Bengal
With just a day left for the opening of the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair, the Boimela prangon in saltlake awaits to attract crowd from all across the globe. The usual winter afternoon calm is broken by the sound of hammering, and the smell of fresh paint as workers are determined to complete the preparations on time.
The Supreme Court on Monday (January 19, 2026) criticised the Election Commission for the “stress and strain” caused, through its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, to the ordinary people of the State of West Bengal, where 1.36 crore people, almost 20% of the population, have received notices from the poll body to explain “logical discrepancies” in their names and family backgrounds
Ruling dispensation Trinamool Congress and principal Opposition outfit BJP are shouting of reaping political advantage before Assembly election even though dust is yet to settle on a Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid at two offices of I-PAC in Kolkata recently. With chief minister and TMC supremo, Mamata Banerjee storming into the office of I-PAC, her party’s political consultant and emerging with a green file and a lap top stated to be containing TMC poll game plan, senior TMC leaders are claiming political advantage while her action is being looked upon as an instance of obstructing governmental investigation by the saffron camp.
The atmosphere was truly electrifying. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, set the ball rolling for the 26th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) at the famous Netaji Indoor Stadium. Often referred to as India’s oldest film festival and the cradle of avant-garde cinema, KIF continues to be the confluence of art and heartfelt emotion, which was evidently the mainstay this time too. The festival took the form of a homage to Bengal’s film past while being profoundly receptive to future cinematic voices.
The 2025 edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), starting November 6, will open with the eternal Uttam Kumar–Suchitra Sen romantic classic Saptapadi (1961), minister Aroop Biswas announced at a press conference on Tuesday at Rabindra Sadan. Marking 50 glorious years of Sholay, director Ramesh Sippy will be in Kolkata to deliver this year’s Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture, one of KIFF’s most-awaited and prestigious sessions.
In a recent development, Akhtar Ali, the former deputy superintendent of the state-run RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata and a key whistleblower in the financial irregularities case at the medical institute in the state, tendered his resignation on Monday.
The recent observation by West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose *”I can’t say Bengal is safe for women”* has raised a storm of concern and debate across the state. His statement, made in reply to journalists, has thrown open new debates on women’s safety, governance, and ground reality for women across rural and urban Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sought compensations and further financial support at the Centre to reconstruct flood-affected North Bengal on charges that both Bhutan and the Centre have failed to address the crisis that has killed at least 32 people and displaced thousands of others.
The rolling tea gardens of North Bengal normally a vision of serenity with mist swirling over green slopes now speak of desperation today. Flash floods have devastated this peaceful landscape within days, leaving it a vision of ruin behind them, with shattered bushes, flooded roads, and thousands of nervous workers speculating what the morning would bring.
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