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A government resolution (GR) issued by the Marathi Language Department on Thursday stated that the move aims to promote awareness, preservation, and scholarly engagement with Marathi's rich linguistic and literary heritage, which spans over 2,500 years. The decision to celebrate the day and week annually stems from a Union Cabinet resolution passed on October 3, 2024, granting Marathi the status of a classical language. As per the GR, all government and semi-government offices, public sector undertakings, universities, schools, colleges, private enterprises, and financial institutions have been instructed to organize programmes related to popularisation and preservation of the language during the designated week. These events will include lectures, seminars, exhibitions of ancient texts and inscriptions, quizzes, essay competitions, and other academic and cultural activities focusing on classical Marathi. "Exhibitions of rare manuscripts and ancient copperplate inscriptions will help students and the general public connect with the classical tradition of Marathi," the GR noted. Digitisation of ancient works, translation of classical texts into modern Marathi, and screenings of documentaries on preservation methods have also been recommended. Collectors have been designated as heads of the Marathi Language Committees in their respective districts and asked to oversee the planning and execution of events. They are required to submit detailed reports of activities conducted during the week to the Directorate of Languages by October 31, said the government order. The expenditure for these celebrations is to be met through regular budgetary allocations of the concerned departments and offices, it added. Last year, the Centre approved conferring the status of classical language on Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages. Their inclusion as classical language will create significant employment opportunities, particularly in academic and research fields. Additionally, the preservation, documentation, and digitization of ancient texts of these languages will generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing, and digital media, it had said. After a language is notified as a classical language, the Union Education Ministry provides certain benefits for its promotion, which include two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in the said languages.
Mumbai: The birth of three penguin chicks at Mumbai's Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo has sparked an unexpected row not over their care, but their names. BJP functionary Nitin Bankar from the Byculla Assembly constituency has objected to the chicks being given English names, insisting they be named in Marathi instead. The BMC is expected to respond by June 10, after which Bankar will decide his next move. Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Bankar said, "When penguins were brought from abroad, we accepted that their names would be in English. But these chicks were born on the soil of M ...Read More >
Mumbai: A day after leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged "match fixing" between BJP and ECI, state Congress chief Harshawardhan Sapkal on Sunday demanded narco tests on chief electoral officer (CEO) S Chockalingam and then additional CEO Kiran Kulkarni to expose the truth in Maharashtra's "vote theft" in the 2024 assembly election.Sapkal said it is BJP and CM Devendra Fadnavis who have jumped in with rebuttals, instead of the election watchdog. Fadnavis had on Saturday called Rahul's allegations an outright lie and in an article published in a national newspaper and a ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Axiom-4 crew members, including Shubhanshu Shukla, were welcomed with hugs and drinks as they stepped into the International Space Station on Thursday. The newly launched spacecraft -- the fifth in the Dragon series and named Grace -- successfully completed a soft docking with the International Space Station at 4.01pm while orbiting above the North Atlantic Ocean."At 6:31 am EDT (4:01 IST) on Thursday, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station for the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4," the National Aeronautics ...Read More >
Mumbai: NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar on Friday threw his weight behind Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray in their protest against the Maharashtra government's controversial move to make Hindi a compulsory third language for students in Classes 1 to 5. Pawar said the people of Maharashtra are not anti-Hindi, but stated that forcing the language on young children is inappropriate and undermines the importance of the mother tongue. Speaking to reporters, Pawar said, "At the primary level, the mother tongue is critical for a child's development. Making Hindi mandatory from Cl ...Read More >
Guwahati, June 27 (UNI) The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has successfully capped a high-risk gas well blowout at its RDS 147A site in Sivasagar district, Assam, bringing an end to a 15-day-long emergency operation that triggered mass evacuation and widespread public anxiety. The gas well blowout, which began on June 12, involved an uncontrolled release of natural gas from one of ONGC's drilling sites -- a situation often considered one of the most hazardous in the oil and gas industry due to the risk of explosion and environmental damage. The blowout was finally brought under contr ...Read More >
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 27 (ANI): A female student was allegedly gang-raped inside a law college in Kolkata's Kasba on Wednesday evening. The police have arrested all three accused within 24 hours. The three accused, named as Monojit Mishra (31), Zaib Ahmed (19), and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20), were former students or staff members of the same law college. Also Read | Student Gang-Raped at South Kolkata Law College: Police Arrest 3 Youths for Sexually Assaulting Young Woman Inside Law College. According to the police, the accused named in the FIR will be produced before the A.C.J. ...Read More >
Kolkata gangrape: Manojit Mishra, a student leader of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP)- student wing of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC)- who has been arrested for the alleged gangrape of a law student at the Kasba Law College in Kolkata on Friday, allegedly proposed to marry the rape survivor and asked her to prove her "loyalty' to him. As per the complaint filed by the victim, Manojit Mishra, a former student at Kasba Law College, who is currently the general secretary of the TMCP, allegedly tried to pressure her in to marriage, and asked her to prove her 'loyalty ...Read More >
New Delhi/Hyderabad, Dec 18 (UNI) Union Minister and Telangana BJP President G Kishan Reddy emphasised the Modi government's commitment to preserving and promoting India's regional languages. Addressing the media in New Delhi on Wednesday, Reddy highlighted various initiatives undertaken by the central government to strengthen India's linguistic diversity. Reddy noted that India is unparalleled in its cultural and linguistic diversity, with 121 languages spoken across the country. "Our Constitution initially recognised 14 official languages, but this number has increased to 21 under Prime M ...Read More >
Itanagar, Jun 7 (PTI) The flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh improved on Saturday with water levels of most rivers receding, even as 33,000 people in 24 districts remained affected, officials said. Twelve people lost their lives and one person went missing in rain-related incidents, including landslides, after the monsoon set in, they said. In its daily report, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said 33,200 people in 215 villages remained affected due to floods and landslides in the state. The water levels of most major rivers and their tributaries were showing a receding trend o ...Read More >
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charged five individuals, including goldy Brar, in relation to the 2024 Gurugram club bombing plot, as revealed in a recently filed chargesheet. This case involves a conspiracy to bomb two clubs, aiming to disrupt communal harmony in Haryana, with the banned terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) implicated. The NIA's investigation highlights the severity of the plot. Those charged include satinderjit Singh (Goldy Brar), Sachin Talian, Ankit, Bhavish, and Randeep Singh. News Directory 3 provides crucial updates on sensitive cases such ...Read More >
Ludhiana, Jun 8 (PTI) Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday asserted that his party will win the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll, scheduled to be held on june 19, with a "record margin". "Congress practically has no competition here", he claimed. Warring, who is also the Ludhiana MP, said that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was badly mistaken that the Congress would allow it to abuse power and misuse the official machinery for the elections. "First of all, we will not let any misuse of the official machinery and second, in case any official is found to be misusing ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jun 27 (PTI) Estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will unite for the cause of the Marathi language, in a joint morcha in Mumbai on July 5 against the "imposition" of Hindi and the state government's three-language formula for Classes 1 to 5. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Friday said it will support the protest march, with Pawar asserting that the people of Maharashtra are not anti-Hindi, but it is not right to impose the language on young students. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray will be seen together at the ...Read More >
Union Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the third edition of Nayi Chetna - Pahal Badlaav Ki, a national campaign against gender-based violence, at Rang Bhawan Auditorium, New Delhi yesterday. Delivering his address, Shri Chouhan stated that the Government has taken a slew of initiatives for women's economic and social development. He stressed that gender-based violence is not an issue that persists in rural areas, but in urban areas as well. He said with the presence of Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smt. Annpurn ...Read More >
New Delhi: In a daring move, following the language feud in Bengaluru, a tech founder, Kaushik Mukherjee, posted on X that he has decided to wind up his office in Bangalore and will be moving to Pune soon, with the reason stated as "language nonsense" by the founder. This decision comes amid growing tensions between Kannada speaking and non-Kannada speaking people in the state of Karnataka. Kaushik claims he does not want his non-Kannada speaking staff to be the next 'victim' and the idea, as he stated, was proposed by the staff and that he has decided to accept the idea. His post has garnere ...Read More >
Kolhapur, June 27: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday said that the people of Maharashtra are not anti-Hindi, but it is not right to impose the language on young students in Class 1-4. Speaking to reporters here, he said 55 per cent of the country's population speaks Hindi, and one cannot ignore it. A language row erupted in Maharashtra after the state government last week issued an amended order stating Hindi will "generally" be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools from Classes 1 to 5. Three-Language Policy Debate: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadna ...Read More >
Guwahati, June 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) In a significant move to boost infrastructure and community development, the Assam State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday approved key decisions under Mission Basundhara 3.0 and amended governance rules for autonomous councils and panchayats. The Chief Minister said: "The Cabinet cleared the allotment of government land for 942 infrastructure projects across 11 districts, including Kamrup, Barpeta, and Dhemaji. Barpeta leads with 170 proposals, followed by Dhemaji (207) and Lakhimpur (175)." CM Sarma told reporters here: "Add ...Read More >
The books for class 9-12 will be available from 2026-27. New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reduced the prices of books for classes 9 to 12 by 20 per cent. The decision was announced by NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani during an event held in the national capital on Monday. The reduction in the prices of books will be effective from the upcoming academic year. News agency PTI quoted the minister as saying that while the textbooks for classes 9- ...Read More >
MNS chief Raj Thackeray has called for a significant protest march on July 5 at Girgaon Chowpatty in Mumbai against the "imposition of Hindi." Thackeray emphasized that the march will showcase Marathi unity, cultural pride, and will exclude political flags, focusing solely on the Marathi agenda. The protest comes amid debates over making Hindi compulsory in Maharashtra schools.Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has called for a large-scale protest march on July 5 at Girgaon Chow ...Read More >
New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday announced a significant update in its approach to conducting the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students for the year 2025. The UGC has invited public feedback on the revised methodology aiming to refine the examination process for a better and more efficient testing environment for candidates. Since its inception in 1956 under the UGC Act, UGC has been pivotal in setting and maintaining the standards for higher education, coordinating with universities, and providing fina ...Read More >
CHENNAI: National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday postponed the UGC-NET December 2024 Exam scheduled on 15th January 2025 after receiving representations to postpone the UGC NET December 2024 examination on account of Pongal, Makar Sankranti and other festivals on 15th January 2025. The New date of exam will announce later, as per reports. Examination scheduled on 16th January 2025 will be conducted as per earlier schedule. Earlier, Chief Minister Stalin has urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to reschedule the upcoming UGC-NET exams, which are set to be conducted by the Nation ...Read More >
Kolkata: On the 13th day of teachers' protest outside Bikash Bhavan, the protesting teachers split among themselves and formed a new platform. At least 2,500 protesters stood by the chief minister, as stated in a press conference by education minister Bratya Basu on Monday. Reacting to a question from media, Basu said in Titagarh, "I will trust those who have written to me expressing their faith in the chief minister."The new organisation formed was named the West Bengal Untainted Teachers Associ ...Read More >
Patiala: Union minister for agriculture and farmers' welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Rajpura in Patiala district on Thursday as part of an ongoing initiative, Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan (VKSA), which is aimed at transforming Indian agriculture through direct farmer engagement and sustainable practices.At a 'Kisan Chaupal' in Gandia Kheri village, Chouhan emphasised on govt's commitment to formulating agricultural policies based on direct interactions with farmers rather than relying solely on bureaucratic inputs. " If scientists go to the ground, they'll know about the problem of farm ...Read More >
Silchar: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited the flood-ravaged districts of Hailakandi and Sribhumi in the Barak Valley. He assured affected residents of providing timely disbursement of rehabilitation grants and swift repair of damaged infrastructure.This marks Sarma's second visit to the flood-hit region within four days, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Speaking to the media in Sribhumi after inspecting multiple relief camps, the CM said, "Flood-related problems may persist till July. I will return before Durga Puja to ensure that roads and infrastructure ar ...Read More >
Gurgaon: Two days after a law student died and his friend suffered critical injuries when a car knocked them down as they stood near railing on the service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway in the early hours of Tuesday, a civil engineer was arrested on Thursday.Mohit (31), an employee of a private company in the city, told police that he got drowsy while driving. He is staying at a PG facility in Sector 14.The student who died, Harsh Singhal (25), was a resident of Om Nagar colony. His friend Abhishek Kumar (23), who is from Shanti Nagar in Sector 11, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital ...Read More >
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New Delhi: Actor Kamal Haasan has shared his response to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) after the film union body decided to ban the release of his film 'Thug Life' in Karnataka amid the ongoing controversy around his "Kannada is born out of Tamil' remark. In a letter addressed to the President of KFC, Kamal Haasan said that his statement about the Kannada language at his film 'Thug Life' audio launch in Chennai has been "misunderstood" as he claims to have spoken it "out of genuine affection" for legendary Dr Rajkumar's family in Karnataka. "I acknowledge your letter dated 30 ...Read More >
Thrissur(Kerala), Jun 7 (PTI) Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Saturday visited Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko and his mother who were admitted to a private hospital here after sustaining injuries in a car accident a day ago near Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, in which the actor's father died. The Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Tourism told reporters that Chacko has a fracture in his left arm that requires surgery and his mother has a minor crack on her hip. He said that the actor has decided to undergo the surgery after the funeral of his father which is likely to be held ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday announced an ambitious plan of planting 7.5 crore saplings across the state within a year. Speaking at the state-level celebration of World Environment Day at the OUAT Agriculture Education Hall in city, the CM emphasised the importance of public awareness and collective responsibility in protecting nature and ending plastic pollution. "A healthy environment is essential for a healthy society," he said.Addressing the rising threat of single-use plastic, the CM urged citizens to support a mass movement to eliminate plastic from daily li ...Read More >
New Delhi, June 6 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said India can attain a distinguished and respected position in the world only by empowering and promoting its local languages. "Every language of the country is completely connected with other languages and development of all languages is not possible without each other," the Home Minister said after launching the Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag (Indian Languages Section) here. He further said, "Indian languages are the soul of our culture and our culture is the soul of India", an official statement said. He said, under the leadershi ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jun 8 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday said his party is ready to come together with anyone who will work to protect the interests of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos, his statement coming amid the rapprochement buzz between the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Talking to reporters here, Thackeray accused the BJP of "swallowing" Mumbai and Maharashtra. He said injustice is being meted out to Maharashtra by the BJP. "We have been saying this consistently. We are ready to work with anyone, any party that is ready to ...Read More >
Mumbai, June 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) As estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray unite in opposing what they call the "imposition" of Hindi in Maharashtra's school curriculum, the Shiv Sena and BJP on Friday hit back, accusing them of indulging in political theatrics ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. Speaking to IANS, Shiv Sena leader Yogesh Kadam dismissed the opposition as mere political posturing. "This is just politics. Marathi is and should be known to everyone in Maharashtra. We have made Marathi compulsory in all schools, but we have not ...Read More >