A child of mixed blood has been ritually killed by a primitive aboriginal tribe, leaving the police in the Andaman and Nicobar islands in a fix. The Jarawa tribe has the most unique status. They are to live in a 780 square reservation with as minimal outside contact as possible. When members of the isolated […]
[Kanhaiya Kumar , the JNU students’ union president, addressed a gathering on the campus on Thursday evening. The following day, Kumar was arrested on the charge of sedition for taking part in a march on Tuesday where anti-India slogans were raised. The following is the near-complete Hindi speech Kumar delivered on Thursday, translated by JP […]
I begin on a self-indulgent note. “How is Amartya?” asked my uncle Shidhu (Jyotirmoy Sengupta) — cousin of my father — in a letter written from Burdwan Jail, on August 22 of 1934, before I was one. He complained about the name “Amartya”, given to me by Rabindranath Tagore, and argued that the great Tagore […]
“Our happiness knows no bounds, as we announce the Royal Birth of His Royal Highness The Gyalsey on 5th February 2016.” This was the statement of Bhutan’s Queen as she announced her firstborn son on Facebook this week. Our Prince, the first Royal Child of His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Her Majesty […]
Sir Patna, the Bihar capital should be called not ‘Jungle raj’ capital, but ‘Jungle road’ capital. For some time now, the district administration, or shall we say the police have tried to give the Bihar capital a ‘civilised’ look by introducing traffic lights (signals). But our Bihari bhaiyas, especially the ones who shout loudest about […]
In Bangladesh, it’s called the battle of the Begums. The struggle between the nation’s two women political leaders for the mastery of Bangladesh becomes sharper with the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina according its approval to the filing of sedition charges against the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader, Begum Khaleda. The political situation […]
BHUBANESWAR: Leprosy is on the rise in Orissa! The number of leprosy patients has risen in the state since 2006.The irony is that in 2006-2007, the sate government had declared Orissa (Odisha) leprosy free! Now, it is estimated that about 3 in 20,000 people here have the dreaded disease. State Leprosy Welfare Federation president Duryodhan […]
The visit of President François Hollande, at the Republic Day celebrations is far more significant than that by the American President last year. France represents the most important diplomatic relationship for India at its present stage of development. Some 50 years ago, Capgemini – a pioneering company founded by the entrepreneur, Serge Kampf, in the […]
It’s well known the Zoroastrians are like the Jews, you are born into the faith. So, if you aren’t born a Parsi, you can’t become a Zoroastrian and call yourself a Parsi. The Indian Parsis have been told by seven of their high priests, that non-Zoroastrian spouses can’t be considered Parsi. In an open letter […]
PATNA: Some 21 years ago, Jharkhand based activist film maker Sri Prakash was doing the rounds with a video ‘Buddha weeps in Jadugoda’. It detailed the havoc being created by uranium mines in Jharkhand state. Now a Washington-based news organisation has released a report that claims radioactive and toxic waste have been leaking out of […]
Patna: How did a man in jail step out and supervise the gruesome murder of two men? In Bihar, the home department has begun an investigation as to how the former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin stepped out of the Siwan divisional jail and committed this crime at his native Pratappur village in Siwan district in […]
It’s the time of the year for peace and goodwill. The Christmas season is making its presence felt in Patna, where even though the Christian population is about 5 percent, its time for cakes, trees and celebrations. In a way, the season was kicked off to a fine start on Saturday, 12 December, when VIVA, […]
