Sunderbans National Park – West Bengal Sunderbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering an area of around 1,330 km. This is a must-visit place and should be No 1 destination for ecotourism lovers. Part of West Bengal, the Sunderbans National Park is a large, mostly marshy land and is made up of several rivers, tributaries, water channels, forests and islands that together form a massive estuarine delta. The vast mangroves of Sunderbans are home [...]
Whatever happened on the sets of ‘Padmavati’ cannot be adjudged as an action of incorrigible mavericks. Rather it is seen as the doings of zealots who, in their attempt to prove others wrong, indulged in activity which ultimately became unacceptable to many, including righteous persons of the society. By assaulting the country’s very popular film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, members of Karni Sena, a radical Hindutva group in Rajasthan, may have earned some supports from [...]
The human sex ratio is the number of males for each 100 females in a population. A sex ratio above 100 means there are more males than females; a sex ratio below 100 means there are more females than males; a sex ratio of 100 means there are equal numbers of females and males in the country. The sex ratio in India as per a study conducted in 2015 by the UN is 106.98, which [...]
Rise of vigilantism was on the expected lines when the Supreme Court in its recent order directed movie theatres across the country to play the national anthem before the start of a film. The apex court, in its controversial order, made it mandatory for all movie goers to stand as a mark of respect when national anthem would be played in halls. While passing the directive it appears that the apex court has forgotten that [...]
On November 9, 2016, Prime Minister Modi created history by banning Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations with the objective to crackdown on rampant corruption and counterfeit currency, and also bring in billions of dollars worth of black market money into the mainstream economy. The majority of Indians, the common man, have borne the brunt of it, standing in long queues in front of banks and ATMs, to withdraw measly amounts of cash for daily [...]
The Patna-Indore Express derailment brings in a reality check for the safety status of Indian Railways. Fourteen carriages of the Indore-Patna Express, travelling with more than 500 passengers, derailed just after 03:00 am local time on Sunday, 60 km from Kanpur, causing the death of 133 passengers. Being the early morning hours, most of the passengers were sleeping and were caught unawares. Witnesses say that they were woken up with a jolt as they heard [...]
India is in the news for the wrong reason this time. According to a recent study by scholars from Carnegie Mellon University and Indraprastha Institute of Information, Delhi, India has had the most number of deaths over the last two years, than any other country in the world, because of selfies being taken at odd times, in precarious positions. Using special search techniques to trawl the internet and social media, the researchers identified 127 confirmed [...]
India is looking to ride the wave of development and aiming to do so at a breakneck speed. One major part of such development is expanding the cities. On the flipside, one also needs to consider the fact that India, perhaps, has the largest amount of people in the world who live in urban areas and yet do not have access to private – and thus, safe – toilets. This has happened in spite of [...]
With the recent ban on Jallikattu, a traditional bull-vaulting event of Tamil Nadu, the focus has been driven towards many other such practices across the country. Though these practices carry religious meaning with them and have been a part of the culture for ages now, but the main question that lies here is that whether such treatment and involvement of animals in these practices is ethical. It also raises eyebrows over the sheer necessity of [...]
India has a rich history that belongs to both the victor and the vanquished. The various monuments spread out across the length and breadth of the nation are architectural testimonies to its diverse cultural history – a heritage that speaks of our glorious past. Thus, there is no doubt that preservation, conservation and restoration of the heritage buildings in India is of utmost importance. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), founded by Sir Alexander Cunnigham [...]
