Culture

Language as Unifying Force: Sitaram Yechury

“Here I am, born in Tamilnadu, mother tongue Telugu, settled in Hindi-speaking Delhi, representing the people of West Bengal in Parliament and addressing the august gathering here of Tamil speaking people from all over the world. This is India,” said Sitaram Yechury, in 2010, the erstwhile general secretary of the CPI (M) whose demise after a prolonged lung infection on September 12 this year, has drawn forth an outpouring of shared memories

Hindu-Muslim Unity: The other side of Kanwar Yatra

Muslim Artists and Hindu Kanvarias in Haridwar have long shown the spirit of brotherhood amidst the religious polarisation

Urdu signboard reinstated at Varanasi City Railway Station after intervention from the civil society members

In the memorandum submitted to the superintendent of the Varanasi City Railway Station, the civil society group had questioned the railways for failing to reinstate Urdu board and demanded its reinstallation

Rich Heritage but Poor Plight of Bishnupur’s Baluchari Silk Artisans

Most cooperatives set up during Left rule have closed. At present, about 15,000 people are involved in Baluchari saree-making, a majority whom work as daily wage labourers, as they do not own looms.

Bridging Faiths, Uniting Hearts: Innovating Interfaith Dialogue on Campus

An Inspiring Journey with Hindu Muslim Harmony Fellows Sharing Stories of Fostering Peace and Understanding

Mira Road: Mosque clerics welcome people from across religion and caste to Jama Masjid Al Shams this Ramzan

Muzaffar Hussain, a former legislator and managing trustee of the mosque extended the invitation for all, to unite people of different religions on one platform and tear down barriers between communities

Sufidar Trust, Walajah Big Mosque: The 4 decades long tradition of Hindus serving Iftar meals to Muslims during Ramzan

As a testament of the philosophy of religious unity, a temple honouring the teachings of Sufi saint Shahenshah Baba Nebhraj Sahib by preparing Iftar meals for 1200 Muslims

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to Malerkotla in Punjab, spontaneous community initiatives celebrate harmony & syncretism

Examples of interfaith solidarity and harmony arise from Kerala to Punjab as collective efforts by communities on-ground spread love in an era which has witnessed perpetrated hatred.

Incidents of everyday harmony from Punjab to Lakshadweep Islands

 India’s diverse communities and their aspirations for a diverse and harmonious society is revealed in the multiple events of interfaith harmony organised by citizens from West Bengal to Punjab, and from Lakshadweep to Tamil Nadu.

The sound of music

This was an exclusive in depth interview done in 2008, 16 years ago with the indomitable Ameen Sayani who passed on February 20,2024 at the ripe old age of 91. Teesta Setalvad speaks to Ameen Sayani about the 4 decades old journey in politics, music and life with nuggets of India’s freedom struggle in which Sayani’s mother was a close associate of Gandhiji. A product of the New Era school Mumbai, Sayani’s is a tale more precious in the re-telling

Light a Lamp to rescue Plural India: An Urdu Story, “Diya Baati Ki Bela”, by Zakiya Mashhadi

The author has not been awarded the Urdu Sahitya Academy’s award, possibly because the story harks back to a reality that rulers want Indians to obliterate, and forget

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