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Wednesday, April 30, 2025
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ThePrint Profile

Manoj Kumar gave India its most beloved Bharat. Then came Kalyug and silence

Manoj Kumar, who died at the age of 87 on April 3, never left behind a tell-all about his career. He internalised the values of his sanskari Bharat.

Shivaji has been promoted from Maratha pride to Hindutva hero. His legacy keeps evolving

Like other monarchs of his time, Shivaji needed divine sanction but he didn’t hesitate to break religious rules.

From Ayub Khan to Zia-ul-Haq—Pakistani poet Habib Jalib wasn’t silenced by dictators

Over 30 years after Habib Jalib’s death, 'Dastoor' remains a protest anthem. In 2019, it resurfaced during anti-CAA agitations in New Delhi, echoing its 1962 defiance against Pakistan’s regime.

Was Ram Manohar Lohia a Hindi chauvinist or bilingual visionary? The language war rages on

Ram Manohar Lohia launched the ‘Angrezī Hatao’ movement in 1957. He wanted Hindi to be the language of the Union government.

Khushwant Singh was called ‘dirty old man’ & sent hate mail. It didn’t stop him from writing

'Khushwant Singh was courageous to have written Train to Pakistan, which puts it all in front of us—the divisions, the difficulties,' said Kishwar Desai, chairperson of Partition Museum.

K Asif made Mughal-e-Azam against all odds—15 years, drained fortunes, no compromises

K Asif died at 49 on 9 March 1971 before he could complete his final project, Love and God. Only three of his films saw the light of day, but that was all it took to make him a legend.

Ameen Sayani was the town crier for millions. He took Bollywood music to rural India

For millions of Indians, Sayani was the voice of Bollywood and the popular show, ‘Binaca Geetmala’. His trademark greeting, ‘behno aur bhaiyo’ quickly became iconic.

Raj Bisaria saw theatre as a discipline, not a stepping stone to Bollywood

Raj Bisaria’s theatre was never about spectacle alone—it was about provocation. He gave his actors the illusion of creative freedom while subtly guiding them toward his vision.

Imtiaz Qureshi was India’s original celebrity chef. Revived dum pukht, rebranded biryani

Awadhi cuisine maestro Imtiaz Qureshi, the force behind ITC’s Bukhara and Dum Pukht, died on 16 February last year but he’s still ‘Ustad’ to his many admirers in the culinary world.

Malayali artist A Ramachandran saw poverty for the first time in Kolkata. It changed his art

A. Ramachandran's early works reflected engagement with urban anxiety and socio-political unrest. He later realised that art transcends social commentary.

On Camera

Dhaka walls have Islamist Hizbut Tahrir posters. They are asking the military to take over

Hizbut Tahrir believes in a state where non-Muslims do not have voting rights but they can make “complaints in respect to unjust acts performed by the rulers or the misapplication of Islam upon them”.

Hints of thaw in US-China tariff war—as Trump says duties to ‘come down’, China open to talks

Trump has expressed optimism about reaching a tariff agreement ‘pretty quickly’, while Xi said that tariff & trade wars undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries.

Ultra & Alpine Quest—technologies that keep Pakistani terrorists, especially LeT, going in J&K

The first recovery of ‘Ultra’ sets happened in 2023 in the Jammu region and not Kashmir.

Pakistan ISI is killing Hindus for 45 years. To turn India into a nation at war with itself

At some point, Pakistan’s calculation has been, Hindus will rise in reprisal against their own minorities. That’s a crisis ISI has been conjuring up in India. A nation at war with itself.