Veteran lyricist, screenwriter and public intellectual Javed Akhtar has argued that while humanity has achieved unprecedented scientific and technological progress, society's thinking often remains rooted in centuries-old beliefs, creating what he described as one of the biggest contradictions of the modern age.

Renowned Urdu poet Bashir Badr passes away in Bhopal at 91 after long dementia battle. Javed Akhtar leads tributes as poetry world mourns the legendary ghazal writer.