Why do Indian films turn encounter specialists into heroes?

Patna outranks Paris: Bihar Museum in Patna has been ranked ninth among the world's 100 best museums in 2026 by German travel guide Worth a Journey, making it Asia's highest-ranked museum. The ranking places Bihar Museum ahead of the Louvre in Paris and highlights India's growing presence on the global cultural map.

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Caste Discrimination: Caste does not stop at India’s borders. Through the experiences of the Indian diaspora in Germany, this essay examines how caste hierarchies shape social belonging, access to international education and migration and everyday interactions—even in communities thousands of miles from home.

Sanchali Sarkar

Jafar Panahi: Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, winner of the 2025 Cannes Palme d’Or, has been sentenced to five years and one month in prison by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. With his assets ordered to be confiscated and restrictions imposed on his travel and social media use, the latest ruling raises fresh questions about artistic freedom and the suppression of dissent in Iran.

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SRFTI Student Protest: A month into the agitation, students allege that instead of addressing their demands, the administration is taking action against them. They claim that show-cause notices, expulsions and FIRs are being used in an attempt to suppress the movement.

Sangita Ghorai

Durga Puja in Bangladesh: The five-day festivities passed under tight security, with reports of interfaith cooperation offering glimpses of communal harmony. Yet, allegations of pre-festival attacks, concerns over minority safety and demands for justice raise a larger question: how peaceful was the celebration, and what happens when it ends?

Maruf Islam

Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night: For generations, the swirling stars and restless blue sky of a celebrated masterpiece have blurred the line between reality and imagination. Now, a study published in Scientific Reports challenges an established theory about the painting’s celestial inspiration. Researchers suggest that its five central stars resemble the Hyades cluster in Taurus, possibly reflecting the dawn sky of July 22, 1889.

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Romila Thapar, Hindutva Ideology: At the second Sitaram Yechury Memorial Lecture, 96-year-old historian Romila Thapar demonstrated how Hindutva historiography inherits colonial myths. From James Mill’s periodisation of Indian history and the ‘Aryan’ theory to the historical context of the Battle of Haldighat and ancient India’s own traditions of historical writing, her lecture examined these contested narratives through historical evidence.

Atri Bhattacharya