Nation

New Delhi: India’s beloved festival of lights, Deepavali, has officially been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The announcement was made as part of the 2025 list, which includes 20 cultural heritages from around the world. UNESCO’s representative list aims to safeguard living traditions, social practices, festivals, folk arts, and traditional knowledge systems that have been integral to societies’ cultural identity for generations. This year, in addition to Deepavali, Bangladesh’s Tangail sari weaving tradition was also included in the prestigious list. What is Intangible Cultural Heritage? According to UNESCO, cultural heritage is not limited to monuments or physical objects; it also encompasses living traditions passed do...

New Delhi: The Indi Alliance has launched a formal move seeking the impeachment of Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court, following his directive to light traditional lamps at a prominent hill near a temple in Madurai, which has sparked widespread controversy. On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, over 100 Lok Sabha MPs from the Indi Alliance submitted a written notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, requesting the initiation of impeachment proceedings against Justice Swaminathan. Allegations Against Justice Swaminathan The notice accuses Justice Swaminathan of misconduct, questioning his impartiality, transparency, and secular conduct. Opposition MPs have alleged that the judge showed bias in favor of a specific community’s senior advocate and delivered decisions based on a pa...

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday presented the Shilp Guru Awards and National Handicraft Awards for 2023 and 2024, honouring the nation’s finest artisans, designers, and innovators in the handicrafts sector. The ceremony was held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, in the presence of Union Minister for Textiles Giriraj Singh, Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita, Textiles Secretary Neelam Shami Rao, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) Amrit Raj, along with artisans, industry representatives, exporters, and senior officials. Awards Distribution and Recipients A total of 48 awards were presented: 12 Shilp Guru Awards and 36 National Awards, including 2 Design-Innovation Awards. Among the awardees, 20 were women artisans, highlighting the growing role of women i...

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to the eminent freedom fighter and statesman Chakravarti Rajagopalachari on his 147th birth anniversary. Sharing photographs and tributes on social media, the Prime Minister honored Rajagopalachari, affectionately known as “Rajaji,” recognizing him as one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. Born on 10 December 1878 in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu, Rajagopalachari became the first and last Indian Governor-General of independent India. Prime Minister Modi described him as a leader who always upheld human dignity and moral values. PM Modi’s Tribute In his post, PM Modi wrote:"Freedom fighter, thinker, intellectual, politician—these are the words that come to mind when we remember C. Rajagopalachari. On his birt...

New Delhi: Singapore’s former Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has highlighted the deep-rooted historical and cultural connections between India and Singapore. Speaking at the 5th Atal Bihari Vajpayee Memorial Lecture, he stated that the name “Singapore” or “Singapura” originates from Sanskrit, reflecting India’s early cultural influence in Southeast Asia. Remarkably, until 1867, Singapore’s administration was managed from Calcutta. Historical Ties that Shape Modern Relations Currently serving as the Chairman of Temasek Holdings and senior advisor to Singapore’s Prime Minister, Teo Chee Hean emphasized that the historical connections continue to guide contemporary India-Singapore relations. He noted that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s previous visit to Singapore, the bilate...

New Delhi: India’s solar observatory Aditya-L1 has played a pivotal role in understanding the strongest solar storm in decades, named the ‘Gannon Storm’. Precise magnetic field measurements from Aditya-L1 have helped scientists worldwide uncover why this geomagnetic storm, which hit Earth in May 2024, was unusually intense, improving our understanding of space weather and its impact on Earth. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Aditya-L1 collaborated with six American satellites, including NASA’s WIND mission, providing simultaneous measurements from multiple vantage points in space. This allowed researchers to study the rare storm in unprecedented detail. Unraveling the Gannon Storm The Gannon Storm resulted from a series of massive solar eruptions, known ...

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha nominated member Sudha Murty has called on the government to make the national song, ‘Vande Mataram’, mandatory in primary and secondary schools across India. Speaking during the 150th anniversary discussion of the song in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Murty emphasized the historical and cultural significance of the song in India’s freedom struggle. “I stand here not as a parliamentarian, social worker, or writer, but as a daughter of Mother India,” she said. Murty recalled how, during British rule, the song served as a symbol of resistance and hope, likening its impact to the “lava of a volcano.” She urged the Ministry of Education to ensure that schoolchildren learn and sing the song, warning that without formal teaching, future generations might forget the full l...