Portal:India
Portal maintenance status: (June 2018)
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Introduction
India, officially the Republic of India (ISO: Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country from June 2023 and from the time of its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. (Full article...)
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Nyctibatrachus major, the Malabar night frog, large wrinkled frog, or Boulenger's narrow-eyed frog is a species of frog in the family Nyctibatrachidae, commonly known as the robust frogs. It was described in 1882 by the zoologist George Albert Boulenger, and is the type species of the genus Nyctibatrachus. It is a large frog for its genus, with an adult snout–vent length of 31.5–52.0 mm (1.24–2.05 in) for males and 43.7–54.2 mm (1.72–2.13 in) for females. It is mainly brownish to greyish in colour, with a dark greyish-brown upperside, a greyish-white underside, and light grey sides. It also has a variety of grey or brown markings. When preserved in ethanol, it is mostly greyish-brown to grey, with whitish sides. Sexes can be told apart by the presence of the femoral glands (bulbous glands near the inner thigh) in males.
The species is endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range of India, where it is found in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Adults inhabit fast-moving forest streams at elevations of up to 900 m (3,000 ft) and have highly specific habitat requirements. Adults are mostly found in or near water and are nocturnal; subadults can be found during both the night and day. Its diet mainly consists of other frogs and insect larvae. Over a period of several days or weeks, females lay multiple small clutches of eggs on leaves and rocks overhanging water; tadpoles drop into the water below on hatching. The species is currently classified as being vulnerable on the IUCN Red List owing to its small and fragmented range and ongoing habitat degradation. Threats to the species include habitat loss, increased human presence near the streams it inhabits, and possibly nitrate pollution caused by fertiliser overuse. (Full article...) -
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The Chalukya dynasty ([tʃaːɭukjə]) was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi (modern Badami) from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of the 8th century eclipsed the Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western Chalukyas, in the late 10th century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani (modern Basavakalyan) until the end of the 12th century.
The rule of the Chalukyas marks an important milestone in the history of South India and a golden age in the history of Karnataka. The political atmosphere in South India shifted from smaller kingdoms to large empires with the ascendancy of Badami Chalukyas. A Southern India-based kingdom took control and consolidated the entire region between the Kaveri and the Narmada rivers. The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient administration, overseas trade and commerce and the development of new style of architecture called "Chalukyan architecture". Kannada literature, which had enjoyed royal support in the 9th century Rashtrakuta court found eager patronage from the Western Chalukyas in the Jain and Veerashaiva traditions. The 11th century saw the patronage of Telugu literature under the Eastern Chalukyas. (Full article...) -
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Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (17 January 1933 – 12 May 2003) was a French-born statesman and activist who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1966 to 1977, during which he reoriented the agency's focus beyond Europe and prepared it for an explosion of complex refugee issues. He was also a proponent of greater collaboration between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies. The Prince's interest in ecological issues led him to establish the Bellerive Foundation in the late 1970s, and he was a knowledgeable and respected collector of Islamic art.
Born in Paris, France, he was the son of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan and Princess Andrée Aga Khan. He married twice, but had no children of his own. Prince Sadruddin died of cancer at the age of 70, and was buried in Switzerland. (Full article...) -
Image 4Anbe Sivam (transl. Love Is God) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language slice-of-life drama film directed by Sundar C and produced by K. Muralitharan, V. Swaminathan and G. Venugopal under the banner of Lakshmi Movie Makers. The film was written by Kamal Haasan, and Madhan provided the dialogues. Anbe Sivam stars Haasan, Madhavan and Kiran Rathod, with Nassar, Santhana Bharathi, Seema and Uma Riyaz Khan playing supporting characters. The film tells the story of Nallasivam and Anbarasu, two men of contrasting personalities who undertake an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai.
Produced on a budget of ₹120 million, Anbe Sivam takes on themes such as communism, atheism, and altruism and depicts Haasan's humanist views. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. Arthur A. Wilson served as the cinematographer and M. Prabhaharan served as the art director. (Full article...) -
Image 5Chandralekha (also spelt Chandraleka) is a 1948 Indian historical adventure film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Starring T. R. Rajakumari, M. K. Radha and Ranjan, the film follows two brothers (Veerasimhan and Sasankan) who fight over ruling their father's kingdom and marrying a village dancer, Chandralekha.
Development began during the early 1940s when, after two successive box-office hits, Vasan announced that his next film would be entitled Chandralekha. However, when he launched an advertising campaign for the film he only had the name of the heroine from a storyline he had rejected. Veppathur Kittoo (one of Vasan's storyboard artists) developed a story based on a chapter of George W. M. Reynolds' novel, Robert Macaire: or, The French bandit in England. Original director T. G. Raghavachari left the film more than halfway through because of disagreements with Vasan, who took over in his directorial debut. (Full article...) -
Image 6The 44th Chess Olympiad was an international team chess event organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Chennai, India, from 28 July to 10 August 2022. It consisted of Open and Women's tournaments, as well as several events to promote chess. The Olympiad was initially supposed to take place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, the host of the Chess World Cup 2019, in August 2020, but it was later moved to Moscow. However, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then relocated to Chennai following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This was the first Chess Olympiad to take place in India.
The total number of participants was 1,737: 937 in the Open and 800 in the Women's event. The number of registered teams was 188 from 186 nations in the Open section and 162 from 160 nations in the Women's section; being the host nation, India had three teams participating in each section. Both sections set team participation records. The main venue of the Chess Olympiad was the convention centre at the Four Points by Sheraton, while the opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The Chief Arbiter of the event was France's Laurent Freyd. (Full article...) -
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Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (pronounced [kəŋɡənaː raːɳoːʈʰ]; born 23 March 1986) is an Indian actress, filmmaker and politician serving as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Mandi since June 2024. Known for her portrayals of strong-willed, unconventional women in female-led Hindi films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards, and has featured six times in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award.
At the age of sixteen, Ranaut briefly took up modelling before being trained under theatre director Arvind Gaur. She made her film debut in the 2006 thriller Gangster, for which she was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and received praise for portraying emotionally intense characters in the dramas Woh Lamhe... (2006), Life in a... Metro (2007) and Fashion (2008). For the last of these, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in the commercially successful films Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009) and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) but was criticised for being typecast in neurotic roles. A comic role in Tanu Weds Manu (2011) was well-received, though this was followed by a series of brief, glamorous roles in films that failed to propel her career forward. (Full article...) -
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Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod (20 March 1782 – 18 November 1835) was an officer of the British East India Company and an Oriental scholar. He combined his official role and his amateur interests to create a series of works about the history and geography of India, and in particular the area then known as Rajputana that corresponds to the present day state of Rajasthan, and which Tod referred to as Rajast'han.
Tod was born in London and educated in Scotland. He joined the East India Company as a military officer and travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the Bengal Army. He rose quickly in rank, eventually becoming captain of an escort for an envoy in a Sindian royal court. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, during which Tod was involved in the intelligence department, he was appointed Political Agent for some areas of Rajputana. His task was to help unify the region under the control of the East India Company. During this period Tod conducted most of the research that he would later publish. Tod was initially successful in his official role, but his methods were questioned by other members of the East India Company. Over time, his work was restricted and his areas of oversight were significantly curtailed. In 1823, owing to declining health and reputation, Tod resigned his post as Political Agent and returned to England. (Full article...) -
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Hrithik Roshan (pronounced [ɾɪt̪ɪk ɾoʃən]; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six Filmfare Awards, of which four were for Best Actor. Starting from 2012, he has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 several times based on his income and popularity.
Roshan has frequently collaborated with his father, Rakesh Roshan. He made brief appearances as a child actor in several films in the 1980s and later worked as an assistant director on four of his father's films. His first leading role was in the box-office success Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), for which he received several awards. Performances in the 2000 terrorism drama Fiza and the 2001 ensemble family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... consolidated his reputation but were followed by several poorly received films. (Full article...) -
Image 10Phoolan Devi (Hindi: [pʰuː.lən d̪eː.ʋiː], 10 August 1963 – 25 July 2001), popularly known as the Bandit Queen, was an Indian dacoit (bandit) who became a politician, serving as a member of parliament until her assassination. She was a woman of the Mallah subcaste who grew up in poverty in a village in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where her family was on the losing side of a land dispute which caused them many problems. After being married off at the age of eleven and being sexually abused by various people, she joined a gang of dacoits. Her gang robbed higher-caste villages and held up trains and vehicles. When she punished her rapists and evaded capture by the authorities, she became a heroine to the Other Backward Classes who saw her as a Robin Hood figure. Phoolan Devi was charged in absentia for the 1981 Behmai massacre, in which twenty Thakur men were killed, allegedly on her command. After this event, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh resigned, and calls to apprehend her were amplified. She surrendered two years later in a carefully negotiated settlement and spent eleven years in Gwalior prison, awaiting trial.
Phoolan Devi was released in 1994 after her charges were set aside. She subsequently became a politician and was elected as a member of parliament for the Samajwadi Party in 1996. She lost her seat in 1998, but regained it the following year. She was the incumbent at the time of her death in 2001. She was assassinated outside her house by Sher Singh Rana, who was convicted for the murder in 2014. At the time of her death, she was still fighting against the reinstituted criminal charges, having lost a 1996 appeal to the Supreme Court to have the charges dropped. Phoolan Devi's worldwide fame grew after the release of the controversial 1994 film Bandit Queen, which told her life story in a way she did not approve of. Her life has also inspired several biographies and her dictated autobiography was entitled I, Phoolan Devi. There are varying accounts of her life because she told differing versions to suit her changing circumstances. (Full article...) -
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INS Vikrant (from Sanskrit vikrānta, "courageous") was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. The ship was laid down as HMS Hercules for the British Royal Navy during World War II, but was put on hold when the war ended. India purchased the incomplete carrier in 1957, and construction was completed in 1961. Vikrant was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy and played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
In its later years, the ship underwent major refits to embark modern aircraft, before being decommissioned in January 1997. She was preserved as a museum ship in Naval Docks, Mumbai until 2012. In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November 2014 after final clearance from the Supreme Court. (Full article...) -
Image 12Nil Battey Sannata (lit. 'Zero Divided by Zero Equals Nothing'; slang for "Good for Nothing"), released internationally as The New Classmate, is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her feature debut. Produced by Aanand L. Rai, Ajay Rai, and Alan McAlex under the banners of Colour Yellow Productions and JAR Pictures, the film was co-written by Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary, and Nitesh Tiwari. Swara Bhaskar starred as Chanda Sahay, a high-school drop-out household maid and single mother of a sullen young girl named Apeksha, played by Riya Shukla. The film's theme is a person's right to dream and change their lives, irrespective of social status.
Released in India on 22 April 2016, Nil Battey Sannata was distributed by Eros International and garnered critical and audience acclaim. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, especially its narrative and realism, and the performances of the cast, Bhaskar's in particular. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Iyer won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director, while Bhaskar and Shukla won the Screen Awards for Best Actress (Critics) and Best Child Artist respectively. The film did well at the box-office, collecting a total of around ₹69 million (US$830,000) during its entire theatrical run. The same year, the film was remade in Tamil as Amma Kanakku, with Iyer returning to direct. The following year, it was remade in Malayalam as Udaharanam Sujatha. (Full article...) -
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Shefali Shah (née Shetty; born 22 May 1973) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Working primarily in independent Hindi films, she has received multiple local and foreign accolades for her performances. Shah's acting career started on the Gujarati stage before she debuted on television in 1993. After small parts on television and a brief stint with cinema in Rangeela (1995), she gained wider recognition in 1997 for her role in the popular series Hasratein. This was followed by lead roles in the TV series Kabhie Kabhie (1997) and Raahein (1999). A supporting role in the crime film Satya (1998) won her positive notice and a Filmfare Critics Award, and she soon shifted her focus to film acting starting with a lead role in the Gujarati drama Dariya Chhoru (1999).
Shah was selective about her roles through the following decades, resulting in intermittent film work, mostly in character parts and often to appreciation from critics. She appeared in the international co-production Monsoon Wedding (2001) and the mainstream comedy-drama Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005). In 2007, her portrayal of Kasturba Gandhi in the biographical drama Gandhi, My Father won her the Best Actress prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and she received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the drama film The Last Lear. Among her subsequent film roles, she played a leading part in Kucch Luv Jaisaa (2011) and was noted for her work in the social problem film Lakshmi (2014) and the ensemble drama Dil Dhadakne Do (2015). (Full article...) -
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Alia Bhatt (/ˈɑːliə ˈbʌt/; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. Known for her portrayals of women in challenging circumstances, she has received several accolades, including a National Film Award and six Filmfare Awards. She is one of India's highest-paid actresses. Time awarded her with the Time100 Impact Award in 2022 and named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
Born into the Bhatt family, she is a daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actress Soni Razdan. After making her acting debut as a child in the 1999 thriller film Sangharsh, she played her first leading role in Karan Johar's teen film Student of the Year (2012). She won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for playing a kidnapping victim in the road drama Highway (2014) and went on to establish herself with starring roles in several romantic films produced by Johar's studio Dharma Productions. (Full article...) -
Image 15Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford CBE FBA FSA (28 October 1886 – 28 November 1957) was a British archaeologist who specialised in the archaeology of prehistoric Britain and Sudan. A keen proponent of aerial archaeology, he spent most of his career as the archaeological officer of the Ordnance Survey (OS) and also wrote a range of books on archaeological subjects.
Born in Bombay, British India, to a wealthy middle-class Scottish family, Crawford moved to England as an infant and was raised by his aunts in London and Hampshire. He studied geography at Keble College, Oxford, and worked briefly in that field before devoting himself professionally to archaeology. Employed by the philanthropist Henry Wellcome, Crawford oversaw the excavation of Abu Geili in Sudan before returning to England shortly before the First World War. During the conflict he served in both the London Scottish Regiment and the Royal Flying Corps, where he was involved in ground and aerial reconnaissance along the Western Front. After an injury forced a period of convalescence in England, he returned to the Western Front, where he was captured by the German Army in 1918 and held as a prisoner of war until the end of the conflict. (Full article...) -
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Shah Rukh Khan (pronounced [ˈʃɑːɦɾʊx xɑːn] ⓘ; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more than 100 films, and earned numerous accolades, including 14 Filmfare Awards. He has been awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India, as well as the Order of Arts and Letters and Legion of Honour by the Government of France. Khan has a significant following in Asia and the Indian diaspora worldwide. In terms of audience size and income, several media outlets have described him as one of the most successful film stars in the world. Many of his films thematise Indian national identity and connections with diaspora communities, or gender, racial, social and religious differences and grievances.
Khan began his career with appearances in several television series in the late 1980s and made his Bollywood debut in 1992 with the musical romance Deewana. He was initially recognised for playing villainous roles in the films Baazigar (1993) and Darr (1993). Khan established himself by starring in a series of top-grossing romantic films, including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). He earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of an alcoholic in the period romantic drama Devdas (2002), a NASA scientist in the social drama Swades (2004), a hockey coach in the sports drama Chak De! India (2007), and a man with Asperger syndrome in the drama My Name Is Khan (2010). Further commercial successes came with the romances Om Shanti Om (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), and with his expansion to comedies in Chennai Express (2013) and Happy New Year (2014). Following a brief setback and hiatus, Khan made a career comeback with the 2023 action thrillers Pathaan and Jawan, both of which rank among the highest-grossing Indian films. (Full article...) -
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India, officially the Republic of India (ISO: Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country from June 2023 and from the time of its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago.
Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse, second only to Africa in human genetic diversity. Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE.
By 1200 BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, had diffused into India from the northwest. Its evidence today is found in the hymns of the Rigveda. Preserved by an oral tradition that was resolutely vigilant, the Rigveda records the dawning of Hinduism in India. The Dravidian languages of India were supplanted in the northern and western regions. By 400 BCE, stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism, and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity.
Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires based in the Ganges Basin.
Their collective era was suffused with wide-ranging creativity, but also marked by the declining status of women, and the incorporation of untouchability into an organised system of belief. In South India, the Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian-languages scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of Southeast Asia. (Full article...) -
Image 18Sholay (Hindustani: [ˈʃoːleː] ⓘ, transl. 'Embers') is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests, Basanti and Radha, respectively. The music was composed by R D Burman.
The film was shot in the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, in the southern state of Karnataka, over a span of two and a half years. After the Central Board of Film Certification mandated the removal of several violent scenes, Sholay was released as a 198-minute long film. In 1990, the original director's cut of 204 minutes became available on home media. When first released, Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, and ran for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre. The film was also an overseas success in the Soviet Union. It was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, and was the highest-grossing film in India up until Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994). By numerous accounts, Sholay remains one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, adjusted for inflation. (Full article...) -
Image 19Hyderabad (/ˈhaɪdərəbæd/ HY-dər-ə-bad; ISO: Haidarābād, Telugu: [ˈɦaɪ̯daɾaːbaːd] ⓘ, Urdu: [ˈɦɛːdəɾaːbaːd]) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies 650 km2 (250 sq mi) on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of 542 m (1,778 ft), much of Hyderabad is situated on hilly terrain around artificial lakes, including the Hussain Sagar lake, predating the city's founding, in the north of the city centre. According to the 2011 census of India, Hyderabad is the fourth-most populous city in India with a population of 6.9 million residents within the city limits, and has a population of 9.7 million residents in the metropolitan region, making it the sixth-most populous metropolitan area in India. With an output of US$ 95 billion, Hyderabad has the sixth-largest urban economy in India.
The Qutb Shahi dynasty's Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah established Hyderabad in 1591 to extend the capital beyond the fortified Golconda. In 1687, the city was annexed by the Mughals. In 1724, Asaf Jah I, the Mughal viceroy, declared his sovereignty and founded the Asaf Jahi dynasty, also known as the Nizams. Hyderabad served as the imperial capital of the Asaf Jahis from 1769 to 1948. As capital of the princely state of Hyderabad, the city housed the British Residency and cantonment until Indian independence in 1947. Hyderabad was annexed by the Indian Union in 1948 and continued as a capital of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1956. After the introduction of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Hyderabad was made the capital of the newly formed Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, Andhra Pradesh was split to form the state of Telangana, and Hyderabad became the joint capital of the two states with a transitional arrangement scheduled to end in 2024. Since 1956, the city has housed the Rashtrapati Nilayam, the winter office of the president of India. (Full article...) -
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Rashtrakuta (IAST: rāṣṭrakūṭa) (r. 753 – 982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapur, a city in Central or West India. Other ruling Rashtrakuta clans from the same period mentioned in inscriptions were the kings of Achalapur and the rulers of Kannauj. Several controversies exist regarding the origin of these early Rashtrakutas, their native homeland and their language.
The Elichpur clan was a feudatory of the Badami Chalukyas, and during the rule of Dantidurga, it overthrew Chalukya Kirtivarman II and went on to build an empire with the Gulbarga region in modern Karnataka as its base. This clan came to be known as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, rising to power in South India in 753 AD. At the same time the Pala dynasty of Bengal and the Prathihara dynasty of Gurjaratra were gaining force in eastern and northwestern India respectively. An Arabic text, Silsilat al-Tawarikh (851), called the Rashtrakutas one of the four principal empires of the world. (Full article...) -
Image 21Keechaka Vadham (transl. The Extermination of Keechaka) is an Indian silent film produced, directed, filmed and edited by R. Nataraja Mudaliar. The first film to have been made in South India, it was shot in five weeks at Nataraja Mudaliar's production house, India Film Company. As the members of the cast were Tamils, Keechaka Vadham is considered to be the first Tamil film. No print of it is known to have survived, making it a lost film.
The screenplay, written by C. Rangavadivelu, is based on an episode from the Virata Parva segment of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, focusing on Keechaka's attempts to woo Draupadi. The film stars Raju Mudaliar and Jeevarathnam as the central characters. (Full article...) -
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Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Republic of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death.
Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi, Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London, England. Upon his return to India, he enrolled at the Bombay High Court, and took an interest in national politics, which eventually replaced his legal practice. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All-India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, which he regarded as political anarchy. (Full article...) -
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Katrina Kaif (pronounced [kəˈʈriːna kɛːf]; born Katrina Turquotte, 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, in addition to three Filmfare nominations. Though reception to her acting has varied, she is noted for her action film roles and her dancing ability.
Born in British Hong Kong, Kaif lived in several countries before she moved to London for three years. She received her first modelling assignment as a teenager and later pursued a career as a fashion model. At a fashion show in London, Indian filmmaker Kaizad Gustad cast her in Boom (2003), a critical and commercial failure. While Kaif established a successful modelling career in India, she initially had difficulty finding film roles due to her poor command of Hindi. After appearing in the Telugu film Malliswari (2004), Kaif earned commercial success in Bollywood with the romantic comedies Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005) and Namastey London (2007). Further success followed with a series of box-office hits, but she was criticised for her acting, repetitive roles, and inclination to male-dominated films. (Full article...) -
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The Western Chalukya Empire (/tʃəˈluːkjə/ chə-LOO-kyə) ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada-speaking dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the modern Bidar district of Karnataka state, and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the 6th-century Chalukya dynasty of Badami. The dynasty is called Western Chalukyas to differentiate from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, a separate dynasty. Before the rise of these Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta controlled most of the Deccan Plateau and Central India for over two centuries. In 973, seeing confusion in the Rashtrakuta empire after a successful invasion of their capital by the ruler of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, Tailapa II, a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta dynasty ruling from Bijapur region defeated his overlords and made Manyakheta his capital. The dynasty quickly rose to power and grew into an empire under Someshvara I who moved the capital to Kalyani.
For over a century, the two empires of South India, the Western Chalukyas and the Chola dynasty of Thanjavur fought many fierce wars to control the fertile region of Vengi. During these conflicts, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, distant cousins of the Western Chalukyas but related to the Cholas by marriage, took sides with the Cholas further complicating the situation. During the rule of Vikramaditya VI, in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, the Western Chalukyas convincingly contended with the Cholas and reached a peak, ruling territories that spread over most of the Deccan, between the Narmada River in the north and Kaveri River in the south. His exploits were not limited to the south for even as a prince, during the rule of Someshvara I, he had led successful military campaigns as far east as modern Bihar and Bengal. During this period the other major ruling families of the Deccan, the Hoysala Empire, the Seuna dynasty, the Kakatiya dynasty and the Kalachuris of Kalyani, were subordinates of the Western Chalukyas and gained their independence only when the power of the Chalukya waned during the later half of the 12th century. (Full article...) -
Image 25Waiting is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Anu Menon. Produced by Priti Gupta and Manish Mundra under the banner of Ishka Films and Drishyam Films respectively, the film was co-written by Menon and James Ruzicka, and stars Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin. Waiting focuses on the relationship between two people from different walks of life who befriend each other in a hospital, while nursing their respective comatose spouses. Rajat Kapoor, Suhasini Maniratnam, Arjun Mathur, Ratnabali Bhattacharjee and Rajeev Ravindranathan play supporting roles in the film.
The development of the film began in June 2014, when Menon signed Koechlin and Shah for an untitled project. Principal photography started in November 2014 in the South Indian coastal city of Kochi; Neha Parti served as the cinematographer for the film. New Zealand-based singer-songwriter Mikey McCleary composed the film's score. Nitin Baid and Apurva Asrani edited the film, and Atika Chohan wrote the dialogue. Waiting also marked the Hindi film debut of the prominent South Indian actress-director Suhasini Maniratnam. Koechlin also made her debut as a lyricist with the film's soundtrack, writing the song "Waiting for You". (Full article...)
Selected pictures
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Image 1Papilio demoleus matingPhotograph: JkadavoorA mating pair of Papilio demoleus, a common and widespread Swallowtail butterfly, photographed at Kadavoor, Kerala, India. After successful mating the female goes from plant to plant, laying a single egg at a time on top of a leaf, and flies off as soon as the egg is laid.
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Image 2Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimA panoramic view of Bangalore from Corporation Circle, with UB City to the left and Richmond area to the right. Kanteerava Indoor Stadium is in the foreground. The third largest city in India, the city is known as the Silicon Valley of India for its numerous IT exports.
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Image 3Bangalore Town Hall is a neoclassical municipal building in Bangalore, India. It is sometimes known, after a former president of Bangalore, as the Sir K. P. Puttanna Chetty Town Hall. Built by Mirza Ismail in 1935, it underwent renovations in 1990 at a cost of ₹6.5 million (US$371,400 at the time).
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Image 4Photograph credit: Jeevan JoseLeptosia nina, known as the psyche, is a species of butterfly in the family Pieridae (the sulphurs, yellows and whites), found in the Indian subcontinent, southeastern Asia, and Australia. It has a small wingspan of 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in). The upper side of the otherwise white forewing has a large, somewhat pear-shaped, black spot; this spot is also present on the underside which is scattered with greenish dots and speckles, sometimes arranged in bands. This L. nina butterfly was photographed in Kerala, India.
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Image 5Photo: K Hari KrishnanUnripe drupes of black pepper (Piper nigrum) at Trivandrum, Kerala, India. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes are dried for several days, during which the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dried, the spice is called black peppercorn.
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Image 6The mosque at the Taj Mahal complex in Agra, India. This red sandstone building, on the western side of the complex, faces the west side of the mausoleum. In the forefront is a howz, meant for ablution. On the eastern side of the complex is the jawab ("answer"), a mirror image of the mosque except for the missing mihrab and different floor pattern; this jawab was mainly intended for architectural balance. Both were constructed in 1643.
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Image 7Photo: JoydeepCatopsilia pyranthe is a medium sized butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of Australia. This male was photographed in West Bengal, India.
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Image 8Photograph: Yann; edit: Jim CarterA view of the Taj Mahal from the south, featuring the Charbagh garden. The mausoleum complex also includes subsidiary tombs, waterworks infrastructure, the small town of Taj Ganji, and a "moonlight garden". Its origins and architecture have been extensively documented, covering both the circumstances of its commission and the cultural and historical influence of the Islamic Mughal Empire in India.
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Image 9Photograph credit: Rucha Karkarey; edited by John HarrisonThe round ribbontail ray (Taeniura meyeni) is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found throughout the nearshore waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Reaching 1.8 m (6 ft) across, this large ray is characterized by a thick, rounded pectoral fin disc covered by small tubercles on top, and a relatively short tail bearing a single venomous spine. The ray is well-camouflaged when lying on the seabed; it is largely nocturnal, and preys on molluscs, crustaceans and bony fish. Mature females bear litters of up to seven pups, which are fed during gestation on "uterine milk", a product secreted by the walls of the oviduct. This round ribbontail ray was photographed in Lakshadweep, India.
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Image 10Photograph: JJ HarrisonThe Siberian rubythroat (Luscinia calliope) is a small passerine bird generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher of the family Muscicapidae. This migratory insectivorous species breeds in mixed coniferous forest with undergrowth in Siberia, where it nests near the ground. It winters in Thailand, India and Indonesia. It is an extremely rare vagrant to Western Europe and the Aleutian Islands.
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Image 11Photograph credit: Charles James SharpThe Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is a species of rhinoceros that once ranged across the entire northern part of the Indian subcontinent. As a result of habitat destruction and climatic changes, its range was gradually reduced such that, by the 19th century, it survived only in southern Nepal, northern Uttar Pradesh, northern Bihar, northern West Bengal, and in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam. The species's range has since shrunk further, and its habitat is surrounded by human-dominated landscapes, so that in many areas, it occurs in cultivated areas, pastures, and secondary forests. It is currently listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List. This adult male Indian rhinoceros was photographed on the banks of the Gandaki River in Nepal.
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Image 12Photo credit: Dan BradyPigments for sale at a market stall in Goa, India. Many pigments used in manufacturing and the visual arts are dry colourants, ground into a fine powder. This powder is then added to a vehicle or matrix, a relatively neutral or colorless material that acts as a binder, before it is applied. Unlike a dye, a pigment generally is insoluble.
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Image 13Photo: Muhammad Mahdi KarimThe glass house at Lal Bagh, a botanical garden in Bangalore, India. The garden was commissioned by the ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali in 1760, and completed during the reign of his son Tipu Sultan. The glass house was modeled on London's Crystal Palace and constructed at the end of the 19th century.
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Image 14Photograph: Arthur Chapman; edit: Papa Lima Whiskey and Ryan KaldariBrahmaea wallichii, also known as the owl moth, is a moth from the family Brahmaeidae. With a wingspan of about 90–160 mm (3.5–6.3 in), it is one of the largest species of Brahmin moth. This nocturnal species is found in India, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Taiwan and Japan.
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Image 15Photo: Marcin BiałekDuladeo Temple, dated to circa A.D. 1000–1150, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Khajuraho, India.
Featured list – show another
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Image 1
In the Republic of India, according to the Article 154 of Constitution of India, a governor is the constitutional head of each of the twenty-eight states. The governor is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the president's pleasure.
The governor is de jure head of the state government; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected council of ministers, headed by the chief minister, which thus holds de facto executive authority at the state-level. The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend president's rule, or reserve bills for the president's assent. (Full article...) -
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The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry. The National Film Awards were called the "State Awards for Films" when established in 1954. The State Awards instituted the "Best Actress" category in 1968 as the "Urvashi Award for the Best Actress"; in 1975, the Urvashi Award was renamed as the "Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress". Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, the Government of India has presented a total of 56 Best Actress awards to 45 different actresses. Since the 70th National Film Awards, the name was changed to "National Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role".
Until 1974, winners of the National Film Award received a figurine and certificate; since 1975, they have been awarded with a "Rajat Kamal" (silver lotus), certificate and a cash prize that amounted to ₹2 lakh (US$2,400) in the 70th edition. Although the Indian film industry produces films in more than 20 languages and dialects, the actresses whose performances have won awards have worked in eleven major languages: Hindi (22 awards),Tamil (8 awards), Bengali (7 awards), Malayalam (6 awards), Telugu (4 awards), Kannada (3 awards), English (3 awards), Marathi (2 awards), Assamese (one award),Gujarati (one award) and Urdu (one award). (Full article...) -
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Barfi! is a 2012 Indian romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Anurag Basu and produced by UTV Motion Pictures. The film features Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead roles, with Saurabh Shukla, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Roopa Ganguly playing supporting roles. The screenplay which incorporates a nonlinear narrative was co-written by Basu with his wife Tani. Pritam Chakraborty composed the musical and background score while Akiv Ali edited the film, with the cinematography provided by Ravi Varman. Set between 1972 and 2012, the film narrates the story of the title character from Darjeeling and his relationships with two women, Shruti and the autistic Jhilmil.
Made on a budget of approximately ₹410 million (US$4.9 million), Barfi! opened worldwide on 14 September 2012 to widespread critical acclaim. It was a major commercial success, grossing ₹1.88 billion (US$23 million) at the box office. Barfi! has received various awards and nominations, with praise for its direction, the cast's performances, cinematography, screenplay, musical score, costume and production design. As of June 2015, the film has won 70 awards. (Full article...) -
Image 4Madras is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith. It was produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja under his production company, Studio Green. The film features Karthi and Catherine Tresa in the lead roles, with Kalaiyarasan, Riythvika and Rama playing supporting roles. The film's story revolves around Kaali (Karthi), an impulsive and short-tempered IT professional who lives in the Vyasarpadi area of Chennai. His friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan) is killed in the midst of a feud between two factions of a political party over a building wall at one of the housing board apartments in the area. When Kaali hears of this, he decides to avenge Anbu's death. The soundtrack and score were composed by Santhosh Narayanan while the cinematography and editing were handled by Murali G and Praveen K. L. respectively.
Released on 26 September 2014, the film garnered generally positive reviews and was a commercial success at the box office. It was included in The Hindu's top 20 Tamil-language films of the year. The film won 24 awards from 51 nominations; its direction, screenplay, performances of the cast members, music, and cinematography have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
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The National Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (known as National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor prior to 69th NFA) is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. A national panel appointed annually by the NFDC selects the actor who has given the best performance in a supporting role within Indian cinema. The award is presented by the President of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi. Since the 70th National Film Awards, the name was changed to "Best Actor in a Supporting Role".
The winner is given a "Rajat Kamal" (Silver Lotus) certificate and a cash prize of ₹2 lakh (US$2,400). Including ties and repeat winners, the government of India has presented a total of 32 Best Supporting Actor awards to 29 different actors. Although Indian cinema produces films in more than 20 languages, the actors whose performances have won awards have worked in one or more of seven major languages: Hindi (18 awards), Tamil (9 awards), Bengali (3 awards), Malayalam (4 awards), Marathi (3 awards), Telugu (1 award), Kannada (1 award). (Full article...) -
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Rohit Sharma is an Indian cricketer who has represented the national team since 2007. He has made 48 centuries in international cricket—31 in One Day Internationals (ODI), 12 in Tests and 5 in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is)—as of March 2024.
Sharma made his ODI debut against Ireland in June 2007. His first century came during the 2010 Tri-nation tournament in Zimbabwe when he made 114 against the hosts. In the 2013 bilateral series against Australia at home, he made two centuries, including a double-century. The next year, he scored 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The score remains the highest individual total by a batsman in the format. In January 2016, he made 171 not out against Australia; it remained the highest score by a visiting batsman against Australia until England's Jason Roy made 180 in 2018. Sharma set the record for most centuries scored in a World Cup when he scored five centuries in the 2019 World Cup. He has scored centuries against nine different opponents and has the joint second-highest number of centuries (eight) against Australia in the format. As of January 2020[update], Sharma has eight scores in excess of 150, and three double-centuries, both of which are records in ODIs. He has the second highest number of centuries for an active player in the format. (Full article...) -
Image 7The prime minister of India is the chief executive of the Government of India and chair of the Union Council of Ministers. Although the president of India is the constitutional, nominal, and ceremonial head of state, in practice and ordinarily, the executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers. The prime minister is the leader elected by the party with a majority in the lower house of the Indian parliament, the Lok Sabha, which is the main legislative body in the Republic of India. The prime minister and their cabinet are at all times responsible to the Lok Sabha. The prime minister can be a member of the Lok Sabha or of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament. The prime minister ranks third in the order of precedence.
The prime minister is appointed by the president of India; however, the prime minister has to enjoy the confidence of the majority of Lok Sabha members, who are directly elected every five years, unless a prime minister resigns. The prime minister is the presiding member of the Council of Ministers of the Union government. The prime minister unilaterally controls the selection and dismissal of members of the council; and allocation of posts to members within the government. This council, which is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha as per Article 75(3), assists the president regarding the operations under the latter's powers; however, by the virtue of Article 74 of the Constitution, such 'aid and advice' tendered by the council is binding. (Full article...) -
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The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day (26 January) and registered in The Gazette of India—a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the Ministry of Urban Development. The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette. The name of recipient, whose award have been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, is archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register; none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during 1954–1959 have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, as well as from Ministries of the Government of India, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals.
When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Varg" (Class II) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. The original specification of the award was a circle made of standard silver 1+3⁄8 inches (35 mm) in diameter, with rims on both the sides. A centrally located lotus flower was embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma Vibhushan" written in Devanagari script was inscribed above the lotus along the upper edge of the medal. A floral wreath was embossed along the lower edge and a lotus wreath at the top along the upper edge. The State Emblem of India was placed in the centre of the reverse side with the text "Desh Seva" in Devanagari Script on the lower edge. The medal was suspended by a pink riband 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width divided into three equal segments by two white vertical lines. (Full article...) -
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Katrina Kaif is a British actress who predominantly appears in Bollywood films. She made her film debut in the 2003 heist film Boom, a box office bomb. She then played the titular princess in the Telugu film Malliswari (2004). Kaif had her first success in Bollywood when she appeared opposite Salman Khan in David Dhawan's romantic comedy Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?. The 2006 musical romance Humko Deewana Kar Gaye saw Kaif pair opposite Akshay Kumar for the first of many films, though the film was a critical and financial failure. Beginning with Namastey London, the year 2007 marked a turning point in her career when all four releases proved to be successful at the box-office. Among these were two of the highest grossing productions of the year, the comedies Partner and Welcome. following year, Kaif appeared in three films including the action comedy Singh Is Kinng.
In 2009, Kaif received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kabir Khan's terrorism drama New York. Later that year, she starred opposite Ranbir Kapoor in the comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. In 2010, Kaif portrayed the role of a politician in Prakash Jha's political thriller Raajneeti and an aspiring actress in Tees Maar Khan. While the former was a box-office hit, the latter was a critical and commercial failure. Kaif starred alongside an ensemble cast in Zoya Akhtar's comedy drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011). She received her second Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of a runaway bride in the romantic comedy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011). (Full article...) -
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Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress who has received several awards and nominations including two National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, eight Producers Guild Film Awards, eight Screen Awards, six IIFA Awards, and two People's Choice Awards. In 2000, she participated in the Femina Miss India contest, where she finished second, winning the Femina Miss India World title. She then entered the Miss World pageant and was crowned Miss World 2000, becoming the fifth Indian to win the contest. Chopra made her Bollywood film debut with a supporting role in the 2003 spy thriller The Hero, which earned her the Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress. The same year, her performance in the romantic musical Andaaz won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the same ceremony. For her portrayal of a seductress in the romantic thriller Aitraaz, Chopra won the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role and received her second nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The same year, she was nominated for the IIFA Award for Best Actress for the romantic comedy Mujhse Shaadi Karogi.
Chopra starred as a troubled model in the drama Fashion (2008), for which she won many Best Actress awards in India including the National Film Award for Best Actress and the Filmfare Award in the same category. In 2010, she received several Best Actress nominations for playing a feisty Marathi woman in the caper thriller Kaminey, winning her second consecutive Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role after Fashion. The same year, she was nominated for the Screen Award for Best Actress for playing twelve distinct roles in the social comedy film What's Your Raashee?. For her portrayal of a serial killer, in the 2011 neo-noir 7 Khoon Maaf, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics), in addition to a Best Actress nomination at the same ceremony. (Full article...) -
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Preity Zinta is an Indian actress, who has received several awards for her acting in Hindi films. Her career began in 1998 with Mani Ratnam's acclaimed drama Dil Se.. and the box office hit Soldier. Both films won her the award for Best Female Debut at the 44th Filmfare Awards. Her performance in Dil Se.. also earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the same ceremony, while Soldier won her three more Best Debut awards at other major ceremonies. Zinta received her first Filmfare nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna. She followed these films with several critically and commercially successful films, such as Mission Kashmir (2000) and Dil Chahta Hai (2001), and her performances in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001), Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002) and Armaan (2003) were praised.
Zinta won several awards for her performance in the romantic comedy-drama Kal Ho Naa Ho, including her first and only Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She went on to star in top-grossing productions in India and abroad, including Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Salaam Namaste (2005) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), all of which earned her different nominations at major award ceremonies, which, in addition to Filmfare, include such organisations as Screen, Zee Cine, the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), and Stardust, among others. After a relatively low phase, she started appearing in arthouse films, known in India as parallel cinema. She played her first international film role in Deepa Mehta's Canadian drama Heaven on Earth (2008, titled Videsh in India). Her portrayal in the film won her the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress at the Chicago International Film Festival, and she was a Best Actress nominee at several award functions in Canada, including the Genie Awards by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle. (Full article...) -
Image 12Dookudu (transl. Aggression) is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Srinu Vaitla, and jointly produced by Ram Achanta, Gopi Achanta and Anil Sunkara. The film features Mahesh Babu, Samantha, Prakash Raj, and Sonu Sood in the lead roles, and Brahmanandam, and M. S. Narayana in supporting roles. It was edited by M. R. Varma and the cinematography was provided by K. V. Guhan and Prasad Murella. The film's musical and background score were composed by S. Thaman.
Partially inspired by the 2003 German tragicomedy film Good Bye, Lenin!, Dookudu revolves around the life of police officer Ajay Kumar (Mahesh). His father Shankar Narayana (Prakash Raj) awakes from a coma, which he has been in for many years after an accident, but his health remains perilous. To aid his recovery, Kumar masquerades as a Member of the Legislative Assembly fulfilling his father's ambition for him. (Full article...) -
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Dharma Productions is an Indian production company established by Yash Johar in 1976. As of 2024, the company has produced 63 Hindi films, including three that have yet to be released. A large number of the films were co-produced with companies such as Red Chillies Entertainment and Star Studios. In addition, Dharma Productions has presented six other-Indian language films from other companies. The most frequent collaborations of the company have been with the actors Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Sanjay Dutt.
Dharma Productions' first release came in 1980 with the Raj Khosla–directed Dostana, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman, which was a commercial success. However, their subsequent releases, Duniya (1984) and Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987) performed poorly at the box office. Their first release of the 1990s, the Bachchan-starring thriller Agneepath (1990) garnered critical acclaim but was a commercial failure. The company's next releases were the thriller Gumrah (1993) and the comedy Duplicate (1998), both directed by Mahesh Bhatt. In 1998, Yash Johar's son, Karan Johar made his directorial debut with the romantic drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji and Salman Khan. The film was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1998, and established Dharma Productions as a leading production company in India. Their subsequent releases, the ensemble family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), and the romantic dramas Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), all starring Khan, were top-grossing Hindi films in domestic and overseas markets. (Full article...) -
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Vikram Vedha is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film directed and written by the husband and wife duo Pushkar–Gayathri and produced by S. Sashikanth under the banner of YNOT Studios. R. Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi play the title characters Vikram and Vedha respectively. Shraddha Srinath, Kathir and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar play the other lead roles while Prem, Achyuth Kumar, Hareesh Peradi and Vivek Prasanna feature as supporting characters. Sam C. S. composed the film's soundtrack and score. Richard Kevin and P. S. Vinod was in charge of the editing and cinematography respectively.
A contemporary adaptation of the Indian folktale Baital Pachisi, the film follows Vikram, a police inspector who is decisive about good and evil, and the head of an encounter unit which is formed to track down and kill Vedha, a gangster. When the unit makes plans for another encounter, Vedha walks into the police station and voluntarily surrenders himself. He then tells Vikram three stories which bring about a change in the latter's perceptions of right and wrong. (Full article...) -
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Rahul Dravid is a retired Indian international cricketer. in both Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket in matches organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nicknamed "The Wall" for his ability of "... fending off the fiercest, the fastest and the wiliest of bowlers around the world", he scored 36 centuries (scores of 100 runs or more) in Test cricket and 12 in One Day Internationals (ODI) between his debut in 1996 and retirement in 2011. He was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000, as well as the ICC Test Player of the Year and ICC Player of the Year in 2004.
Dravid scored his first Test century in January 1997 against South Africa. In a man-of-the-match performance, he made 148 runs spanning nine hours and took India to their only draw of the series. He made centuries in both innings of a match when he scored 190 and 103 not out in the final Test of the 1998–99 series against New Zealand. He repeated the feat in March 2005 when he scored 110 and 135 against Pakistan in another man-of-the-match performance, leading India to victory in the second of the three-match series. Scoring 180 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 376 with VVS Laxman, in the Second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2001, Dravid helped lead India to victory by 171 runs despite being asked to follow-on by the Australians. His partnership with Laxman was the third-highest for the fifth wicket in Test cricket history. Dravid's highest Test score of 270, achieved in April 2004 in Rawalpindi, helped India to an innings victory against Pakistan. The performance was the fourth-highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He scored centuries against all Test playing nations and was the first cricketer to score centuries in all 10 Test playing nations. (Full article...) -
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The 1982 Asian Games (also known as the IX Asiad)[a] was a multi-sport event held in Delhi, India, from 12 November to 4 December 1982. A total of 3,411 athletes from 33 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these games, competing in 147 events in 21 sports and 22 disciplines. The number of participating countries was the greatest in Asian Games history. Sport events of handball, equestrian, rowing and golf were included for the first time; while fencing and bowling were excluded. This medal table ranks the participating NOCs by the number of gold medals won by their athletes.
Athletes from 23 participating NOCs won at least one medal; athletes from 16 of these NOCs secured at least one gold. Athletes from China won 61 gold medals, the most of any nation at these Asiad, and led the gold-medal count for the first time in their Asiad history. Japan had won the greatest number of medals in previous editions of the Games. China first competed at the Asian Games in 1974, in Tehran, where it finished third. Athletes from both China and Japan won the most total medals with 153. China has secured the top medal spot in every Asiad since 1982. South Korea finished third in total medals. North Korea finished fifth in total medals, and fourth in the gold-medal count. Host nation India finished the games with 57 medals overall (13 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze, its best performance since 1951), in fifth spot in terms of total gold medals. (Full article...) -
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A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket match between two representative teams, each having T20I status as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC), and is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. The first such match was played between Australia and New Zealand on 17 February 2005. The Indian cricket team played its first T20I match—under the captaincy of Virender Sehwag—during the 2006–07 series in South Africa; India defeated the hosts by six wickets in the one-off match and claimed the series.
As of July 2024, 115 players have represented India in T20Is. India won the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20, defeating Pakistan in the final by five runs. (Full article...) -
Image 18The Dirty Picture is a 2011 Indian biographical drama film directed by Milan Luthria and produced by Shobha and Ekta Kapoor. Inspired by the lives of such actresses as Silk Smitha and Disco Shanti, the film narrates the rise and fall of a dancing girl in Tamil cinema. The Dirty Picture features Vidya Balan in the lead role, and co-stars Emraan Hashmi, Tusshar Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah. Rajat Arora wrote the screenplay, dialogues and lyrics for the film and Vishal–Shekhar composed the music.
Made on a budget between ₹170 million (US$2.0 million) and ₹180 million (US$2.2 million), The Dirty Picture was released worldwide on 2 December 2011, and earned ₹1.14 billion (US$14 million). The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for Vidya's performance, the dialogues, and the costume design by Niharika Khan. As of 2012, the film has won 51 awards. (Full article...) -
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The Indian National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint services academy of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three armed forces (the Army, the Navy and the Air Force) train together before beginning pre-commission training at their respective service academies (Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), and Air Force Academy (AFA) for army, navy, and air force cadets respectively). Established in 1954 and located in vicinity of Khadakwasla Dam, near Pune, it is the world's first tri-service academy.
NDA is not the only officer training academy in India. Besides NDA, which is tri-service academy, the Indian Army's IMA, Officers Training Academy (OTA), Army Cadet College (ACC), the Indian Navy's INA, and the Air Force's AFA are the other officer training academies of India. Besides cadets from NDA, these academies accept cadets separately from several streams. Apart from these, the Indian Army has three establishments for technical stream which include College of Military Engineering (CME), Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), and Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME). Although cadets are imparted technical training at these three academies, they are commissioned through OTA, Gaya. Excluding all these establishments, which are meant for combat arms, the Indian Army has other commissioning academies for support services such as the Medical Corps, and the Judge Advocate General's Department for example. (Full article...) -
Image 20Test cricket is the longest form of cricket. The women's variant of the game includes four innings to be completed over four days of play with eleven players in each side. The first women's Test was played between England and Australia in 1934. However, India did not play Test cricket until 1973 when the Women's Cricket Association of India was formed. The Indian women's team played their first Test match in 1976, against the West Indies. The Women's Cricket Association of India was merged with the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2006 as part of the International Cricket Council's initiative to develop women's cricket.
India have played 41 Tests, starting with their first Test in 1976. They first won a Test in Patna (1976), in front of over 25,000 spectators, against the West Indies but did not win again until 2002, when they won against South Africa. The team has remained unbeaten since 2006, over the course of three Test matches. (Full article...) -
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The Mizoram Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Mizoram state in Northeast India. The seat of the legislative assembly is at Aizawl, the capital of the state. The assembly comprises 40 members directly elected from single-seat constituencies. It sits for a term of five years, unless it is dissolved earlier. Early dissolution of state assemblies happens when the governing party (or alliance) loses confidence of the assembly. This leads to either the President's Rule being imposed on the state, or early elections being called. Mizoram is the fourth-smallest state in India, covering 21,081 km2 (8,139 sq mi); and the second-least populous state with a population of 1.10 million. The Mizoram Legislative Assembly has existed since 1972, when it had 30 constituencies.
Since the independence of India, the Scheduled Tribes (ST) along with the Scheduled Castes (SC) have been given Reservation status, guaranteeing political representation, and the Constitution lays down the general principles of positive discrimination for STs and SCs. The 2011 census of India stated that the indigenous population constitutes 95% of the state's total population. The Scheduled Tribes have been granted a reservation of 39 seats in the Mizoram assembly, leaving only one (Aizawl East-I) unreserved. (Full article...) -
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Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress, known for her roles in Hindi and English films. Chopra made her acting debut with the 2002 Tamil film Thamizhan. She made her Bollywood debut the following year with the spy thriller The Hero: Love Story of a Spy. The same year, Chopra's role in the box-office hit romance Andaaz won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and her first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. In 2004, she starred in the commercially successful romantic comedy Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and garnered high critical acclaim for her breakthrough role in the romantic thriller Aitraaz which earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role and a second Best Supporting Actress nomination. Chopra starred in six films in 2005, including Waqt and Bluffmaster!. In 2006, she starred in two of the highest-grossing films of the year—the superhero film Krrish and the action thriller Don.
In 2007 and 2008, Chopra starred in several critical and commercial failures, but in late 2008, her role in the acclaimed drama Fashion proved to be a turning point in her career. Her portrayal of a troubled model won her the National Film Award for Best Actress and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. In 2009, Chopra starred in Vishal Bhardwaj's acclaimed caper thriller Kaminey, and played twelve distinct characters in the romantic comedy What's Your Raashee?. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics) for her portrayal of a serial killer in Bhardwaj's 2011 black comedy 7 Khoon Maaf. (Full article...) -
Image 23Neerja is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical thriller film directed by Ram Madhvani and produced by Atul Kasbekar. The film stars Sonam Kapoor as Neerja Bhanot and features Shekhar Ravjiani, Shabana Azmi and Yogendra Tiku among others in supporting roles. The film's script and screenplay were penned by Saiwyn Quadras, the dialogue was written by Sanyuktha Chawla Sheikh, and the editing was handled by Monisha R Baldawa. Set in Karachi, the plot of Neerja centres on the Libyan-backed Abu Nidal Organization's hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan, on 5 September 1986. The film is shown from the point of view of the flight's head purser, Neerja Bhanot, who died saving passengers on the hijacked flight.
Made on a budget of ₹200 million (US$3.1 million), Neerja was released on 19 February 2016, and grossed ₹1.35 billion (US$16 million) worldwide. The film won 31 awards from 45 nominations; its direction and performances of the cast members have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
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In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoueverable, long-distance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers. Seventeen destroyers have served, or currently serve, in the Indian Navy. The navy operates 12 guided-missile destroyers from four classes: Visakhapatnam class, Kolkata class, Delhi class, and Rajput class. Six other destroyers (three R class and three Hunt class) have been decommissioned and scrapped.
India did not have any destroyers of its own until 1949. The R-class INS Ranjit, built in the United Kingdom, was the first destroyer commissioned in the Indian Navy. Two more of the R-class were later commissioned. Three Hunt-class destroyers were commissioned in 1953 to succeed the R-class destroyers. These ships (all of which were built in the United Kingdom) were decommissioned by 1976, with the Hunt-class INS Godavari the last. (Full article...) -
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The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day (26 January) and registered in The Gazette of India—a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the Ministry of Urban Development. The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette. The names of recipients whose awards have been revoked or restored, both of which processes require the authority of the president, are archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register; none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during 2000–2009 have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, as well as from Ministries of the Government of India, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals.
When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Varg" (Class II) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion 1+3⁄4 inches (44 mm) in diameter and 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1+3⁄16 inches (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter 1+1⁄16 inches (27 mm) is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width with a broad white stripe in the middle. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards. (Full article...)
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Image 1Dabangg (transl. Fearless) is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap and produced by Malaika Arora and Arbaaz Khan under Arbaaz Khan Productions with Dhilin Mehta under Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. The film stars Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha (in her acting debut) Arbaaz Khan and Sonu Sood in the lead roles, while Om Puri, Dimple Kapadia, Vinod Khanna, Anupam Kher, Mahesh Manjrekar and Mahie Gill featuring in supporting roles. The film marks the debut of Arbaaz Khan as a producer and Kashyap as a director. Arora makes a special appearance in the song "Munni Badnaam Hui".
Dabangg is set in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was made with a budget of ₹30 crore and marketed at ₹12 crore. The film was shot primarily in the town of Wai in Maharashtra, while other major scenes were shot in the United Arab Emirates. (Full article...) -
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World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all the world's countries—including all the great powers—participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war, blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, with the latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million fatalities, more than half of which were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust of European Jews, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.
The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in the aftermath of World War I and the rises of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan, and it was preceded by events including the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Spanish Civil War, outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and German annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland. World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. The United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany on 3 September. Under their Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Germany and the Soviet Union had partitioned Poland and marked out "spheres of influence" across Eastern Europe; in 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania. After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued primarily between Germany and the British Empire, with campaigns in North and East Africa and the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz of the UK, and the naval Battle of the Atlantic. By mid-1941, through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany occupied or controlled much of continental Europe and had formed the Axis alliance with Italy, Japan, and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the Eastern Front. (Full article...) -
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The Battle of Elephant Point was an airborne operation at the mouth of the Rangoon River conducted by a composite Gurkha airborne battalion that took place on 1 May 1945. In March 1945, plans were made for an assault on Rangoon, the capital of Burma, as a stepping-stone on the way to recapturing Malaya and Singapore. Initial plans for the assault on the city had called for a purely land-based approach by British Fourteenth Army, but concerns about heavy Japanese resistance led to this being modified with the addition of a joint amphibious-airborne assault. This assault, led by 26th Indian Division, would sail up the Rangoon River, but before it could do so, the river would have to be cleared of Japanese and British mines. In order to achieve this, coastal defences along the river would have to be neutralized, including a battery at Elephant Point.
This task was given to the 44th Indian Airborne Division. However, as the division was in the middle of a reorganisation, a composite battalion was formed from two Gurkha parachute battalions. The battalion assembled and trained throughout April, and was then dropped near Elephant Point early in the morning of 1 May. As it advanced towards the battery one of the battalion's companies was attacked by American bombers, causing a number of casualties. Despite this friendly fire incident, and torrential rain, the battalion successfully assaulted Elephant Point, neutralising the battery there after a fierce firefight. The battalion held the area around Elephant Point until 2 May, when the 26th Indian Division conducted its amphibious assault up the river and secured Rangoon. (Full article...) -
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The fourth legislative assembly election of Madras State (later renamed as Tamil Nadu) was held in February 1967. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led coalition under the leadership of C.N. Annadurai won the election defeating the Indian National Congress (Congress). Anti-Hindi agitations, the rising prices of essential commodities, and a shortage of rice were the dominant issues. K. Kamaraj's resignation as the Chief Minister in 1963, to concentrate on party affairs, along with persistent rumors of corruption had weakened the incumbent Congress Government. This was the second time after Communist Party of India winning Kerala assembly elections in 1957, for a non-Congress party to gain the majority in a state in India, and the last time that Congress held power in Tamil Nadu. It was the first time a party or pre-election alliance formed a non-Congress government with an absolute majority. It marked the beginning of Dravidian dominance in the politics of Tamil Nadu. Annadurai, who became the first non-Congress chief minister of post-independence Tamil Nadu, died in office in 1969 and V.R. Nedunchezhiyan took over as acting chief minister. (Full article...) -
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Emmanuel "Manny" Noveen Malhotra (born May 18, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He is the head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League (AHL), and was previously an assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
During his 18-year career, he played as a centre for the Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars and the New York Rangers. Malhotra was known as a two-way forward and for his faceoff proficiency, in which he won over 56% of faceoffs he took in the NHL. He last played with the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL on a try-out basis. (Full article...) -
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Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the current prime minister of India since 26 May 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the longest-serving prime minister outside the Indian National Congress.
Modi was born and raised in Vadnagar in northeastern Gujarat, where he completed his secondary education. He was introduced to the RSS at the age of eight. At the age of 18, he was married to Jashodaben Modi, whom he abandoned soon after, only publicly acknowledging her four decades later when legally required to do so. Modi became a full-time worker for the RSS in Gujarat in 1971. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he rose through the party hierarchy, becoming general secretary in 1998. In 2001, Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat and elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration is considered complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots, and has been criticised for its management of the crisis. According to official records, a little over 1,000 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim; independent sources estimated 2,000 deaths, mostly Muslim. A Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India in 2012 found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against him. While his policies as chief minister were credited for encouraging economic growth, his administration was criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state. (Full article...) -
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Manasa (Sanskrit: मनसा, romanized: Manasā) is a Hindu goddess of snakes. She is worshipped mainly in Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, South Assam and other parts of northeastern India and in Uttarakhand, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite, and also for fertility and prosperity. In Hinduism, Manasa is the sister of Shesha and Vasuki, king of Nāgas (serpents), and wife of sage Jaratkaru. She is the mother of the sage Astika. She is also known as Vishahari (the destroyer of poison), Nityā (eternal) and Padmavati.
In regional tradition, her stories emphasise her bad temper and unhappiness, due to rejection by her father, Shiva, and her husband ( Jagatkaru), and the hate of her stepmother Chandi (Shiva's wife, identified with Parvati in this context). Manasa is depicted as kind to her devotees, but harsh toward people who refuse to worship her. Denied full godhood due to her mixed parentage, Manasa's aim was to fully establish her authority as a goddess, and to acquire steadfast human devotees. (Full article...) -
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Cyclonic Storm Akash (JTWC designation: 01B) was the first named tropical cyclone of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Warned by both India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), it formed from an area of disturbed weather on the Bay of Bengal on May 12, and gradually organized as it drifted northward. An eye began to develop as it approached land, and after reaching peak 3-min sustained winds of 85 km/h (55 mph) it struck about 115 km (71 mi) south of Chittagong in Bangladesh. Akash rapidly weakened over land, and advisories were discontinued on May 15.
The storm initially brought heavy rainfall to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Upon striking Bangladesh, Cyclonic Storm Akash produced a moderate storm tide, along with strong winds and heavy rains. The storm left dozens of boats missing, with three fisherman confirmed killed and another 50 missing. Near the coast, thousands of houses were damaged from the flooding caused by the storm. In Burma, its storm tide caused some coastal flooding. In all, 14 people were killed and damages amounted to US$982 million. (Full article...) -
Image 9Racha (transl. Chaos) is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language masala film directed by Sampath Nandi and produced by Megaa Super Good Films. The film stars Ram Charan and Tamannaah Bhatia, alongside Ajmal Ameer, Mukesh Rishi, Dev Gill, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Nassar and R. Parthiban. The film marks the Telugu debuts of Ajmal Ameer and R. Parthiban. The music was composed by Mani Sharma, while cinematography and editing were handled by Sameer Reddy and Gautham Raju respectively.
Principal photography commenced in June 2011 and was shot in various locations, mainly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, apart from Sri Lanka and Bangkok. It was also shot in Anji County of China, which is the first in Telugu cinema. (Full article...) -
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Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid Idrishi PVC (1 July 1933 – 10 September 1965), was an Indian soldier. He was posthumously given India's highest military decoration, the Param Vir Chakra, for his actions during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
Hamid joined the army in December 1954, and was posted to the 4th Battalion of the Grenadiers regiment. During the Sino-Indian War, his battalion participated in the battle of Namka Chu against the Chinese People's Liberation Army. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the 4 Grenadiers battalion was entrusted with a vital position before the village of Chima on the Khem Karan–Bhikhiwind line. At the Battle of Asal Uttar on 9–10 September 1965, Hamid destroyed eight Pakistani tanks and was killed in action destroying the ninth tank. (Full article...) -
Image 11Sivaji: The Boss is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language masala film co-written and directed by S. Shankar and produced by AVM Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth in the main lead role alongside Shriya Saran, Vivek and Suman. In the film, a software systems architect returns to India from US to provide free medical treatment and education, but has to face hurdles from the system and an influential political leader.
A. R. Rahman composed the music in his 100th milestone composition, while the art direction, cinematography and editing were handled by Thota Tharani, K. V. Anand and Anthony respectively. With a budget of ₹600 million (US$7.2 million), the film was the most expensive Indian film at the time of its release. Rajinikanth became the highest-paid Indian actor with this film, earning a fees of around ₹260 million (US$3.1 million). Principal photography of the film commenced in November 2005 and lasted till February 2007. Filming took place in various locations across Hyderabad, Spain, Italy, New York City, Pune and Chennai. It became the first Indian film to use Dolby Atmos surround sound technology. (Full article...) -
Image 12Shahid is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film directed by Hansal Mehta, written by Sameer Gautam Singh and jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap and Sunil Bohra in association with Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under the UTV Spotboy banner. Based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010, the film stars Rajkummar Rao as Azmi; Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Prabhleen Sandhu and Baljinder Kaur appear in supporting roles.
Mehta took a break after some of his films were box-office failures. When he heard about Azmi's murder, he felt the need to make a film about his life. He began his research for the film nearly three months after Azmi's murder. Eventually, he met Singh, who wrote the script after researching Azmi's life and spending months interviewing Azmi's family. Apurva Asrani contributed additional inputs on the script with Mehta and also served as the film's editor. Anuj Rakesh Dhawan was the director of photography. (Full article...) -
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Sallekhana (IAST: sallekhanā), also known as samlehna, santhara, samadhi-marana or sanyasana-marana, is a supplementary vow to the ethical code of conduct of Jainism. It is the religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually reducing the intake of food and liquids. It is viewed in Jainism as the thinning of human passions and the body, and another means of destroying rebirth-influencing karma by withdrawing all physical and mental activities. It is not considered a suicide by Jain scholars because it is not an act of passion, nor does it employ poisons or weapons. After the sallekhana vow, the ritual preparation and practice can extend into years.
Sallekhana is a vow available to both Jain ascetics and householders. Historic evidence such as nishidhi engravings suggest sallekhana was observed by both men and women, including queens, in Jain history. However, in the modern era, death through sallekhana has been a relatively uncommon event. (Full article...) -
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Field marshal (abbreviated as FM) is a five–star officer rank and the highest attainable rank in the Indian Army. Field marshal ranks immediately above general, but is not in use in the army's current structure. Awarded only twice, field marshal is a rank bestowed on generals for ceremonial purposes or during times of war.
Sam Manekshaw was the first field marshal of the Indian Army, and was promoted on 1 January 1973. The second was Kodandera M. Cariappa, who was promoted to the rank on 15 January 1986. (Full article...) -
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Maudgalyāyana (Pali: Moggallāna), also known as Mahāmaudgalyāyana or by his birth name Kolita, was one of the Buddha's closest disciples. Described as a contemporary of disciples such as Subhuti, Śāriputra (Pali: Sāriputta), and Mahākāśyapa (Pali: Mahākassapa), he is considered the second of the Buddha's two foremost male disciples, together with Śāriputra. Traditional accounts relate that Maudgalyāyana and Śāriputra become spiritual wanderers in their youth. After having searched for spiritual truth for a while, they come into contact with the Buddhist teaching through verses that have become widely known in the Buddhist world. Eventually they meet the Buddha himself and ordain as monks under him. Maudgalyāyana attains enlightenment shortly after that.
Maudgalyayana and Śāriputra have a deep spiritual friendship. They are depicted in Buddhist art as the two disciples that accompany the Buddha, and they have complementing roles as teachers. As a teacher, Maudgalyayana is known for his psychic powers, and he is often depicted using these in his teaching methods. In many early Buddhist canons, Maudgalyāyana is instrumental in re-uniting the monastic community after Devadatta causes a schism. Furthermore, Maudgalyāyana is connected with accounts about the making of the first Buddha image. Maudgalyāyana dies at the age of eighty-four, killed through the efforts of a rival sect. This violent death is described in Buddhist scriptures as a result of Maudgalyāyana's karma of having killed his own parents in a previous life. (Full article...) -
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The Naroda Patiya massacre took place on 28 February 2002 at Naroda, in Ahmedabad, India, during the 2002 Gujarat riots. 97 Muslims were killed by a mob of approximately 5,000 people, organised by the Bajrang Dal, a wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and allegedly supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party which was in power in the Gujarat State Government. The massacre at Naroda occurred during the bandh (strike) called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad a day after the Godhra train burning. The riot lasted over 10 hours, during which the mob plundered, stabbed, sexually assaulted, gang-raped and burnt people individually and in groups. After the conflict, a curfew was imposed in the state and Indian Army troops were called in to contain further violence.
The communal violence at Naroda was deemed "the largest single case of mass murder" during the 2002 Gujarat riots; it accounted for the greatest number of deaths during a single event. Survivors faced socio-economic problems; many were left homeless, orphaned and injured. A number of shrines were destroyed and many schools were adversely affected, cancelled exams or closed entirely. The surviving victims were given shelter in relief camps provided by both the state and central government, and efforts were begun to restore destroyed properties and shrines. The state government formed a "Gujarat state commission of inquiry" for citizens to have a forum in which to make recommendations and suggest reforms. Mainstream media criticised the Gujarat government's handling of the riots; it was remarked that a number of news reports were exaggerated, and "inflammatory headlines, stories and pictures" were published, resulting in anti-Muslim prejudice among the Hindu readership. (Full article...) -
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Forrest's pika (Ochotona forresti) is a species of mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, and Myanmar. The summer dorsal pelage and ventral pelage are dark rufous or blackish brown, and the winter dorsal pelage is a grayish brown, slightly lighter in tone than the ventral pelage. It is a generalist herbivore. It was assessed by the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species as insufficiently known in 1994, as near threatened in 1996, and re-assessed in 2008 as a species of least concern. (Full article...) -
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Nina Davuluri (born April 20, 1989) is an American public speaker, advocate, and beauty queen who hosts the reality show Made in America on Zee TV America from Manhattan.
As Miss America 2014, she became the first Indian American contestant to win both the Miss New York followed by the Miss America Competition. She is also the second Asian American to be crowned Miss America. (Full article...) -
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Fort Stikine was a British Fort ship which was built in Canada in 1942. Owned by the American War Shipping Administration, she was leased under charter to the Ministry of War Transport under the Lend-Lease scheme and operated under the management of the Port Line. Fort Stikine only had a short career, and was destroyed in an explosion at Bombay, India, in April 1944 that caused the loss of a further thirteen ships. (Full article...) -
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Cornelia Sorabji (15 November 1866 – 6 July 1954) was an Indian lawyer, social reformer and writer. She was the first female graduate from Bombay University, and the first woman to study law at Oxford University. Returning to India after her studies at Oxford, Sorabji became involved in social and advisory work on behalf of the purdahnashins, women who were forbidden to communicate with the outside male world, but she was unable to defend them in court since, as a woman, she did not hold professional standing in the Indian legal system. Hoping to remedy this, Sorabji presented herself for the LLB examination of Bombay University in 1897 and the pleader's examination of Allahabad High Court in 1899. She became the first female advocate in India but would not be recognised as a barrister until the law which barred women from practising was changed in 1923.
She was involved with several social service campaigning groups, including the National Council for Women in India, the Federation of University Women, and the Bengal League of Social Service for Women. She opposed the imposition of Western perspectives on the movement for women's change in India, and took a cautious approach to social reform, opposing rapid change. Sorabji believed that until all women were educated, political reform would not be of genuine lasting value. She supported the British Raj, and purdah for upper-caste Hindu women, and opposed Indian self-rule. Her views prevented her obtaining the support needed to undertake later social reforms. Sorabji authored multiple publications, which were influential in the early 20th century. (Full article...) -
Image 21SpiceJet is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana. As of June 2024[update], it is the sixth largest airline in India by number of domestic passengers carried, with a market share of 4% and connects 73 destinations, including 60 Indian and 13 international from its bases at Delhi and Hyderabad.
Established as air taxi provider ModiLuft in 1994, the company was acquired by Indian entrepreneur Ajay Singh in 2004 and renamed to SpiceJet. The airline operated its first flight in May 2005. Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired a controlling stake in SpiceJet in June 2010 through Sun Group which was sold back to Ajay Singh in January 2015. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737 and Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. (Full article...) -
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Peroz I Kushanshah (Bactrian script: Πιρωςο Κοϸανο ϸαηο) was Kushanshah of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom from 245 to 275. He was the successor of Ardashir I Kushanshah. He was an energetic ruler, who minted coins in Balkh, Herat, and Gandhara. Under him, the Kushano-Sasanians further expanded their domains into the west, pushing the weakened Kushan Empire to Mathura in North India.
Peroz I Kushanshah was succeeded by Hormizd I Kushanshah in 275. (Full article...) -
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The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It was first described in 1821 on the basis of a skin of an individual from China. The clouded leopard has large dusky-grey blotches and irregular spots and stripes reminiscent of clouds. Its head-and-body length ranges from 68.6 to 108 cm (27.0 to 42.5 in) with a 61 to 91 cm (24 to 36 in) long tail. It uses its tail for balancing when moving in trees and is able to climb down vertical tree trunks head first. It rests in trees during the day and hunts by night on the forest floor.
The clouded leopard is the sister taxon to other pantherine cats, having genetically diverged 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago. Today, the clouded leopard is locally extinct in Singapore, Taiwan, and possibly also in Hainan Island and Vietnam. The wild population is believed to be in decline with fewer than 10,000 adults and no more than 1,000 in each subpopulation. It has therefore been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2008. The population is threatened by large–scale deforestation and commercial poaching for the wildlife trade. Its body parts are offered for decoration and clothing, though it is legally protected in most range countries. (Full article...) -
Image 24The Sky Is Pink is a 2019 biographical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Shonali Bose and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ronnie Screwvala and Priyanka Chopra Jonas under their production companies Roy Kapur Films, RSVP Movies, and Purple Pebble Pictures, respectively, in association with Ivanhoe Pictures. A co-production between India and the United States, the film stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim and Rohit Suresh Saraf, and is based on the true story of Aisha Chaudhary, who suffered from severe combined immunodeficiency and pulmonary fibrosis, and tells the story of her parents Aditi and Niren as they navigate their marriage while dealing with their daughter's illness. The film marked the last film of Wasim's career prior to her retirement from Bollywood.
Aditi Chaudhary approached Bose to make a film based on her daughter's life story. Although intrigued by the story, Bose instead chose to depict the parents' story from Aisha's point of view by incorporating first-person narrative, focusing on their marriage and the effect of their child's illness on their lives and relationship. Bose wrote the screenplay based on the details she gathered through interviewing both of her parents. Nilesh Maniyar wrote the additional screenplay while Juhi Chaturvedi wrote the Hindi dialogues. Principal photography took place in Mumbai, London, Delhi and the Andaman Islands. The film's soundtrack was composed by Pritam while Gulzar wrote the lyrics for the songs. The film explores themes such as death and its acceptance, motherhood, grief and the effect of the loss of a child on relationships, particularly on the parents' companionship. (Full article...) -
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Sunil Kumar Verma (28 September 1974 - 31 May 2021), was an Indian biologist and a principal scientist at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India. Verma was primarily known for his contributions to the development of "universal primer technology", a first generation DNA barcoding method, that can identify any bird, fish, reptile or mammal from a small biological sample, and satisfy legal evidence requirements in a court of law. This technology has revitalised the field of wildlife forensics and is now routinely used across India to provide a species identification service in cases of wildlife crime. This approach of species identification is now known as "DNA barcoding" across the world.
Verma received his D.Phil. in medical oncology from the University of Oxford, and had worked in the areas of signal transduction in cancer and on molecular biology applications in wildlife conservation. He was the recipient of several national awards, including the 2008 CSIR Technology Award, the 2009 NRDC Meritorious Invention Award and the 2009 BioAsia Innovation Award in recognition of his contribution to Indian science and technology. He died on May 31, 2021, due to COVID-19 pneumonia. (Full article...)
News
- 17 October 2024 –
- A court in Bangladesh orders the arrest of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 45 others for crimes against humanity. Hasina is in exile in India. (AP)
- 16 October 2024 – 2024 Indian bomb hoaxes
- It is reported that at least 10 flights operated by Indian airlines have received bomb threat hoaxes over the past 48 hours, causing the flights to be delayed or diverted. (BBC News)
- 13 October 2024 – Starship flight test 5
- SpaceX completes its fifth test flight of the Starship spacecraft, successfully catching the rocket booster with the arms of the launch tower at Starbase in Texas, United States, and with the spacecraft landing in the Indian Ocean. (Space.com) (CNBC)
- 11 October 2024 – 2024 Tamil Nadu train collision
- At least 19 people were injured after two trains collided near Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. (India Today)
- 5 October 2024 – Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
- Indian police claim that 31 Naxalite rebels were killed in a shootout with Indian soldiers in the Abujhmad forest in Chhattisgarh, India. (Al Jazeera)
Did you know...
- ... that besides official retreats in Hyderabad and in Shimla, the president of India also has one in Dehradun?
- ... that Samuel Green printed the Eliot Indian Bible, the first Bible printed in British America, in 1663?
- ... that Indian women's hockey player Elvera Britto and her sisters would stitch their own team uniforms while playing in the 1960s?
- ... that although Alexander the Great founded two cities named Boukephala and Nikaia during his invasion of the Indian subcontinent, we do not know which was which?
- ... that classical dances of Gaddam Padmaja Reddy, recipient of India's highest award for performing arts, explore contemporary social issues such as female foeticide and HIV/AIDS?
- ... that Jacqueline Kennedy bought several saris during her 1962 tour of India and Pakistan to be turned into sari-inspired dresses?
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