MY COUNTRY - MY FAITH

Makar Sankranti is India’s major festival. This day, sun moves from Tropic of Capricorn(Dakhshinayan) to Tropic of Cancer(Uttarayana). Makar Sankranti is celebrated in different states of nation with different names. In Tamil Nadu it is called Pongal. In Assam it is celebrated as Magh Bihu and Bhogal Bihu. In states of Punjab and Haryana it is celebrated as Lohri festival. In Uttar Pradesh it is celebrated as Khichdi or Donation festival. In Bihar it is known as Til  Sankranti or Khichdi festival. Outside India, the festival is given due importance in the countries like Nepal where it is celebrated as Maghe Sakrati or Maghi, in Thailand where it is named as Songkran and in Myanmar where it is called Thingyan. The festival of Makar Sankranti marks the day when the sun begins its northward journey and enters the sign of Makar (the Capricorn) from the Tropic of Cancer. It is like the movement of sun from Dakshinayana (south) to Uttarayana (north) hemisphere. It is the one of the f...

In the second clash in three days between soldiers from the nuclear-armed rivals, an Indian patrol found Pakistani troops about half a mile inside Indian territory, an army spokesman said. A firefight broke out and two Indian soldiers were killed. Indian army sources claimed that one of the soldiers was decapitated and his head taken away by retreating Pakistani troops. His body was found "badly mutilated" in a forested area of the Himalayan territory, said Rajesh K. Kalia, a spokesman for the Indian army's Northern Command. "We can confirm that one of the Indian soldiers was beheaded by the Pakistani army in Kashmir," the spokesman J Dahiya told AFP. "It was a dastardly act as they have taken away the head," he added. Military sources had earlier indicated that the soldier had been decapitated but Dahiya said he was only able to confirm the beheading on Wednesday afternoon after the victim's next of kin had been informed. A...