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Essential HuffPost
In what can be termed as the strongest message from the government on the 'growing intolerance' debate yet, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in a series of tweets, assured the nation that anyone who tried to disturb the communal harmony in the country, "would not be spared".
Sandip Roy says that there is a deeper issue with the statement, of Modi being a Hindu ruler in India after 800 years, incorrectly attributed to Rajnath Singh. "While the media’s mess-up is egregious, what should give the BJP pause is that it was so easy for lawmakers, not just “presstitutes” to believe that a Rajnath Singh could have made the statement. It was easy because the party has sold Modi not just as the personification of a Gujarati asmita but also Hindu pride."
A website that claimed to facilitate 'slapping' Aamir Khan now claims that it was all a giant irony and they now have a 'kiss Aamir Khan' version.
Here are seven things the frank Anushka Sharma said in an interview with Anupama Chopra, which were particularly eye-opening, and that quite a few of her contemporaries (and seniors) could benefit from.
Main News
Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg and his wife said on Tuesday they will give away 99 per cent of their Facebook shares, currently worth about $45 billion, to a new charity, in a letter addressed to their daughter, Max, who was born last week.
A temple town in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, is tense after a video emerged of guards drinking liquor in the Shani temple premises. This temple sparked a furore recently after a woman entered the sanctum sanctorum and ritually worshipped the idol.
Contradicting Essar group's position in the courts, of not using bribes and favours to influence power, the Indian Express has unearthed a secret PowerPoint presentation that speaks of "...Keeping jobs aside for VIP families, taking care of the needs of bureaucrats and politicians on trips abroad, paying for treatment of VIPs and identifying rising stars who are likely to occupy “positions of eminence” in the country.
Off The Front Page
Azam Khan, the UP minister for urban development, has kicked up a storm after he was quoted saying "many RSS leaders are unmarried because they are homosexuals". Khan made the remarks after being told of Union finance minister Arun Jaitley's comment that the 2014 judgement on gay sex should be 'reconsidered' by the Supreme Court.
To scare away wild boars, which have been declared as agricultural 'pests,' farmers in Nainital have put up loudspeakers that play the latest songs of Yo Yo Honey Singh and other Punjabi singers, at full blast.
Opinion
KP Nayar elucidates why Nawaz Sharif decided to meet PM Modi on the sideline of the Paris climate summit. "Modi decided to reach out to Sharif in Paris because he believes that further diplomatic successes by Pakistan in other capitals - which affect Indian interests in Kashmir - can only be prevented if the international community takes note that the two countries are engaged in a dialogue."
Brinda Karat assails Rajnath Singh's recent address in Parliament, to commemorate Ambedkar. "He was there to pay tribute to Ambedkar, but his words ended up paying tribute not to the Constitution or its founders, but to what his parent organisation (RSS) wished for India."
Nandita Murukutia says that to challenge industrial pollution, a leaf ought to be taken out from the strategy book used to counter tobacco lobbies. "The big polluters’ playbook is familiar with health advocates, even if the policy issues and interventions to curb air pollution are different. This points us towards potential solutions. By exposing industry tactics, spreading the truth about tobacco harm, creating social movements, and successfully litigating against industry violations and interference, tobacco control has advanced in even the most unlikely countries."
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