New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI): India looks full of ambition, fearless, confident and full of pride from space, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla said on Sunday.

"Even today, Bharat looks 'saare jahan se accha' from above," Shukla said reprising the iconic words of India's first astronaut Rakesh Sharma in 1984.

Shukla was speaking at a farewell ceremony for Axiom-4 mission astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) who are set to begin their return journey to Earth on Monday.

"It almost seems magical to me... It has been a fantastic journey for me," Shukla said of his stay at the ISS which began on June 26.

The Indian astronaut said he was taking with him a lot of memories and learning that he will share with his countrymen.

The Axiom-4 mission undocks from the ISS on Monday and is expected to splash down off the California coast on Tuesday.

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Kolkata (PTI): A local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was murdered by unidentified assailants in West Bengal's Birbhum district, police said on Saturday.

Rajbehari Sardar (65), TMC's booth chief in Patisara gram panchayat, was stabbed and severely beaten up by around five-six people at a function in Nanoor area around 10 pm on Friday, a police officer said.

Sardar was taken to Mangalkot Hospital in neighbouring Purba Bardhaman district where he was declared dead by doctors, he said.

The deceased's son alleged that Sardar was killed by members of a rival faction of the party.

The local TMC leadership said Sardar was a committed party worker and was popular in the area, but claimed that there was no report of the involvement of anyone from the party in the murder.

"We demand a thorough and prompt investigation into the incident," a local TMC leader said.