India Archive

A fresh row erupted after National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbook featured a modified version of the iconic “Dancing Girl” of Mohenjo-daro, which is among the most prominently recognised artefacts of the Indus Valley Civilisation. The picture appeared in the first chapter titled “History of Arts” of Madhurima, a recently released arts education textbook for Class 9. The bare torso of the figurine had been covered.

Just days before the high-stakes National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled for 21st June, the Central government took an unprecedented step that immediately sparked nationwide debate. Acting on a direct request from the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Centre temporarily blocked access to the instant messaging platform Telegram across India until 22nd June. This administrative intervention was aimed at preventing coordinated cheating rackets from exploiting the platform to spread fake question papers and scam anxious NEET candidates.

SAHASWAN, BADAUN — On the morning of Tuesday, June 16, 2020, the humid air along the unpaved dirt track leading to Zahidpur Alampur village was shattered by the arrival of a Sahaswan Police patrol. Within minutes, officers intercepted and arrested a local youth named Faizi. This swift arrest was the culmination of a tense, twenty-four-hour standoff that had pushed this historic town in western Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district to the brink of intense communal confrontation.

In early June 2026, a massive controversy erupted over the alleged embezzlement of funds and valuables from the daily chadhava, or donations, at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. While the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the official body that manages the temple, has firmly denied any mismanagement, a growing cloud of suspicion has formed. Over 50 employees linked to the temple management have now come under intense legal and regulatory scrutiny.

What began as a quiet, late-night arrest in the cramped, narrow lanes of Old Bhopal has rapidly snowballed into a massive, multi-state counter-terrorism operation. Security agencies are now tracking leads across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar. Investigators believe they have uncovered a sophisticated radicalization network that operated almost entirely in the digital shadow, guided by suspected handlers based across the border in Pakistan.

A leaked sixteen-second video clip circulating on encrypted messaging networks has exposed a highly coercive syndicate operating in the Sonegaon and Kalmeshwar areas of Nagpur, Maharashtra.

On June 15, 2026, the highest temporal seat of the Sikh faith, the Akal Takht, executed an unprecedented decree that plunged the state of Punjab into a deep constitutional and religious crisis. Standing on the historic faseel (podium) of the Akal Takht in Amritsar, Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj pronounced a devastating spiritual verdict: sitting Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann was officially declared a "Guru Dokhi" (one who disrespects the Guru/Guru betrayer) and "Khalsa Panth Virodhi" (anti-community).

In the congested labyrinth of Musallahpur Haat in Patna, Bihar, the air is thick with the scent of fried street food, vehicular exhaust, and the desperate aspirations of hundreds of thousands of youth. This is the epicentre of India’s parallel education system—a multi-million-pound industry where "star teachers" are worshipped like deities, and competitive exam preparation has been industrialised to an unprecedented degree. Here, young men and women from impoverished agricultural families pack into stifling, poorly ventilated halls, betting their families’ lifelines on securing a government job.

On the 10th of June 2026, a devastating fire tore through a prominent government building located in the Alipore area of West Bengal’s capital, Kolkata. The catastrophic incident resulted in the absolute destruction of over 4,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). These vital devices included the electronic voting units deployed across 10 separate constituencies during the state's recent legislative assembly elections. In the wake of the unusual disaster, state authorities have officially raised strong suspicions of internal sabotage to explain the event.

The marble corridors of the Narnaul Sessions Division in Haryana are designed to project an unshakeable gravity. In these rooms, Ms Harshali Chowdhary, a senior member of the Haryana Superior Judicial Service, presided as an Additional District and Sessions Judge over an Exclusive Court for the Fast Tracking of Cases of Heinous Crimes against Women and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.