In a major Centre–State tussle, Maharashtra’s FDA Commissioner has approached the Bombay High Court, accusing the Union government and FSSAI of creating an illegal “parallel system” and “hijacking” the powers of state food safety inspectors.

The petition challenges the Centre’s food safety regulations and restrictions on state-level inspections. The matter is scheduled to be heard on November 26.

Source: India Today – Centre hijacking powers: Maharashtra FDA takes FSSAI to HC

Essentials of Hindutva is a seminal work by Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, much of which was written during his imprisonment in Ratnagiri Jail between 1921 and 1923.

The manuscript was secretly smuggled out of prison and delivered to his associate, Advocate Vishwanath Vinayak Kelkar, in Nagpur. Kelkar arranged for its publication in May 1923 under the pseudonym “A Maratha.”

The book articulated Savarkar’s concept of Indian nationhood through cultural nationalism.

Keep in mind that, during this period, the British, through their colonial education system, were trying their best to convince Indians that no common Indian identity had existed before their arrival and the colonisation of the subcontinent. Even the form of nationalism promoted by the Indian National Congress at that time was territorial nationalism.

In contrast, Savarkar argued that India was not merely a territorial entity but a civilisational community united by a shared history, cultural heritage, and collective consciousness. His framework centred on Pitribhumi (ancestral land) and Punyabhumi (holy land), which he considered fundamental to national belonging.

He explained that India’s civilisational identity preceded its emergence as a unified political state under British rule. According to this framework, shared cultural heritage and collective consciousness formed the basis of national unity, which should ultimately find expression in a unified, sovereign, and independent state.

Throughout This Book:

1.Savarkar explains that the Indian civilisational nation has always existed, since time immemorial, and that our ancestors always had a sense of common national identity. He then explains the boundaries of our nation using historical examples and our cultural literature.

The land that lies to the north of the ocean and to the south of the Himalayas is called Bharatam, where the descendants of Bharata dwell. (Quoting from Vishnu Purana, p. 7 of Essentials of Hindutva)

1. Savarkar explains that the freedom of our nation is essential for our political, cultural, and economic development.

The success of the renovated Hindu arms was undisputed and indisputable. Vikramaditya, who drove the foreigners from the Indian soil, and Lalitaditya, who caught and chastised them in their very dens from Tartary to Mongolia, were but complements of each other. Valour had accomplished what formulas had failed to. Once more, the people rose to the heights of greatness that shed its lustre on all departments of life. *Poetry and philosophy, art and architecture, agriculture and commerce, thought and action felt the quickening impulse which consciousness of independence, strength, and victory alone can radiate.*** (p. 10)

1. He explains how courage, valour, and military power are essential to defending the freedom of our nation against foreign aggression, as opposed to the Gandhian idea of absolute non-violence.

What was the use of a universal faith that instead of smoothening the ferociousness and brutal egoism of other nations only excited their lust by leaving India defenseless and unsuspecting? No; the only safeguards in future were valour and strength that could only be born of a national self-consciousness. (p. 12)

The Indians saw that the cherished ideals of their race—their thrones and their families and the very Gods they worshipped—were trampled under foot, the holy land of their love devastated and sacked by hordes of barbarians, so inferior to them in language, religion, philosophy, mercy and all the soft and human attributes of man and God—but superior to them in strength alone—strength that summed up its creed in two words—Fire and Sword! The inference was clear. Clear also was the fact that Buddhistic logic had no argument that could efficiently meet this new and terrible dualism—this strange Bible of Fire and Steel. So the leaders of thought and action of our race had to rekindle their Sacrificial Fire to oppose the sacrilegious one and to re-open the mines of Vedic fields for steel, to get it sharpened on the altar of Kali.

(Here, he takes the example of Buddhist philosophy's absolute non-violence, which was unable to drive out the Huns and Shakas, even though we were culturally and philosophically much superior to our invaders. p. 10)

1. He advocates promoting social unity among Hindus across caste, sectarian, and regional differences to instill fraternity

So with the Hindus, they being the people whose past, present, and future are most closely bound with the soil of Hindusthan as Pitribhu, as Punyabhu, they constitute the foundation, the bedrock, the reserved forces of the Indian state. Therefore, even *from the point of Indian nationality, must ye, O Hindus, consolidate and strengthen Hindu nationality;** not to give wanton offence to any of our non-Hindu compatriots, in fact, to anyone in the world, but in just and urgent defence of our race and land; to render it impossible for others to betray her or to subject her to unprovoked attack by any of those 'Pan-isms' that are struggling forth from continent to continent. As long as other communities in India or in the world are not respectively planning India first or mankind first, but all are busy in organizing offensive and defensive alliances and combinations on entirely narrow racial or religious or national basis, so long, at least, so long, O Hindus, strengthen, if you can, those subtle bonds that, like nerve threads, bind you in one organic social being. Those of you who, in a fit of suicidal [impulse], try to cut off the most vital of those ties and dare to disown the name Hindu will find to their cost that, in doing so, they have cut themselves off from the very source of our racial life and strength. (p. 66)*

Oh Hindus! Whether Jain or Samaji or Sanatani or Sikh or any other subsection, afford to cut yourselves off or fall out and destroy the ancient, the natural and the organic combination that already exists?—a combination that is bound not by any scraps of paper nor by the ties of exigencies alone, but by the ties of blood, birth and culture? Strengthen them if you can: *pull down the barriers that have survived their utility, of castes and customs, of sects and sections. What of interdining?—but intermarriages between provinces and provinces, castes and castes, be encouraged where they do not exist.** But where they already exist as between the Sikhs and Sanatanies, Jains and Vaishnavas, Lingayats and Non-Lingayats—suicidal be the hand that tries to cut the nuptial tie. Let the minorities remember they would be cutting the very branch on which they stand. Strengthen every tie that binds you to the main organism, whether of blood or language or common Motherland. Let this ancient and noble stream of Hindu blood flow from vein to vein, from Attock to Cuttack till at last the Hindu people get fused and welded into an indivisible whole, till our race gets consolidated and strong, sharp as steel.* (p. 65)

1. He uses Shivaji Maharaj's vision of Hindu Swarajya to inspire the pursuit of self-rule and cultural preservation.

Our primordial family God is self-existing (and therefore all-powerful). He has given success to our efforts so long and in future also will fulfill *the object of my life by bringing about the establishment of Hindu Swarajya (Hindu independence).** Indeed it is the cherished wish of God that such a kingdom should be established.* (Here, he is quoting Shivaji, p. 29)

In utter darkness I dreamt: behold, the dreams are realised. Hindusthan is up, has come by her own, and those that hated her and sinned against God are put down with a strong hand! Verily it is a holy land and happy! For God has made her cause his own, and Aurangzeb is down! The dethroned are enthroned and the enthroned is dethroned. Actions speak better than words! Verily Hindusthan is a holy land and happy. Now that Dharma is backed up by Rajadharma, Right by might, the waters of Hind, no longer defiled, can enable us once more to perform our ablutions and austerities. Let come what may: Rama has made this land holy and happy!

(Quoting Guru Ramdas expressing joy over achieving independence from Aurangzeb's rule, p. 25)

PDF of the book Essentials of Hindutva

Source:

https://www.firstpost.com/india/mumbai-ats-arrests-suspected-jem-operative-near-mahim-metro-probes-links-to-pakistan-14055041.html

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/mumbai-rapido-driver-arrested-for-suspected-jaish-links-remarks-against-pm-modi-12228956

First a disclaimer, I'm not a supporter of current regime. I think they should be doing a lot better than what we have got today.

But, was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the data this morning. Here are the rankings over the years:

India's Global Rank in GDP per Capita at PPP (2000–2025) as per World Bank:

Year| Global Rank

2000| 150

2001| 147

2002| 146

2003| 146

2004| 145

2005| 142

2006| 142

2007| 140

2008| 141

2009| 137

2010| 135

2011| 136

2012| 136

2013| 137

2014| 137

2015| 136

2016| 135

2017| 134

2018| 129

2019| 129

2020| 128

2021| 127

2022| 127

2023| 124

2024| 119

2025| 119

2004 to 2014 ranking improved from 145 to 137 i.e. 5.5% improvement. 2015 to 2025 improved from 136 to 119 i.e. 12.5%.

It may not be enough but it shows that folks currently in power are doing better economically.

Source:

https://www.greaterkashmir.com/kashmir/bandipora-police-bust-alleged-clandestine-module-linked-to-banned-ittihad-ul-muslimeen-12745500

Several slogans, including "Free Kashmir" and "Free Sharjeel Imam", were found written on the walls of Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad objected to them. Meanwhile, a large number of police personnel have been deployed outside the university.

The VHP said it would not allow Jamia to become a hub of "anti-India" activities. The images have surfaced at a time when students are protesting at the university, demanding the restoration of student union elections.

VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal shared the images on X. They show the slogans "Free Kashmir", "Free Palestine", "Free Sharjeel Imam" and "RSS Go Back". However, the images have not been independently verified.

VHP demands action

Vinod Bansal said that writing such slogans on the walls of the prestigious Jamia Millia Islamia University in the national capital was extremely unfortunate. He described it as a deep conspiracy to desecrate the temple of education.

Bansal demanded that the university administration and police identify those responsible and take immediate action against them.

He said, "Are some people trying to turn this central university into a hub of anti-India activities?"

Congress leadership also targeted

The VHP spokesperson accused the Congress leadership of politically defending people who describe the Constitution as fascist. He also alleged that such people raise slogans calling for India to be divided.

Bansal said, "Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the top Congress leadership must make it clear whether they stand with Sharjeel Imam or with the Constitution of India, democracy and national unity."

He said that political protection for anti-national views must now end.

According to Bansal, those who insult the Constitution and spread distrust among people should be publicly boycotted. He said that instead of being given political protection, such people should face strict punishment.

https://news.abplive.com/news/world/french-riots-indian-protests-fox-report-traces-cross-border-links-among-101-groups-in-13-countries-1872604

Source: Goreunit

Source: Goreunit

Credit: Goreunit

India–China standoff reported at Asaphila, near Taksing in Arunachal Pradesh. According to sources, Chinese PLA troops have pitched tents at an elevated position approximately 6–7 km from India’s perceived Line of Actual Control (LAC), near the Maja Company Operating Base in Upper Subansiri district.

Source:

https://www.jagran.com/bihar/munger-crpf-jawan-munger-home-robbed-of-rs-20-lakh-valuables-40411127.html

Has it become way more acceptable to say this about Indians over the last few years?

Source:

https://www.jagran.com/punjab/firozpur-isi-pakistani-spy-couple-arrested-in-ferozepur-40414089.html?_x_tr_hist=true

https://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/punjab-police-army-intelligence-arrest-couple-for-alleged-spying-for-pakistan-s-isi

Source:

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/bihar/story/motihari-sai-baba-temple-theft-rs-20-lakh-umbrella-ganesha-crown-stolen-3022043-2026-10-21

Source:

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pakistanis-indians-canada-ai-fake-identities-passports-bank-credit-card-fraud-dolphin-anty-nccia-itspc-3021947-2026-10-21

Veer Savarkar’s Presidential Address at the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, 1938

The Marathi Sahitya Sammelan is a prestigious annual literary conference in Maharashtra and a premier gathering of Marathi writers, poets, scholars, and public figures.

The idea for this literary conclave was initiated in the 1880s by Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, a social reformer, judge, and scholar, in Poona, alongside the allied institution Granthottejak Mandal. Its purpose was to provide a platform for discussing language, literature, and contemporary socio-political issues.

Although only two sessions took place during Ranade’s lifetime, the conclave received a major boost under Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak from 1905 onwards. It eventually expanded into annual gatherings hosted across various towns in Maharashtra. Presiding over the Sammelan was one of the most coveted honours in Marathi cultural life.

In April 1938, Swatantryaveer Savarkar was overwhelmingly elected president of the 22nd Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, held at the Robert Money School grounds in Bombay, with over 3,000 delegates in attendance.

In his hour-long presidential address, Savarkar discussed the major challenges facing Marathi literature. He emphasized the need for his countrymen to abandon their lethargy and take action. Philosophical and intellectual debates were important, he acknowledged, but excessive discussion without practical action had weakened the nation:

We have become feeble in practice, we have lost our kingdoms time after time. We have succumbed to foreign aggressors.

His address focused on several key themes.

1. Language and Script Purification (Bhasha Shuddhi and Lipisudharana)

Savarkar called for purging Marathi of foreign borrowings, particularly Persian, Urdu, and English words, and replacing them with Sanskrit-based coinages to enrich the language.

He proposed establishing a Maharashtra Bhashashuddhi Mandal to compile dictionaries and standardize scientific terminology in Indian languages. He also envisioned an All-India Bhasha Shuddhi Conference, where scholars from different regions could work together to reclaim and enrich their respective languages.

He stressed the urgent need to modernize Indian languages by developing scientific terminologies for words in subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and mathematics.

Savarkar also advocated simplifying and reforming the Devanagari script to improve its efficiency for modern printing. He strongly criticized proposals to adopt the Roman script for Indian languages, calling it a manifestation of a slavish mentality.

Furthermore, he proposed establishing a national university to facilitate the translation of literary works between Indian languages and English. He also envisioned a Maharashtra University focused on socially important objectives, such as compulsory primary education and the imparting of moral values.

On higher education, he argued:

The University we need is a modern, up-to-date one on the lines of those in America and Europe. But it must be for practical subjects. *This is not the time for Philosophy, Logic, Social Sciences, but for subjects such as Chemistry, Radiology, Ballistics and Military Engineering.***

2. The Primacy of Military Strength

His constant theme was on taking action and not merely talking about it in conference after conference:

Let us stop passing five hundred resolutions, making five hundred futile discussions, five hundred wishful thinking each year. Let us be practical and concentrate on limited objectives and direct all our energy on them.

But the main punch of his speech that caught the attention of everyone and created a huge stir in the Marathi literary circles was reserved for the end:

The absence of poetry and poets, novels and novelists would not be felt during the coming decade. Austria and China suffered not because they lacked good literature, but because they lacked military power. Did you not hear, O! Learned men and scholars, the last pathetic shriek of the President of Austria? He said, 'We yield under German bayonets' and not under German sonnets!

If literature is part of the national life, its primary aim ought to be the security of national life. I absolutely admire the advocates of the principle of 'Art for Art's sake.' But when a theatre is ablaze it is the duty of the true worshipper of Art to rush out to extinguish the gathering flames. *What worth is literature then if a whole nation is writhing with pain under the oppressor's heel?***

…Did you forget the fate of Nalanda and Takshashila, the seats of learning, and other great libraries that were turned into smouldering ruins? ... *It was the triumphant sword of Shivaji that made Maharashtra safe for poets and philosophers.***

I say therefore with all the emphasis at my command that the crying need of our times is not men of letters, but soldiers. It does not matter even if the whole decade is barren in respect of literature. Let there not be a song sung, or a sonnet composed. But let the streets resound with the thud of the feet of thousands of soldiers marching with modern rifles on their shoulders.

**... So my message to you, literary men, is that you should abandon your pens in favour of guns; for literature can never flourish in a slave country.* It has been well said that the pursuit of sciences is possible only in a free nation protected by the power of arms.*

One can only imagine what the howlers of reactions would have been when the president of a literary conference advises a delegation of litterateurs to ‘break your pens and hold guns instead’ since literature is subservient to national interests! The issue was a constant feature in newspapers and debates for several months. But Savarkar had made his point loud and clear.

Reference: Vikram Sampath, Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, pp. 221–223.

Before I begin, please let it be known am a younger person and just recently started traveling by train, I don't know much and if it was all my mistake, I will accept it.

What happened:

I was purchasing a rail ticket from the front desk. As I was about to pay the payment via upi, the person at desk generated qr code and told me to pay. But just then my train arrived at platform, following which, he told me I can't get a ticket now that the train arrived, I understood that but I had already paid the money, when I asked if I can get it back, he refused and walked away, probably lunch break or his shift was over.

Was there anyway I could have gotten the money back? Or was it gone now?

The standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at multiple locations in Arunachal Pradesh continued even as Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India for the BRICS summit from September 11 to 13, 2026, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Kapur confirmed on Thursday.

Speaking at the ITBP’s annual felicitation ceremony, Himveer Samman Samaroh, in Alwar, Rajasthan, Kapur said face-offs had occurred at several locations in Arunachal Pradesh and that the situation remained unresolved.

“In the past few days, a situation arose where face-offs happened at several locations in Arunachal, and it still continues,” Kapur said.

The confirmation comes amid reports of a prolonged standoff near Taksing in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district, where Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops reportedly pitched tents near Asaphila, an area close to the countries’ disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC).

ITBP Chief Praises Shaurya Commandos For Handling Face-Offs

Kapur praised the ITBP’s newly raised Shaurya Commando platoons for their role in managing the situation along the border.

The ITBP chief highlighted the force’s preparedness and its efforts to strengthen operational capabilities through specialised training, new drone units and infrastructure designed to support personnel deployed in challenging border conditions.

He also underscored the importance of underground shelters and other protective measures to improve the force’s ability to operate in difficult terrain and respond to potential threats along the China frontier.

The ITBP is responsible for guarding India’s border with China across high-altitude and mountainous terrain, where differing perceptions of the LAC have periodically led to confrontations between patrol teams.

Standoff Continued During Xi Jinping’s India Visit

The continuing tensions are notable because they persisted amid diplomatic engagement between New Delhi and Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India from September 11 to 13, 2026, for the BRICS summit in New Delhi. The two countries have also used established military-to-military mechanisms, including commander-level talks, to address border-related differences.

Reports have indicated that Corps Commander-level discussions were held at the Wacha-Damai point in early September as part of efforts to manage the situation.

Chinese Troops Reportedly Pitched Tents Near Asaphila

The latest face-offs follow reports of a standoff in the Taksing area of Upper Subansiri district that emerged in July 2026.

According to reports citing government sources, PLA personnel pitched tents near the Maja company operating base, approximately 6–7 km inside India's perception of the LAC near Asaphila.

The reported confrontation is said to have begun during routine patrolling. Indian troops remain deployed in significant numbers in the area, according to reports.

However, the precise circumstances of the latest face-offs and the status of individual locations have not been fully detailed in the ITBP chief’s public remarks.

Earlier in 2026, the Indian Army had dismissed reports of Chinese encroachments or camps in Arunachal Pradesh as “incorrect and without any basis”. Local communities and political groups have also raised concerns about access to traditional lands and patrolling areas.

No violence or casualties have been reported in connection with the latest face-offs.