Birdwatch: Crested bunting, the ‘Yuvaraaj’ found in lower foothills
The male birds have a striking glossy black plumage with long pointed crests and chestnut wings and tail. The females are paler and browner, have a shorter crest and have less chestnut patches on the tail and wings. The crested bunting, locally called the Yuvaraaj, is a bird of the lower foothills and is not […]Read More
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: Remembering the dark day 103 years later
Udham Singh, who was a member of the revolutionist Ghadar party, shot Colonel Reginald Dyer on March 13, 1940 to avenge the massacre. HIGHLIGHTS Shots were fired on the orders of Colonel Reginald Dyer, who was the acting Brigadier He had asked his troops to shoot indiscriminately without asking the crowd to disperse The site […]Read More
The Travelling Pillar
The ancient iron pillar standing in Delhi’s Qutb Minar complex is popularly described as a ‘trophy of conquest’. In fact, it marked the cultural continuity of a royal practice in ancient and medieval north India, of re-using and re-inscribing pillars erected by predecessors. When a historical artefact travels across space and time, it often creates […]Read More
Bhagavad Gita in Schools: Rote Learning of Illiberal Theological Text Will Trump Rational Inquiry
The book is full of obscurantist themes and ideas which require critical engagement of the kind school teachers will not be willing or able to provide. Earlier this week, the Gujarat government announced that the Bhagavad Gita will be part of the school syllabus for classes VI to XII across the state from the academic year 2022-23. The Karnataka […]Read More
Significance Of Bhagwant Mann’s ‘Basanti’ Turban In Oath Ceremony
Basanti colour signifies revolution and the spirit of sacrifice and is identified with Bhagat Singh. It also aligns with welcoming the Spring season. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday took oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab in a grand ceremony organised in Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter […]Read More
Viral Video: Amritsar Vendor Selling Samosas For Just Rs. 2.50 Has Won The Internet
An Amritsar-based vendor is selling Samosas for just 2 rupees and fifty paise, leaving internet users stunned! Amritsar is a city known to be a foodie’s paradise. There are plenty of eateries in Amritsar that are famous not just in Punjab but also in the entire country. From mouth-watering Kulchas to crispy and decadent Fish […]Read More
Amritsar Calling: The expletive repository of the nation
The folks in Amritsar are accustomed to a more colourful rendition of the mother tongue, way more deep-rooted to the expletive traditions than we refugees. My father once told me that the most derogatory term in Kabul was Pisreh khanzeerast. Thus, calling someone the son of a pig in Farsi was sacrilegious to the hilt. […]Read More
Explained: Why students from Punjab, Haryana go to Ukraine to study medicine
According to the Ministry of Education and Science in Ukraine there are over 18,095 students from India in Ukraine. Caught in the crossfire of Russia’s attack on Ukraine are countless Indian students. Stuck in Ukraine amid an escalating military crisis, several had gone there to pursue an education in medicine. Among these medical students are […]Read More
February 11, 1982, Forty Years Ago: Assam Talks Fail
After a four and a half hour marathon meeting of official sources and the movement leaders reported the virtual failure of their renewed efforts to evolve an acceptable principle for the detection of foreign nationals. The second round of tripartite talks on the future of foreigners in Assam ended in a deadlock. After a four-and-a-half-hour […]Read More
Modi’s Aim Isn’t to Pay Tribute to Netaji and the INA But to Put Mahatma Gandhi in His Place
The central figure of the national movement was the man assassinated on January 30, 1948 precisely because he was the central figure. It was the first act in a brazen conspiracy to appropriate the freedom movement by forces who played no part in it. We are seeing the second and third acts now. There is […]Read More
