India has approved construction of a fourth railway line through the strategically important “Chicken’s Neck,” or Siliguri Corridor, according to Northeast Frontier Railway General Manager Chetan Kumar Srivastava. The announcement was made at a press conference reported on August 20, 2026. The Malda–New Jalpaiguri route was described as a crucial rail corridor linking India’s northeast with the rest of the country.

Srivastava said approval for the fourth line follows an earlier proposal for a third line, reflecting the corridor’s strategic importance. He also highlighted a proposed double-line underground railway project of about 29 kilometres from Tinmai Ghat to Bagdogra as an important infrastructure initiative.

The Chicken’s Neck is described as a 20–22 kilometre-wide and 60-kilometre-long stretch in northern West Bengal on which transport to the entire northeast depends. Track doubling is under way in the Barsoi section, while rail infrastructure is being expanded across the Katihar division to handle rising passenger and freight demand. Plans also include local trains from Jogbani, Radhikapur and Balurghat, and Vande Bharat services to Tinsukia and Agartala. NFR said its network is fully electrified.

Authorities in Siddharthnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, demolished more than half of the 59-year-old Arabia Zia-ul-Uloom Madrasa in Pipra Ramlal village on Tuesday. Seven rooms, a shop and half of a hall at the roughly 14,000-square-foot institution were razed. The administration said part of the madrasa had been built on encroached government land and that the operation followed a court order.

Five village residents filed a 2022 petition seeking removal of alleged encroachment. A tehsildar court ordered eviction in 2023, and madrasa caretaker Abdul Salam challenged that ruling before the district magistrate. On August 14, 2026, the district magistrate upheld the earlier order and dismissed the madrasa’s petition. Officials said a notice was issued and demolition proceeded after the alleged encroachment was not removed within the stipulated time.

The operation began around 7 a.m. under senior local officials, with about 100 police personnel from five police stations deployed. Samajwadi Party lawmaker Syeda Khatun and other party workers protested, while Aam Aadmi Party and Congress figures criticized the action. Officials said about 400 children studied at the madrasa.

Police in Kolkata have identified two more people killed in a major fire at a residential hotel in the New Market area, bringing the reported death toll to nine. The newly identified victims were Indian nationals: 19-year-old Sandeep Paswan from Bihar and 68-year-old Yog Narayan Agarwal from Siliguri. The report was published on August 19, 2026.

Kolkata police had earlier identified five Bangladeshi nationals among those killed. They were Md Akram Ali, 74, from Kushtia; Debashis Dutta, 39; Afsana Sharmin, 27; Sharnashish Dutta, 3; and Babu Ahmed Babu, 37, a resident of Aminbazar in Savar, Dhaka.

The identity of one victim remains unconfirmed. Following the fire, observations at the five-storey building pointed to alleged irregularities and poor management, including cramped rooms, narrow passageways and an apparent lack of adequate fire-safety measures. Local residents alleged that several hotels operated on different floors, with small accommodation rooms and multiple air-conditioning units on each floor.

Journalist Debashish Dutta of Kushtia and three family members were killed in a fire in Kolkata, India, according to a report published on August 19, 2026. The other victims were his wife Afsana Sharmin, 25; their two-year-old child Sharnashish Dutta; and Dutta’s father-in-law Md Akram Ali, 64.

Akram Ali’s home was in Thanapara, Kushtia, while Debashish Dutta was the son of Dilip Dutta of Aroya Para in Kushtia town. Family members said Dutta had travelled to Narayana Hospital in Bengaluru on August 4 for his wife’s treatment, leaving behind their six-year-old daughter, Mahima Dutta.

After the treatment, the family had returned to Kolkata the previous day, relatives said. Debashish Dutta had worked with the national daily Ajker Patrika, private television channel Channel Nine, local Kushtia daily Ajker Alo as acting editor, and had formerly served as Kushtia district correspondent for Nagorik Television.

Kolkata police have identified five Bangladeshi nationals among those killed in a hotel fire on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata. The report was published on August 19, 2026. Police said the identified victims include Shornoshish Dutta, Afsana Shimmin, Debashish Dutta and Md Akram Ali, all residents of Kushtia district in Bangladesh.

A fifth identified victim, Ahmed Babu, was listed as being from Aminbazar in Savar. According to police information, three-year-old Shornoshish Dutta and his father Debashish Dutta were residents of the Aruapara, Mohini Mill area of Kushtia.

Kolkata police said efforts were continuing to establish the identities of the remaining victims. Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Muhammad Khaled said on Wednesday afternoon that police and the FRRO had informed the deputy high commission after identifying at least five Bangladeshi citizens among the dead. The FRRO is a Home Ministry division that keeps records of data and movements of foreign nationals entering India.

Shehzad Poonawalla has resigned as a national spokesperson of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and relinquished his primary membership of the party. He submitted his resignation letter to BJP president Nitin Nabin on Monday, according to the report published on August 19, 2026. Poonawalla said he was leaving politics because of urgent financial and personal circumstances and planned to return to private-sector employment.

He said he had been considering a return to professional life since 2024. The BJP spokesperson role was unpaid and voluntary, he said, making it necessary for him to resume work to meet financial needs. Poonawalla added that he had devoted nearly every day of the year to politics for a long period, but ultimately had to choose between a job and political activity.

Poonawalla had previously expressed an intention to resign on July 30, but the party asked him to reconsider. His departure has drawn discussion amid a major reshuffle among BJP national office-bearers, although he did not cite any political disagreement. He began politics through Congress’s student wing NSUI, left Congress in 2017 alleging irregularities and nepotism, and later joined the BJP.

India’s ultra-wealthy are increasingly seeking permanent residence and citizenship abroad, shifting from earlier motives such as business expansion or children’s higher education toward long-term wealth management and security planning. The trend was reported on August 19, 2026, citing data from investment-migration advisory firm MyRCBI.com.

According to the firm, global geopolitical uncertainty, changing tax policies in different countries and the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted affluent Indian families to value international mobility as an important asset. Founder and CEO Dhananjay Singh Chudasama said investment-based migration is increasingly viewed as a strategic decision offering freedom of movement, international opportunities for future generations and a practical “Plan B” if circumstances change suddenly.

Applicants mainly include entrepreneurs with businesses valued above 100 crore rupees, managing directors and CEOs of financial institutions, and corporate executives earning salaries above one crore rupees. Popular destinations include the United States, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates and several Caribbean countries. MyRCBI.com expects demand in India to rise significantly over the next two to three years, with Gujarat emerging after Maharashtra as a key market.

India’s rapid expansion of private higher education has widened access for young people but also increased student debt, unemployment and uncertainty about future earnings. In Greater Noida’s planned Knowledge Park, near New Delhi, about 100,000 students attend universities, colleges, management institutes and technology and research centres. Many families use savings or bank loans to enrol children in private colleges.

The number of private colleges in India has nearly tripled over the past decade. Higher-education enrolment reached 45 million in 2024, up 41 percent in a decade, with more than two-thirds of students studying at private institutions. Yet well-paid jobs have not grown at the same pace. Research by Azim Premji University found that nearly 40 percent of graduates under 25 are unemployed, while only about 250,000 new jobs paying more than $500 annually are created each year.

Education entrepreneur Akshay Saxena said students were sold the mistaken belief that a degree guarantees employment. He estimated that about 400,000 students annually spend more than $20,000 on private engineering colleges, while graduates’ median annual salary is about $3,000. Students are increasingly focused on earning enough to repay loans and reduce family pressure.

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which is protesting Narendra Modi’s government in India, has made conditions in government schools a new focus of its campaign. The group urged supporters to inspect local schools’ infrastructure, educational quality and facilities under a four-point initiative called “Fix the Schools.” On 13 August, 26-year-old Abdul Hafiz visited a primary school in Karisunda village, Bankura district, West Bengal, where he had previously studied.

Hafiz alleged that local BJP workers later went to his home and assaulted him and his father, Mohammad Mofik. Mofik, who was seriously injured, died two days later. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari described the attackers as criminals with no connection to his party and promised action. After his father’s burial, Hafiz said his family would continue seeking justice and demanding better education and facilities in government schools.

CJP’s demands include safe drinking water, usable toilets, electricity, adequate classrooms, boundary walls, security, quality midday meals and teacher attendance. In Rajasthan, authorities restricted outsiders’ entry and unauthorized photography or video recording at government schools. Education expert Samina Bano said structural reforms and stronger institutions are needed for lasting change.

Nine Bangladeshi nationals, including six men, two women and a child, died in a fire at a hotel in a multi-storey building on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata’s New Market area. The blaze was initially reported to have started on the third floor at about 4:15 a.m. Tuesday. The building housed separate hotels or guest houses on nearly every floor, and several people were rescued by firefighters.

Guests alleged that the rooms and passageways were cramped, the building had only one main entrance and exit, and no emergency evacuation system was available. Smoke filled corridors and balconies, making it difficult for people to find their way out. Some guests reportedly sheltered in bathrooms and tried to escape by breaking windows. One guest said hotel staff were not seen after the fire began and alleged inadequate firefighting arrangements.

Fire officials initially suspect a short circuit, while forensic experts are expected to visit the scene. Doctors initially believe the victims may have died from suffocation, though post-mortem examinations will determine the cause. Authorities are examining fire safety, hotel legality, permits and trade licences, while some injured people remain in critical condition.

Nine Bangladeshi nationals, including six men, two women and a child, were killed in a major fire at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market in Kolkata, West Bengal. The fire broke out on the hotel’s fourth floor at about 3 a.m. on Tuesday night. Kolkata police and fire services reached the scene and brought the blaze under control after nearly two hours, but part of the hotel was burned.

About 60 people have been rescued so far, according to the report. Many people lost consciousness because of smoke inhalation and were taken to Kolkata Medical College Hospital, where several were reported to be in critical condition. Police and fire officials initially suspect that the fire may have started from an air conditioner, though an investigation is continuing to determine the exact cause.

Residents said the building had a single, narrow entrance and exit, and alleged that the hotel lacked an emergency exit. Some trapped people entered bathrooms and tried to escape by breaking windows. A woman from a family rescued from the top floor alleged that repeated requests for fire-safety measures had not been followed by hotel authorities.

Kakoroch Janata Party (CJP) said it has raised four demands for the family of Sheikh Mohammed Mafi, who it alleges was killed in Indas, Bankura. At a press conference outside Kolkata Press Club on Tuesday, party spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the demands include security for family members, the swift arrest of those accused in the killing, necessary assistance for the family, and fundraising in Abdul’s name.

The party said Mafi was killed after his son, Sheikh Abdul Hafiz, posted photographs of a local primary school on social media as part of CJP’s “Fix the School” campaign. Ranka appealed to students and members of the public for financial assistance for the family. The report presents these allegations and demands as claims made by the party.

Ranka also alleged that a planned CJP meet-up at Bharat Sabha Hall in north Kolkata was cancelled at the last moment under pressure from the BJP. He said about six other Kolkata auditoriums had declined bookings. Ranka said the party would soon organize a larger meet-up and would continue as a pressure group rather than enter electoral politics or contest student-union elections.

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Umar Khalid has remained in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for nearly six years after his September 2020 arrest in a “larger conspiracy” case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots. He has not been convicted of any offence, and the main trial remains at an early stage. Khalid faces charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, along with allegations including criminal conspiracy, rioting and promoting enmity between groups.

Delhi Police allege that Khalid and others conspired to incite violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, including during then US President Donald Trump’s visit to India. Khalid denies involvement in the riots or any conspiracy. His supporters have also questioned some evidence and videos in the case. The February 2020 violence killed 53 people, most of them Muslims, according to the report.

Khalid has returned to the Delhi High Court in what is described as his eighth bail attempt, with a hearing expected in late August after police were asked to respond. The Supreme Court granted bail to five co-accused on January 5, 2026, but not to Khalid or activist Sharjeel Imam, saying their positions differed. Rights groups have raised concerns about lengthy pretrial detention and UAPA’s strict bail provisions.

India’s Cockroach Janata Party, or CJP, has launched its “Fix the Schools” campaign to assess conditions in government schools, but the initiative has triggered tensions in West Bengal. On August 13, 26-year-old activist Abdul Hafiz visited a government primary school in Bankura district where he had once studied. He alleged that local BJP workers attacked his home hours later, injuring him and his father, Mohammad Mafik. Mafik, 51, died two days afterward.

CJP has asked supporters to inspect safe drinking water, working toilets, electricity, usable classrooms, school safety, midday meals and teacher attendance. West Bengal BJP leaders denied that the alleged attackers were connected to the party and promised an investigation. Hafiz said the campaign for better education would continue despite his father’s death. CJP founder Abhijit Deep called attacks and deaths over demands for better schools deeply concerning.

The group says Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned in July after a 37-day sit-in and wider youth protests. In Alwar, Rajasthan, local officials said they would accept demands for extra classrooms, clean toilets and drinking water. Rajasthan has imposed restrictions on outsiders entering schools and recording images or videos, citing student privacy; activists view the move as an attempt to obstruct their campaign.

Indian yoga guru Ramdev said Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan would one day again become part of India, urging Indians to be patient. He made the remarks while speaking to journalists at Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur on August 18, 2026. The source describes Ramdev as a controversial yoga guru.

Ramdev alleged that Hindus are being persecuted in Pakistan and Bangladesh. He said the persecution and injustice faced by Hindus in the two countries rank among the harshest incidents in the history of human civilization. He also said that, following religious changes in the country, it should be ensured that no one faces persecution in the future.

Discussing India’s future, Ramdev said freedom of expression in a democracy should remain within constitutional and moral limits. He asserted that no religion—Hindu, Muslim or Christian—is under threat in India, but that India’s honour and dignity are at risk. He said he wanted India to receive equal respect in every country, including the United States, China and Russia.