety? Everything else is secondary. Civilizations have risen beside rivers and disappeared because they failed to manage them. Water has never been merely a resource. It is the first condition of life, health, productivity and dignity. A na

From restoring ancient temples to rewriting historical narratives, this year’s Prakashchandra Surana Historian Award celebrated the need for a wider understanding of India’s past. Pune: History is not merely a record of vanished centuries but a map to understanding the present. That was the central message at the fifth edition of the ‘Late Shri Prakashchandra Surana Historian Award’, where archaeologist K.K. Muhammed and historian-author Aniruddh Kanisetti were honoured for t

Besides redrawing the political map, British rule in India altered the rhythms of everyday life, introduced new social habits and, perhaps most significantly, influenced the way Indians viewed themselves. The end of colonial rule in 1947 brought political independence, but the deeper process of decolonisation — of institutions, cultural instincts and inherited assumptions — has continued well into the 21st century. Indian civilisation, one of the world’s oldest, evolved aroun

It is worth asking whether the movement remained true to the cause that gave it life. The NEET protest at Jantar Mantar ended with the resignation of the Union Education Minister, but one question remains: whose playbook was actually being run here? The shape of what unfolded was not new. It closely tracked a well-documented set of organising tactics — the same ones laid out in Saul Alinsky’s 1971 manual Rules for Radicals, the foundational text for a certain style of activis

Mumbai: In a warm gesture, the Maharashtra government has ‘in principle’ agreed to translocate two tigresses to the Papikonda National Park (PNP) in Andhra Pradesh, subject to clearance from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), official sources said. The PNP is located in the Papi Hills of Eluru and Polavaram districts, and Maharashtra has responded positively to a request from the AP Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. On Feb. 19, Kalyan, who holds the Envir

Are these protests still about NEET aspirants—or have they evolved into a broader political movement? Every few months, Jantar Mantar becomes the centre of yet another protest. This time, it’s a CJP-led demonstration centred around NEET and demands for education reforms. But if you spend some time there, a question naturally comes to mind: is this really a student protest anymore? Most genuine NEET aspirants are either preparing for their exams, waiting for counselling, or fo