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March 23 is a milestone in the history of India’s Independence struggle. It was on this day, in 1919, that Mahatma Gandhi was in Chennai on the invitation of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar. Gandhiji had hitherto been struggling to find a way to counter the draconian and recently enacted Rowlatt Act …

Union Home Minister said the government would move forward to open a corridor to the Sharda Peeth in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) on the lines of the Kartarpur corridor. Key details: The Sharda Peeth, a revered site for the Hindu community. It is located in the Neelum Valley in PoK in the valley of Mount Harmukh. It is a ruined Hindu …

A Sufi Samvad (Sufi Dialogue) programme was launched by a political party as a means of reaching out to the Muslim community. Key details: It is a year-long programme. It will end with a big meeting set to be addressed by Prime Minister of India. The idea of the programme is to go among the Muslim …

Oscar awards were held recently. About the awards: These awards are also known as the Academy Awards. These are given for artistic and technical merit for the American film industry. It is given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony. What is the Academy? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts …

Also known as burnout culture and grind culture, hustle culture refers to the mentality that one must work all day every day in pursuit of their professional goals. Hustle culture is a lifestyle of someone who continues to work and only rests for a short time. This is done because those who run the culture feel that …

This year the month of February was the hottest so far since 1901 in India. According to a study in The Lancet, published in July 2021, with two decades of data (2000-2019), more than five million people died on average each year worldwide because of extreme temperatures. The Sixth Assessment Report …

In the first command appointment for a woman officer in the Indian Air Force, Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected to take over the command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector, the IAF said on Tuesday. Having been commended by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief on two …

Thirteenth-century temple ruins have been recently unearthed amidst a shrub jungle northeast of the Durga temple, atop a hillock in the Pushpagiri Kshetram of Vallur mandal in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district. The hillock, also known as Pushpachala, is famous for the chain of temples. With the river Penna flowing southwest, …

For India it was the hottest month since 1901, recording the highest monthly average maximum (day) temperature (29. 5 degrees Celsius) in 122 years. The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday signalled bitter days ahead with a forecast of hotter than normal summer in many parts of the country during the …

Rock samples dating back 4. 1 billion years and bearing traces of the weather-proof mineral zircon have been found in Telangana’s Chitrial, around 100km north of Hyderabad. It can shed light on geological events from a dark age when the earth was in its infancy. The latest research from a …

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) stumbled upon a 1,300-year-old stupa right in the middle of a mining site in Odisha’s Jajpur district from where Khondalite stones were supplied for the beautification project around the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri. “We have managed to unearth a Buddhist stupa …

Fossils of an extinct species of animal that scientists reported in a sensational discovery from India’s Bhimbetka Rock Shelters in 2021 have been found to be belied hopes. Gregory Retallack, the lead author of the February 2021 paper that reported the discovery, has acknowledged to The New York Times that they are …

The Sansad Ratna Awards were instituted in 2010, inspired by the teachings of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who launched the first edition of the Award function in Chennai. They seek to recognise and felicitate the top-performing MPs on the basis of their work in the apex legislative body. So far, …

February has recorded an unusual surge in temperature. GoI, like everyone else, will be anticipating a torrid summer. Initial forecasts are that peak power demand in April will be 229GW, higher than the June 2022 record of 211GW, and therefore, by the time it’s June this year, demand will be …

India and Pakistan make up one-third of the total number of people globally exposed to glacial lake outburst floods — around three million people in India and around two million people in Pakistan. According to a 2020 study, the number and total area of glacial lakes worldwide have increased by …

Number of pilgrims and tourists in stressed areas must be capped. Globally, this is the accepted norm. The large cracks appearing on the Badrinath highway near subsidence-hit Joshimath pose big questions for the Char Dham Yatra. There are reports that even old cracks along the highway are re-emerging. If true, …

⦁ Mehrauli is the oldest inhabited area of what we call Delhi. ⦁ Little more than an urban village today, Mehrauli has survived and thrived over the years as a spiritual centre, a trading post, a wholesale market and now, as a destination housing multiple high-end boutiques. The seven cities …

The word Lavani comes from ‘lavanya’ or beauty. Lavani is a traditional folk art form in which women dancers wearing nine-yard-long sarees in bright colours, make-up, and ghunghroos perform on dholak beats on a stage before a live audience. As an indigenous art form, Lavani has a history going back …

A tenth century hero stone with ‘Vattezhuthu’ inscriptions on it was found in Thoothai village near Thirupuvanam district. It is three feet in height and 21 inches in width, a stone was found. The relief sculpture on the stone is that of aman, going to war, and he is holding …

Two large earthquakes, one of magnitude 7.8 and closely followed by a magnitude 7.5, hit south-eastern Turkey, claiming at least 17,000 lives and counting, wreaking considerable damage in Turkey as well as Syria. Nearly 200 aftershocks have followed with earthquakes of magnitude 6 being reported in the region three days …